Captain America: Civil War could be easily called Avengers 3 given all the members of the superhero group turn up, but at the centre of the plot lies the American super-soldier, his beliefs and his moral dilemmas.

Civil War opens with a battle in Lagos with the Avengers taking on a bunch of mercenaries led by a Hydra operative. They’re successful as always, but like with everything involving the superhero group there’s collateral damage. This time it’s in the form of a building that is blown up. The worlds’ nations have had enough and want curbs on the superhero group that they now see as vigilantes.

Iron Man aka Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) agrees, having met a victim of an Avengers mission and suffering other personal losses. Captain America aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn’t. This sets the stage for an eventual split in the superhero group. And it gets further complicated when Captain America decides to defend his friend Bucky (aka the Winter Soldier) from the law.

It’s all a lead up to the epic clash between the superheroes who are now split down the middle. And it doesn’t disappoint. We had Hulk vs Iron Man in Avengers 2, but that’s not a patch on this. The two sides of the superhero group may not seem evenly matched, but it is still an epic battle with an unexpected end. And the best part? There’s more to the film than just the battle. 

All the Avengers from Age of Ultron are there, and two new Avengers also make their debut in this film. T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Peter Parker aka Spiderman (a very young Tom Holland) make their debuts in style, and are introduced in a manner better than any introductory film could have managed. Ant Man (Paul Rudd) is also integrated into the superhero group. 

The star cast, which includes many good actors, is in fine form and there’s no one who disappoints. Both Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans are compelling in the roles that they’ve made their own. Every fight scene is epic and there’s actually suspense and multiple twists in the plot that you don’t really see coming. And yet, in typical Marvel fashion, there’s humour injected in. Even in the fights when you least expect it, and it’s perhaps what makes this bunch of superheroes so lovable. 

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo upped the game with the Winter Soldier and hit it out of the park with Civil War. They’ve just made the prospect of catching the upcoming two parts of the Avengers: Infinity War so much more tantalising. 

Captain America: Civil War could easily just have been an ensemble battle film, but it manages to deal very well with issues far deeper than it’s expected to. And that’s what elevates it above other superhero films, even the others from the Marvel stable. While Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice was also essentially about a conflict between two superheroes, it proved to be a disappointment. Civil War, on the other hand, nails it.

If there is a superhero film you must catch, this is it.

All gifs from Giphy