Captain America: Civil War, the latest installment in the wildly successful Marvel superhero franchise is already performing well into the 8/10 range on most online review sites. Though everyone and their dog is familiar with the whole range of Marvel films by now, Civil War is also part of a smaller sub franchise: the Captain America films.
These films generally focus on the Captain (played by muscle-bound heartthrob Chris Evans) himself, and have been critically acclaimed for their deep storytelling and serious tone. The Civil War film will be the third entry into the Captain America series, which intersects with the rest of the Marvel films. USA Today reports that like Civil War's predecessor, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which played out more like an international spy movie than a superhero popcorn flick, Civil War has already been amazing critics and audiences with its serious, self-respecting take on the Marvel Universe.
"It's almost easier to say what isn't in Captain America: Civil War, since the latest Marvel movie features deaths, bad feelings all around, alliances formed and broken, two guys with bug names, a kiss and the best superhero battle put to film yet."The film is also exciting for fans because it features Hollywood's latest take on the ever popular and much loved Spider-Man character. It was only in the last few years that Sony Entertainment's latest attempt at a Spider-Man franchise, 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, hit theaters. The film was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but the franchise (starring Andrew Garfield) quickly died out. Following the unexpected failure of their second attempt at a Spider-Man live action franchise, Sony hacked out an all but unprecedented deal with Disney and Marvel to share the character. Now, for the first time in Disney's expansive MCU (a fan nickname for the Marvel Cinematic Universe), fans are getting treated to a brand new take on Spider-Man himself.
Captain America is getting praise from all corners, as well. Justin Chang, from Variety, writes that Captain America: Civil War "proves as remarkable for its dramatic coherence and thematic unity as for its dizzyingly inventive action sequences."
"Captain America: Civil War is the most mature and substantive picture to have yet emerged from the Marvel Cinematic Universe."MCU fan or not, Civil War is shaping up to be the premier blockbuster of the summer. Even if you don't like the characters or universe, it's looking like the latest Captain America film is going to be a crowd pleaser on every level. [Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney]