Warning: There WILL be spoilers.
This is one of the few series of films in the Marvel cinematic universe that I have consistently watched and for me it was by far the best..not just of the Captain America/Avengers sub-set, but of the whole universe that is out there and continually expanding. The first I enjoyed very much for the fact that it was character-driven. But the. The first of any series that focus I. One character invariably and necessarily just be as they are invariably dealing with how they came into existence. The Spider-Man films ( of which more later) are a good example. The first Captain America did this very well and had the additional benefit of humour and engagement coming from the time period discrepancies. The second one was rather 'meh' for me but this one came roaring back.
Some have said that the political element in it ( should the superheroes be limited by international government treaties or should they just do what the do freely and without interference? The dilemma triggered by extensive collateral damage from a mission in a manufactured country is e,bodied in this by the conflict (the civil war of the title being that within the Avengers and embodied by Iron Man in favour of government restrictions, Captain America not so.) in addition the saga of Bucky and the Captain is the other main thread of the film and the two elements are well developed in parallel.
Because of this, the battles always come from a position of strength as those fighting them have personal and deep involvement which engages us with them and we are not mere gawkers at a axing CGI effects. In fact, at this stage in cinematic history and development, that sense is now almost irrelevant. We have got over the wonder of seeing the impossible look utterly convincing on screen and so once that has gone, one has to have other elements to engage us..personal elements and that is something that this film definitely has. This is the main reason why I enjoyed it so much. The SFX are there to advance the story and not for their own sake.
Chris E remains enormously likeable, if not always the sharpest tool in the box but it was Downey and his character whom I got the most from. He gave the sense of really engaging with the dilemmas he faced so that we shared them and could see that they were not easy ones to solve. In addition, he showed here a surprising degree of charm which is n to a characteristic I have connected with either the character or the actor. There were a number of amusing self referential lines in the film as well as an excellent number of character-driven cracks and remarks. The script as a whole, really was excellent with a sophisticated and light elegance that one rarely find in films generally, let alone superhero movies. and the self-referencing was not overdone as it can often be ( hello Disney trying to appeal to the widest number of people...)
Scarlett J was excellent and there was a real sense of character growth and conflict and change throughout the film.
The climactic fight was marvellous. Exciting, coming from a place where who to root for was genuinely impossible and where the outcome was not obvious but it was the bringing in of other characters that I really enjoyed ( and here be spoilers). Ant Man was very amusing as was Iron Mans reactions to him.
I did not see the stand-alone movie featuring him but gathered that it had some if limited success in trying to be an ironical and knowing comment on the genre in general ( that Guardians of the Galaxy did much more successfully and which Suicide Squad looks to do even better)
But it was the I graduation of Spider-Man that provided the best moments, Tom Holland being marvellous as the nerdily over-enthusiastic teen getting to know his strengths and abilities. Many lovely moments there and the second tease at the VERY end of the credits was very pleasing. You must stay until the very end though to get this.
So, enormous fun...and I much enjoyed seeing it not just at the Uptown on a traditionally mega screen from a balcony, but seeing it the day after release where the audience was knowledgeable and passionate. There was much excited jumping around on the pavement afterwards which was lovely to see.
So, we will see what the next instalment brings...