8 Things Avengers: Infinity War Did Better Than Captain America: Civil War

8. It Nails A Consistent Tone

Giant Man War Machine Captain America Civil War
Marvel Studios

Captain America: Civil War is an immaculate film, and the scene most often cite as its greatest - the semi-climactic airport battle - epitomises so many of the MCU's most adored qualities.

That being said, the sequence (gratifying to witness through it may be) does feel somewhat out of place within the context of Civil War's story. The film carries an emotional maturity beyond most other Marvel features, and when the two groups collide - friends on either side of the aisle - it should be heart-wrenching. Instead, most of the fight is played for laughs, and while it makes sense for both groups to pull their punches, there's an irreverence to it that disconnects the sequence from the wider conflict at play.

At the same time, Civil War's airport scene is magnificent to behold. It's fun, inventive, and ticks all the boxes when it comes to superhero action. That doesn't mean it's entirely appropriate however, and while the Russos deserve all the plaudits possible for the fight between the pro and anti-accord forces, there's a reason why the film's final confrontation - the one shared between Captain America, Iron Man and Winter Soldier - is the most resonant.

Infinity War, by comparison, has no such issues with its tone, with the film carrying a kind of urgency largely unmatched by its predecessors. There's humour to go along with the peril, but there isn't a single scene that feels out of place within the context of its story.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.