BEST NEW FEATURE
dir. by Joe and Anthony Russo
In 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sheer scale of property damage was upped to unprecedented levels for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). At the time, it seemed like a shift away from the relative damage control that the original Avengers was retroactively praised for upon the release of 2013's Man of Steel, and worse, a dip into generic, pandering action movie tropes. Captain America: Civil War, the beginning of the third "phase" of the MCU, had not only the tough job of improving upon the widely-beloved Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but also the duty of restoring faith in this franchise after Age of Ultron proved so polarizing. While Civil War is unfortunately not as tight as The Winter Soldier, it provides a sprawling, introspective look at the Avengers and their place in the world that not only deepens the Marvel universe, but makes Age of Ultron better by extension, all while remaining gripping throughout.
