Captain America: Civil War is a superhero movie produced by Marvel Studios and forces the Avengers to face their greatest challenge yet: themselves. It opens up in Siberia in 1991 with the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky, targeting a single automobile driving down a deserted road. He ambushes it causing it to crash into a tree taking out those inside of it. He then proceeds to recover vials of what appears to be more super-soldier serum. Fast forward to the present day and Captain America is leading a team consisting of Black Widow, Falcon, and Wanda Maximoff as part of an operation to track Crossbones in Lagos. Crossbones is attempting to acquire a biological weapon as part of his plan, and the team strikes once they learn of Crossbones’s target. He’s able to escape the facility with the weapon resulting in a chase in the crowded streets of Lagos. Seeing that he lost, Crossbones makes a last-ditch effort to blow himself up along with Captain America. Wanda intervenes but accidentally launches him into a building killing dozens of people including a number of Wakandans. In response the U.N. calls emergency meetings to pass the Sokovia Accords, which would put the Avengers under the U.N.’s control or label those who don’t join criminals. But with the situation becoming more volatile in the world, will the Sokovia Accords divide the Avengers for good?

The opening sequence with Cap and his team pursuing Crossbones set the tone early for the reminder of the movie. The Russo brothers did an outstanding job with the action sequences in Winter Soldier and thankfully the action sequences weren’t lacking here either. The justification for it, to stop Crossbones from acquiring a biological weapon, was good, and it was an opportunity for all those involved to show off their new abilities and/or gadgets. And the shocking sequence with Wanda blowing up the building was powerful, and the type of event needed to explain the Sokovia Accords being voted on by the U.N.

Yet General Ross wouldn’t be the sole “villain.” There was also a mysterious character obsessed with the details from the opening mission in 1991. He was ruthless and his focus was on acquiring the means to control the Winter Soldier. Since the Winter Soldier would have the entire world looking for him because of him being framed for an attack, this mysterious man’s agenda was intriguing. I wondered what his ultimate goal was as well as how this could be tied to a potential overarching conspiracy against the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (my theory). However, the true “villains” in this movie were the Avengers themselves, one against the other. Iron Man wasn’t a villain in the traditional sense because his stance wasn’t necessarily wrong but he was definitely an impressive antagonist regardless of how his position may or may not have changed. So the civil war, internal struggle of the Avengers was captured perfectly.

One thing that can’t be stated about Civil War is that it lacked action. There were few sequences that didn’t end with some action but the best part is that none of it felt forced. Well actually, the best part of it was how everyone’s abilities were utilized throughout the movie. It’s not hyperbole when I state that the airport scene was by far the greatest action sequence with this amount of superheroes sharing the screen at the same time. I could say Ant-Man and Spider-Man stole this scene but in reality they just added to a scene that was created by those who understood the characters, their abilities and what made them awesome. This was entertainment at its finest.

SUMMARY

Captain America: Civil War is a magnificent movie that mixes the right amount of action, humor and story development and delivers an unforgettable experience. Not only is it a solid standalone movie but also tremendously increases my excitement for all upcoming Marvel movies. Civil War gets to the heart of the matter in terms of the pros and cons of the Avengers answering to a governing body in engrossing ways. It’s bold in the way it changes the status quo for the Avengers going forward. It’s intriguing how the villain was able to accomplish so much but the beauty is in knowing that it all ties together so well.