Marvel, once again, impresses viewers with its highly anticipated film, Captain America: Civil War. This newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) circulates around two of the most loved superheroes of today turning their backs on each other, and it is no surprise that it has been receiving a lot of attention. 

Like its predecessors, its excessive promotions and gripping trailers have been extremely successful in increasing the hype for the film. After its release in the U.S. on May 6, it has earned the title as the fifth best opening night of all time and exceeds expectations with a whooping $180 million domestic debut. Styled with an intriguing plot and flawlessly adorned with breathtaking fight scenes, this new MCU movie is definitely worth the watch.

The film starts off by introducing the new Avengers team, which now consists of several new members. The team now includes characters such as Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The world has developed a fear of the actions of superheroes. They doubt that they can truly protect the people when they cause so much destruction, including innocent casualties, and dismiss it as the greater good. Thus, the United Nations pressures the Avengers to sign a document that allows the government to oversee and direct their actions. 

Upset that the Avengers could not be able to defend humanity without government interference, Captain America (Chris Evans) claims that this document robs them of their right to freely choose what they believe is the correct thing to do. On the other hand, Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) announces that he fully supports the idea of a government body overseeing the team. This disagreement causes the Avengers to split in half, with those against the signing siding with Steve Rogers and those for it teaming up alongside Tony Stark.

“I really enjoyed Captain America: Civil War. It had a good balance between lighthearted, fast paced action scenes and emotional, truth-revealing moments,” said sophomore Rebecca Muratore.

This third Captain America film features many stars of the first two Avengers movies. Sebastian Stan returns as the Winter Soldier/Bucky and plays a large role as Captain America’s childhood best friend. As he was brainwashed to become a human weapon by HYDRA, the actions of his past still haunt his present self. 

Other featured characters include Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and the recently introduced hero Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). In addition, the role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker was passed along to young actor Tom Holland after a long awaited debut. Although fans have been skeptical about how Holland would portray this age-old hero, many are praising him for his surprisingly fitting performance. 

Furthermore, Chadwick Boseman plays new superhero Black Panther, who is set to release a stand-alone movie in 2018. With quite the exceptional cast, it is no surprise that this film was able to blow up to become such a huge blockbuster success.

“I thought the direction they took the movie in was interesting because they made a huge change in the storyline in the movie from the original comics,” said sophomore Cameron Helman.

Captain America: Civil War officially kicks off Phase 3 of the MCU, which takes place after Ultron is defeated and the superhero alliance known as the Avengers start to fall apart. While chaos is coming about, a new set of heroes begin to emerge. Many new films were announced to be released for Phase 3, such as Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), and Inhumans (TBA). The concept of collecting all of the Infinity Stones, which has been an ongoing plot since the latter portion of Phase One, is set to end by the final movie of this phase.

Directed by the Russo brothers, this blockbuster hit has been receiving much praise ever since its recent release. With its current rating of 90% on the popular movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, this new Marvel film is off to a great start. Complete with an action-packed storyline and a strong cast, Captain America: Civil War will definitely not disappoint.