Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Marvel’s 2006 Civil War crossover was politicised – liberty vs. security, secret identities vs. transparency – with tie-ins featuring reporters and the general populace of the Marvel universe experiencing the effects of the conflict in Civil War: Frontline. With 70 years of published material about superheroes living among us, it had a rich context to draw from. The Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Iron Man, the first ‘enhanced’ human, only 8 years ago, in its fictional timeline. There’s not enough context for Civil War, as it was.

So in Captain America: Civil War, the politics take a backseat to what has always been the strength of Marvel movies – the characters. After an operation in Lagos goes wrong, the UN demand that the Avengers accept their oversight, and Captain America and Iron Man’s friendship slowly unravels as they take opposite sides. ‘If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could,’ muses Cap – ‘No, you don’t’, Tony counters knowingly, in one of the many significant character moments of the film.

Their conflict might have stayed ideological if not for Bucky, who gets framed for the bombing of the UN. Cap naturally tries to save Bucky, which puts him between the world and public enemy number one. Bucky is systematically used to drive a wedge between Cap and Tony, and personal loyalties and beliefs break the Avengers into two camps as the conflict escalates. The death of Wakandan relief workers during the operation in Lagos introduces a superb Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, who combines royal dignity with implacable rage in his hunt for Bucky, the main suspect in the bombing death of his father.

Each fight, each inevitable political reaction and counter-reaction, drives the plot forward in an engrossing rhythm, as small character-exploring asides foreshadow later shifts in loyalties. Despite juggling a huge cast and including four or five major action set-pieces, the film never feels bloated at 2 hours and 27 minutes. Every scene has a purpose and every character has their spotlight, though Spider-Man’s is gratuitous. The studied craftsmanship in the screenplay and direction enables an extraordinarily difficult balancing act to come off without a hitch.

Thanks to dialing back on the shaky-cam approach which was the sole drawback of Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s excellent fight scenes, the Russo Brothers have made an action-movie masterpiece in Civil War. The choreography is intense, acrobatic, and inventive – one of the pleasures of the lacklustre Man of Steel was seeing the physics-defying aspect of superheroes captured for the first time, and Civil War offers the same sense of revelation in jaw-dropping chase scenes through Berlin and the climactic airport showdown. Black Panther is a highlight, his unrelenting savagery even briefly cowing Bucky and Cap. The film offers constant, brutal fulfilment.

Superhero films, especially Marvel’s, have settled into a cosy niche. There is a constant sense of their narrative limitations, of the risks which they’re not willing to take, because it’s become a reliable brand. Coming towards the climax of Civil War, I was appreciative, but I qualified my praise, thinking I knew what was coming. But then it did something I didn’t know Marvel films could still do – it surprised me with the best kind of climactic revelation, the kind that shocks you even as you realise it was telegraphed all along. In the last half-hour, the film elevates itself from a professionally accomplished action thriller to an emotionally resonant and deeply affecting superhero film, one that means something. That’s when Civil War joins X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Dark Knight as one of the greatest superhero films of all time.