It could be the slow, steady climb that started in 2008 with Iron Man that's brought us here. It could be the guiding hand (or controling cudgel) of Marvel Studios overlord Kevin Feige that's given us a single unified vision. It could be writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's lived-in wisdom that's led to organic story growth. Whatever it is, Captain America: Civil War is the strongest Marvel movie yet and - sorry Joss Whedon devotees - the best Avengers movie hands down.

When Marvel started this experiment, comeback kid Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire tech titan Tony Stark/Iron Man was the series' darling. But when Samuel L. Jackson's Nicky Fury appeared in the post-credit cookie, it was clear the table was being set for bigger things. By the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit screens, Tony Stark had dipped into insufferably smug, while Markus and McFeely built Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) from the ground up and took him from old-fashioned and pure-hearted to complicated man out-of-time. Rogers' defining mid-century mentality looms large in Civil War, a character thread that is either a calculated stroke of genius or unbelievably good luck.

Picking up immediately after Avengers: Age of Ultron (and kicking off Marvel's Phase Three), the Avengers are dealing with the fallout from their alleged heroics in Sokovia and Stark is wrestling with the added guilt of having unleashed Ultron. After a disastrous mission in Lagos, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) presents the crew with the Sokovia Accords, a lengthy treaty agreed upon by over 100 countries that the Avengers should be policed by the UN and held accountable for their catastrophic actions. The idea gains traction when Rogers' troubled best buddy Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the Winter Soldier, seems to bomb a UN meeting in Vienna. On the regulation side is Stark, War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Across the table are Rogers, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Waffling on the line in the sand are Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and newcomer T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman, steely and dignified), also known as Black Panther. Also making appearances are Ant-Man, the formerly retired Hawkeye and possible Stark protg Peter Parker as a budding Spider-Man (Tom Holland). At the heart of it all is the enigmatic Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) - key to the entire story.

The urge to load up on bad guys has been the downfall of many a superhero movie (Amazing Spider-Man 2, Iron Man 2, The Dark Knight Rises). Civil War's lack of a central villain is a daring creative choice. Markus and McFeely generate conflict from within, pitting friend against friend in an ideological confrontation that seemed inevitable. By that token there are no bad guys, and the tragedy comes from watching the Avengers' fragile alliance crumble under the weight of a clash between its emotional (Stark) and intellectual (Rogers) beacons. Another odd choice to be sure, but a clever spin on the characters we think we know. Rogers' good soldiering has its limits, as does Stark's maverick independence.

Captain America: Civil War is a spectacular entertainment with plenty of allegorical meat on its bones to engage with between fights and effects. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who will helm 2018's concluding Avengers: Infinity War, aren't stylists, but they understand how to construct impeccable action set pieces (Barnes and Cap's staircase tussle, Leipzig airport) and balance those with significant character moments and some much-needed humor (largely courtesy of Paul Rudd's Ant-Man). Civil War isn't perfect but Evans, Downey and the rest of the cast make for a well-oiled machine, and their collective ability to make their characters visible above the noise is what makes the rift such a compelling drama. This is the superhero throwdown we were all hoping for from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, one that proves patience is indeed a virtue. Is it 2018 yet?

(HK Edition 04/29/2016 page8)