WALT DISNEY Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray ) 2016

Having thoroughly enjoyed The Winter Soldier and having read all the glowing reviews, I was really looking forward to watching Civil War – and it didn’t disappoint. The Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have an incredible ability to ground these far-fetched characters in reality, combining complex, often very political plots with breath-taking action scenes. Despite cramming in a dozen superheroes, including two new faces, the film never feels over-stuffed or ponderous, and while clearly the focus of the film is on Steve Rogers and his relationships with Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes, every character gets their significant turn in the spotlight. Above all Civil War is a movie about human drama, conflict and emotion that happens to have superheroes in it. My only minor gripe is that despite everything that happens it still seems a little hard to swallow that the relationship between Rogers and Stark could reach such a low and catastrophic nadir. The visual effects and action scenes are spectacular, with the airport melee the absolute highlight – watching these iconic characters smashing each other around is exhilarating and actually often amusing thanks to the constant quips from the likes of Stark, Lang and Peter Parker. Speaking of Parker, Civil War’s take on this classic and much-loved character is excellent and Tom Holland makes an impressive debut, though I’m not sure whether what is effectively an extended cameo was the best way to introduce him into the MCU, plus I’m not sure about the idea that he is Stark’s protégé. Also impressive is Chadwick Boseman as the proud, brave and formidable T’Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther. Picture quality is fantastic, though once again Marvel don’t exactly pull out all the stops when it comes to bonus features. There are two ‘making of’ documentaries which are each around 22-25mins each (no idea why what is essentially a single documentary is split in half), two short featurettes on Rogers and Stark, a few deleted scenes, an amusing gag reel and a sneak preview of Doctor Strange. Everything here is interesting, but something a little more in-depth would have been good, e.g. very little is said about the visual effects and stunt work, and I would have liked to have been told how Spider-Man was brought to life. It’s also worth noting that none of the bonus features have English subtitles, which I personally think is inexcusable. At the moment I’m not sure whether I prefer Civil War or Winter Soldier, but either way this is easily one of the best MCU movies so far, and despite the slightly underwhelming bonus features the blu ray presentation is first rate.

First delivery of film. Got it well before estimated time of delivery. As for the film? Love it! Some 40 years ago I always thought a film version of my favourite superheroes would be great. I loved the Adam West Batman but knew that if that camp version of the superhero concept was ever put back on the big screen, the whole legacy would wither and die. Then along pops Superman (Christopher Reeves) followed by Batman (Michael Keaton) and close to the tipping point with X-Men and then the final tip into universal popularity The Avengers. Finally comics on the screen was universally popular - but not the comics I loved as they started getting more and more dark. When I went to see Civil War in the cinema I was not expecting it to be anywhere near as good as the Avengers or even as good as the less worthy Avengers:Age of Ultron. Wow! was my reaction! Waaaay better than Age of Ultron. As is the way of the superhero genre there was certainly a lot of contrivance- but then the whole concept of men /women who can fly, survive the equivalent of being hit in the face (repeatedly!) with a huge metal bar, etc. is a contrivance to start with so let's put that one to bed!! - all those super folk battling and so few bystanders in the climatic Avengers vs Avengers scene hmm?? SO WHAT! Great entertainment and finally a motor mouth Spider- Man (who looks physically like a teenage, skinny kid) worthy of his comic book inspiration. As a film Civil War just sunk Batman vs Superman without a trace - that Blu ray I have watched twice - bored now! Actually bored watching it the first time but the comic geek in me wanted it to be great so subconsciously watched it again for something I missed, however apart from Batman's fight in the warehouse with the kidnappers, huge bore! - but Civil War on the other hand I have watched at least ten times and fully intend to watch again. Hated Chris Evans in first Captain America film but now the guy has grown on me. Whether that's a combination of improved acting, better script, better direction...I do not know but certainly hope he can manage one more appearance as the shield bearer! Fully recommend this film!

One of Marvel's better movies!!!

Don't let anyone say otherwise. This is an amazing movie that gets better and more layered with each viewing. Every character is great and it is truly astonishing that these characters are introduced so cleverly and their motivations are clear cut. The action is some of the best action in any movie for a while. This is what you want in a summer blockbuster and so much more. It has brilliant humour, yet it still manages to be emotional and dramatic in key moments. In fact this is the most serious and mature comic movie this year without sacrificing the heart of what makes a comic spirited film. This is the bench mark for ensemble movies which I highly doubt that the competition will ever do and trying way to hard to mimic. It just proves if you want a successful movie franchise, look at the source material and see why these characters are popular and then represent them on screen and people will love them for that. This is exactly why the X-Men movies are poor and drab and the recent DCEU films are poor. The Marvel movies are still more comic accurate without scarifying editing and the rich character development. This is why a Cinematic Universe exists to do a project like this but it still works as a singular movie. You can show this to anyone and they would enjoy it but you can't with the DC films and that's why this works even more so. I like this turn for the Marvel universe and how it will progress. This movie is also so much better than the poor comic that it is inspired by, which is pretty amazing. I am genuinely baffled that people want a page for page interpretation, that wouldn't work film making wise, see BvS for reference. Pure awesomeness.

After the terrific Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there was a lot of anticipation for Captain America : Civil War, the first entry in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and tankfully it delivered tremendously. While the 13th movies of the MCU does feature many appearances for the majority of the Avengers, the film is still heavily a Captain America film with Chris Evans given many moments to shine. The Russo brothers really know how to craft the material and while it may not to Winter Soldier, Civil War really is a top notch entry in the MCU and really allowing the audience to understand the motives of the characters and building more anticipation for the future of the franchise.