Captain America: Civil War (Film, 2016)

If you haven't seen Civil War by now, then shame on you, because it's a great comic book film.

There has been a heck of a lot of history established via the previous Marvel films. We've seen tensions build throughout the solo Iron Man, Captain America and Ant-Man films, not to mention of course the two Avengers flicks. By the time Iron Man and Cap trade blows, it's not unexpected: it's inevitable. Unlike Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this is a film that earns the right to have its main characters at loggerheads. (And yes, perhaps it's unfair to pit Civil War against Batman v Superman, but if you have two rival franchises with similar themes, side by side in the cinema, then comparisons are unavoidable.There cannot be any question that Civil War is the better film, both in terms of craftsmanship and enjoyability.)

You see, unlike in Batman v Superman, the heroes in Civil War have very good reasons for fighting each other. It's established very early on that both Cap and Iron Man are having their own personal issues, which may or not be adversely affecting their thinking, and by the time Civil War reaches The Big Battle between the two sides, there is plenty of bad feeling behind every angry punch. What's also significant is that some allegiances are unexpected and sides are switched. This isn't a film that's eager to paint a black-and-white picture of internal conflict, and in the end there really aren't any winners or losers.

If all of this seems very heavy, don't forget that this is Marvel, not DC - there is a lot of humour, especially from the likes of the 'lighter' characters such as Ant-Man and Spider-Man. That's not to say that those characters are there for comedic relief, but they do fulfill that purpose very well; indeed, if Civil War hadn't come out so soon after BvS you could be forgiven for thinking that the former was almost mocking the latter's overly-dour drudge-fest.

Everything about Civil War has been carefully thought out by people who know what they're doing. The film's directors, the Russo brothers, were smart enough to know that the audience doesn't need another Spider-Man origin story (unlike Batman v Superman, in which we saw Bruce Wayne's parents murdered yet again). And it works in unexpected ways, too. Before this film, I felt little affection for many of the supporting characters - War Machine, Black Panther, Falcon, Hawkeye - but each had an important role to play, and all of them won me over in their own way. Well, maybe not Hawkeye.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay Civil War is this: I needed the toilet about 10 minutes into the movie, and while I kept waiting for a section that felt unimportant so that I could nip out to relieve myself, that section never arrived - the whole film was unmissable. And what's more, it was worth two hours of mild discomfort. In fact, I probably would have happily held on for another hour if necessary. It's really that good.