Captain America: Civil War Review - 10 Reasons It’s A Near-Perfect Comic Book Movie

1. The Batman V Superman Comparison

And, with Civil War's praises sung at the loudest decibel I can manage, now I think it's time to address the elephant turd in the room. Like animated ant movies in 1998 or Die Hard in the White House flicks in 2014, 2016 is the year of the superhero versus movie - while I'm sat here gushing about how a film I've long-anticipated has wound up better than I expected, let's not forget that just a month ago we were bemoaning an analogous travesty.

The similarities between Captain America: Civil War and Batman V Superman aren't just in the base concept though, but in how the movies are constructed and the rather specific decisions in how they both choose to tell their story. I highlighted some potential parallels a month ago (with mostly solid accuracy, I might add), but there's many, many more points, from major plot turns to minor action beats that (accidentally) echo Dawn Of Justice. What's so startling about these similarities is that, almost without exception, Civil War takes something intrinsically wrong with Batman V Superman and shows how it can be done right.

Consistent characters, remotely believable reasons for confrontation, universe placement, established action, and an overall sense that this is something made to be enjoyed - the Russos take everything wrong with Zack Snyder's teenage boy fantasy and show him how it's done (it gets more micro than that, but that is both spoiler territory and a little too kitsch for serious analysis).

DC may be soldiering on with its Justice League mostly untampered, but after Marvel's latest it's clear who the King of Comic Book films is. Captain America: Civil War is a fanboy's dream and as weighty as a tentpole blockbuster about spandexed heroes can be. Near perfect.

Have you seen Captain America: Civil War? What did you think? Let us know down in the comments.