Step 1: Buckle in. The ultimate battle of superhero titans is about to take off in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War and hold onto your seats, folks, because this is one helluva ride – and the best Marvel movie to date.
Step 2: Set up. The basic premise revolves the Avengers’ methods of staving off potential global catastrophes. Lead by Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans), the small band of superheroes and fighters see the threat and go in to take it out. Problem is, when they do that, collateral damage – both with property and with innocent lives – is inevitable, and governments around the world are not sitting well with it. They want some checks and balances on the Avengers. Usually on the side of the government, Cap sees this as a big problem because any delay in their emergency response could prove to be highly detrimental and a larger loss of life. Instead, it’s Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), who sides with the bureaucrats. He says he understands their POV, but there’s an underlying guilt Tony feels because let’s face it, the last catastrophe at the hands of Ultron was Stark’s fault since, you know, he created Ultron. Tony doesn’t trust himself anymore and thinks he might need some higher authority telling him no.
Step 3: Pick a side. Thus creates the conflict, which is only heightened when Steve’s BFF Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) shows up again. Bucky is trying very hard to shed his Winter Soldier/assassin reputation by staying in hiding but unfortunately is still under some form of Manchurian Candidate-type mind control, and at some point, Winter Soldier is re-engaged. Steve knows his friend is still in there and isn’t doing these things on his own accord, but the rest of the world doesn’t. Cap wants to get Bucky help to finally “fix” his brain, but in protecting Bucky, Steve and those who follow him – Sam Wilson aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) – become wanted fugitives themselves. They now have to fight against their friends who are following Tony, such as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Lt. James Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle). Little do they know, they are all being manipulated by another, more sinister force, who, of course, should be stopped by the Avengers. But can they do that before the friendship between Cap and Iron Man are irreparably damaged?
Step 4: Kudos to the writers. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely craft an excellent story, one that isn’t too convoluted (sorry, Batman v Superman, they did it right) but also one that allows a bevy of characters to share time onscreen in a seamless way. This is a story we can actually relate to, if you’ve ever had a big blowup with your siblings. Markus and McFeely turn the Avengers into a dysfunctional family of sorts, so when they do argue – and by “argue,” I mean use their superpowers to slam each other through walls — it actually comes more out of love and respect. Tony and Steve don’t want to be in this conflict, but they are also both stubborn and are doing what they think is best. Plus, you really can understand both sides of the conflict, even if you find yourself rooting for a team (Team Cap does have the advantage, come on). Then, just when you think relations seem to be improving, a turn of events really sets Tony off, making the ultimate falling out between Cap and Iron Man even more heartbreaking to watch.
Step 5: Enter the new Avengers. The writers also have to introduce new characters into the Civil War mix to feed the Marvel machine, but do it in a way that makes sense to the overall picture. The biggest newbie storyline goes to T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), a prince from a fictitious African nation who seeks revenge against Bucky for seemingly killing his father. This is what sets up the film’s tentpole battle sequence at the airport between Team Cap and Team Iron Man. Both teams know they need reinforcements, so Falcon brings in Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who has always been anti-establishment, to join Team Cap, while Tony recruits teenager Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) for Team Iron Man. The airport battle is nothing sort of spectacular, with its power, fabulous action, great humor and shades of grey coloring in what is supposed to be a black or white situation.
Step 6: Let them shine. All the actors get a chance to bring more depth to their characters. In the past Avengers movies, Downey seems to overpower the situation with his stellar performance as Tony Stark, but in Civil War, he really isn’t the main focus but rather complements the whole ensemble. And, yes, the title does have Captain America in it, so it is, in essence, Evans’ movie, but everyone has their moment: Downey and Cheadle deepen their friendship; Evans and Emily VanCamp as special agent Sharon Carter share a bond (and maybe a romance?); Johansson and Renner have a nice moment in the airport scene (“We’re still friends, right?” “Depends on how hard you hit me.”); Olsen and Bettany get to play with a possible romance blossoming between Scarlet Witch and Vision (if that’s even possible); Mackie and Stan have fun playing Cap’s BFF rivals; Paul Rudd is freaking hilarious from the moment he appears and is totally us when he geeks out over being with the Avengers (“Hey, I know you,” he says to Scarlet Witch. “You’re great!”); and Boseman is simply kick-ass as Black Panther (and gets us excited about his stand-alone movie). The true stand-out, however – and the one most will talk about – is Holland as Spider-Man. I think they’ve finally nailed that character (and by “they” we mean Marvel… sorry, Sony).
Step 7: Call to action! Finally, there has to be a big shout-out to directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Armed with the excellent script, the brothers are able to implement an action-packed, funny and emotional comic-book movie that, up to this point, is the best of them all. The action sequences are crisp and well-defined, and the Russos thankfully avoid falling into the trap of making them too long or too busy. The brothers did that a little bit with Captain America: Winter Solider, so it looks like they’ve studied and improved their techniques. They also make sure there are enough light moments as there are dark ones, which seems to come naturally from the players’ camaraderie; that’s also a good sign the cast had attentive directors. Let’s just say, we are super excited the screenwriting/directing teams will be handling the last of the Avengers movie, the Infinity Wars Part 1 and 2.
Step 8: Go see Captain America: Civil War, like, right now.