8/10
Huge amount of spectacle & character moments
24 July 2021
When an incident involving Wanda Maximoff causes a deadly explosion in Lagos, the UN want to regulate the use of the Avengers.

'Captain America Civil War' is an enjoyable but slightly overlong MCU movie that has some fantastic spectacle and strong character moments.

The plot has an excellent premise with a plausible world reaction to the exploits of a group of people with superpowers and a good villain. Where it slightly falters as a stand-alone movie is the introduction of several new characters that somewhat bogs down the proceedings, but for the wider franchise narrative (and expansion) it is necessary. Several characters have emotional arcs to go through in this story and there is only so much time to do it all.

All that being said it has some of the best moments of the franchise, particularly during the scenes of internal conflict amongst the central characters. Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain America and the Winter Soldier are involved in some very compelling scenes, as are Wanda and Vision.

Some of the visuals are incredibly well done. The early Lagos action scenes hit like a sledgehammer and you can almost feel the impact of what is being shown. The airport showdown is excessive but so much fun you can imagine the writers planning a fanboy's ultimate fantasy. The final confrontation is well made from a spectacle and character perspective.

The first time I saw it was my first sight of the digital effect that makes actors appear younger. This is a very impressive use of CGI that feels like real movie magic.

All performances are strong especially Robert Downey Jr and Daniel Bruhl.

It's a 7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
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