Review: Captain America: Civil War (12A)

The central conceit is how much freedom and power we expect our protectors to have – and how they exercise it. That weighty debate drives this intense and intelligent comic-book extravaganza. Moreover it presents two sides of a tricky argument and sets the various players – Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon et al – against each other in a series of eye-popping battle sequences. Devotees will adore and embrace the evolution of the brand but it doesn’t require such immersion. Instead directors Anthony and Joe Russo keep the politics and arguments contemporaneous, the conflict plausible and the action energetic. Yet behind the banter lurks a movie that dares to consider the aftermath of superhero machismo as the Avengers lay waste to the bad guys – and whole sections of cities. Thus Captain America: Civil War is as much about responsibility as it is about loyalty, courage and a sense of doing the right thing. It also looks to those holding the reins and asks whether there are any decent, trustworthy people left in positions of power. Tony Eranshaw