Marvel don't miss a step

Rating: 10/10 (5 May 2016)

The Avengers continue to fight to right wrongs, but devastation follows in their wake: New York, Washington, Sokovia, and now Lagos. The powers that be seek to put the Avengers under external control. Tony Stark, feeling guilty following the Ultron fiasco agrees, but Captain America doesn't, and the group splits. Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, still under conditioning, is being manipulated, and Cap seeks to protect his old friend, another factor leading to the group being fractured. Where will it all lead?
Captain America's 3rd "solo" outing is an Avengers movie in all but name. There is a comic cover trope which has almost become a cliché, which shows two opposing groups of characters facing off towards each other from left and right of the cover: the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now brought us sufficient characters for that image to be given to us in the course of a film, as a dozen heroes face each other in two opposing groups.
The action is great, with three or four spectacular set pieces, but this film is about much more than action. Some of the best sequences are emotional and thoughtful - Cap's reaction at a death, Tony Stark's difficulties in dealing with assorted issues and, most of all, the discussions between the characters on right and wrong, responsibilities, and the conflicted morality of doing the right thing in the wrong circumstances. There is real meat on the bones in this one.
Factor in the introduction of a couple of new characters, both of whom get substantially more than cameos, and this film rises to the top 3 of my list of favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. I loved it.