End Credits: Captain America: Civil War

And so the Marvel franchise juggernaut rolls on, without showing any signs of wear and tear.

Despite the name, this isn’t a standalone Captain America story but, with characters like Iron Man and Black Widow taking key roles, more like an Avengers ensemble movie following on from Age of Ultron.

An opening fight between the Avengers team and villain Crossbones results in civilian deaths in Lagos, and the destruction that comes hand in hand with such confrontations becomes impossible to ignore. The Avengers are called upon to surrender their independence and come under the control of the UN.

While Tony Stark (Iron Man) and others agree to this demand, others including Captain America insist on the Avengers’ autonomy and a war of words quickly descends into a war of fists, stirred up by a mysterious German doctor who is the real villain.

We’re now entering what is described as phase three of this Marvel franchise of films, and if you’ve not been keeping up with it, this probably isn’t the place to start. But this film is a welcome addition to the ongoing Marvel project, full of action and wit, and one that shows there is still plenty of terrain left to explore.

Christian Lisseman