the formula works

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2016)

In Lagos, Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch stop Brock Rumlow but cause collateral damage killing some Wakandans. U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross informs the Avengers that the world has come together to take control of them under the Sokovia Accords. King T'Chaka of Wakanda is killed in a bombing during the signing by apparently Bucky Barnes. Prince T'Challa intends to kill Bucky while Captain America intends to capture him alive. The situation spirals out of control to split the Avengers apart.
The MCU has become a long running serial show. The brilliance is that it works so well. They are fun. There is value in their connectivity. Sometimes, comic book movies have comic book motivations which often annoy me. The trick for this movie is that everybody's motivations work. The exception is yet another flawed MCU villain, Helmut Zemo. Taking him aside, the heroes have realistic motivations and actions. There is a great introduction of Spider-Man. Tom Holland is terrific and that franchise looks well on its way. His humor is a bit of fresh air. It didn't occur to me before but MCU humor has been mostly sarcastic cynicism. There is no cynicism in this Peter Parker and it's great youthful exuberance. Black Panther is also well-introduced and Ant-Man adds some great humor on top of Spider-Man. The conflict between Iron Man and Captain America is well developed. The romance between Scarlet Witch and Vision is intriguing. On the other hand, Cap's romance is questionable. The airport scene is something else. It may be the best comic book fight ever. This is what Marvel does and they do it well.