Hard hitting, mature filmmaking crossed with action-packed, hilarious fun.

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2016)

The greatest superhero movie ever made? Perhaps not. It's a judgement, I personally can only make after seeing this movie more than once.
What I can say is this: If it were an average affair, the flaws and faults in the structure may have derailed this beast of a movie. But this is no average affair. Too put it simply, this is the best Marvel movie yet. Should there be anything better in the future, this franchise may very well stand as one of the greatest to have ever existed.
We'll start with the flaws as I want them out of the way and they are more niggles than hard errors. The pace is fierce but patchy (what Marvel movie isn't). the beginning especially, is in a big hurry to get through, what is, a great deal of set up. The central conflict of this movie relies heavily on everything that comes before it however and here, character motivations are a little rushed. The ending, also, suffers in the same kind of way.
You could also call a lot of the big moments an unfortunate case of 'I already know what's about to happen'...itis...
HOWEVER!
This is the full blockbuster ingredients list, cooked to near-perfection: Emotionally charged, intelligent, bold, hilarious, action-packed and so much fun. It's a proper grown up affair with a superhero stamp on it. It's engaging, it's interesting, all points on all sides are relevant and understandable and perhaps most importantly, this is firmly, a Captain America movie. Iron Man is there and he's a major player, but he is not the star of the show.
All other players are integral and exciting to watch, especially that very special new player! His intro is hilarious. Even better, every character has a run in with each other at one point or another and most of them ooze amazing and often surprising chemistry with each other. The best of which get the least amount of screen time together, but leave the most satisfying mark.
The overall story is very well thought out. It's spread over several different plot lines, but they all come together as one big, beast of a movie. Like I said, it's patchy, but Civil War makes the absolute most of it's run time to get in what's needed for the story and what is, all but demanded, from the viewer. The Russo brothers have done a very good job here. Infinity War only looks to be more promising with each new movie.
Finally, the emotional heft. It's everywhere in this movie. This isn't a grim affair, but it is dark one. Many punches are inflicted on our heroes and if you love them as much as I do, it can be a hard watch. But it's real and at times, quite heart wrenching. This is a character story at it's core and despite the success of everything else, this, they absolutely needed to make work. And they do. It's not perfect, but it's the best Marvel has done so far to put that lump in your throat. Shed that tear. Make you wish everyone could just get along. But in the end, when the result is a movie this good, you may not actually want them too.
As for sides: There are no easy choices, there are no easy results. There is only first class, grown up filmmaking.
Highlight: The airport tussle. Trust me, the trailer spoils nothing.