Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
More than ever, the MCU films are starting to resemble their comic book source material in all of their convoluted glory. Most of the films to date have been origin stories, with significant screentime to gentle introduction of heroes/villains alike; part of what makes Civil War so pleasant is its assumption of continuity. I'm not sure it would make total sense without seeing at least half a dozen previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films, plus at least one incarnation of Spider-Man; it's packed to the gills with both references to past films and makes few allowances for new viewers.
But the result is pleasantly character-driven. As the title suggests, its primary antagonists are all heroes -- the Avengers are divided into factions around Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), in favour of UN oversight, and a Captain America (Chris Evans) in favour of free action/unilateral intervention -- so characters are all given time to genuinely develop.
While much of this screentime is devoted to Iron Man and the Cap, development of the "minor" Avengers serves the obvious ulterior motive of establishing a post-Iron Man (read: a post-Robert-Downey-Jr.'s-salary) MCU. These new characters have just the same mix of easy chemistry, easy banter and deep personal damage that made the first set so enjoyable. Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) are given space to breathe, and Paul Rudd's Ant-Man, uninspiring in a solo outing, shines as ensemble comic relief. It's even gotten me excited for Black Panther's brooding African Batman.
For all that it has the Captain America brand, it's very much a group effort: perhaps the best Avengers to date.