Captain America: Civil War Review - 13 Non-Spoiler Reasons It's The Best Marvel Movie Ever

Captain America: Civil War stands on its own and would work even without the rest of the MCU preceding it, but there's no doubt that it works better because of the investment Marvel and its audience have made in the characters over the past eight years. We know what has led all of these characters to this point in this massive, serialized story.

Captain America: Civil War is not just the third film in a Captain America trilogy, but also the culmination of character arcs that we've seen play out over the Captain America, Iron Man, and Avengers franchises. Early on, we might have expected Cap to be in favor of rank and file authority while Tony remained the rebel. They've worked their way to the opposite sides of where we initially thought they would be and we understand how and why this has happened because we have seen each significant step on this journey.

The same goes for all members of Team Cap and Team Iron Man, but especially another long-time MCU veteran, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson.) All of Natasha's choices throughout the film make sense based on her past while also creating intriguing ways for her character to move forward.

Understanding the history of these characters makes all of their decisions much more interesting. We're not just watching larger than life heroes, but people we feel like we know. They still wear their iconic costumes, but we do not lose sight of who they are underneath and what is driving them. When friendships are strained, we feel it because we were there when those bonds were formed and we know what they've withstood up until this point.

Captain America: Civil War pays off not only the investment the audience makes in this film, but the investments made in so many of the films that came before it. Receiving those emotional dividends feels all the better because we know the characters have earned the right to experience these moments, just as we've earned the right to see them.