Captain America: Civil War
2016  PG-13  ACTION  2h 27min
CAST— Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl
MUSIC— Henry Jackman  DIRECTORS— Anthony Russo, Joe Russo  BASED ON— Characters appearing in Marvel Comics

     Absolutely fun-tabulous excursion into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sure to please those who’ve enjoyed the ride thus far. The world is still reeling from the massive casualties incurred by various super-powered beings, even though not all the damage was wrought maliciously. But tell that to the victims, not only of the actual evil-doers, but also of those now branded “heroes”. When public outcry personally reaches the ears of Tony Stark, he and U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross initiate a bill stating that those with great powers must take great responsibility, namely by registering with the government, waiting for official sanction and generally giving the bad guys more rights than ever before. Steve Rogers sees the problems piling up already, not only with what will probably be constant red tape but also the rifts from within the superheroic community. The Avengers’ loyalties basically split, with half for Stark’s resolution, half against. Political tensions erupt when Rogers joins forces with old pal and recent nemesis Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, who claims that the Soviet Union created even deadlier Winter Soldiers that he… and they’re now at large. Needless to say this is another film catered to fans of the MCU; newcomers need not apply. The film is completely dependent upon the audience’s devotion to the characters and their various past adventures. Despite blistering action sequences the true gems here are the new editions to the lineup, classic Marvel favorites Black Panther and Spider-Man (who truly dominates whatever scene he appears in). Though we’ve all seen a cinematic version of Spidey before, for better (Spider-Man 2 [2004]) or worse (The Amazing Spider-Man 2 [2014]) here lies an honest, fun and refreshing interpretation promising more to come. The die-hards out there sure will have plenty to “Marvel” at during this episode.
OUR RATING— *** ½
PRECEDED BY— Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015)
FOLLOWED BY— Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)