“He’s my friend.”

“So was I.”

This is the exchange between Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) that stirred excitement around the world when the “Captain America: Civil War” trailer was released in the fall of 2015. After what seemed like ages, the Marvel Studios film hit theaters in the U.S. on May 6, and grossed over $180 million over the first weekend.

In “Civil War”, the Avengers are torn apart when governments from many countries draw an agreement called the Sokovia Accords, where the Avengers may only perform duties under their command. The governments’ justification behind this is that though the Avengers also hurt many innocent lives and destroy buildings wherever they fight enemies.

At the same time, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is accused of a terrorist act, and is hunted down by the government, though Rogers believes that Barnes is innocent. After twists and turns, Barnes and Rogers end up confronting the “true” villain later in the movie, who has also been contributing to the conflict among the Avengers.

Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, “Civil War” showcases plenty of high-energy action scenes, while bringing humor where it is necessary. The early fight sequences were particularly engaging, due to the choppy, yet swift camerawork. Other Marvel characters not in the Avengers movies were also present, adding further excitement for the audience. In addition, the movie had the role of giving a taste of what to expect in upcoming Marvel Studios films.

First and foremost, though the script wasn’t written in the most clever way, “Civil War” doesn’t fail to forcefully communicate its characters’ feelings. For example, one may go to see the movie clearly siding with Captain America, but may leave the theater undecided. Neither of the opposing sides in “Civil War” is a clear antagonist, provoking discussion on the Avengers’ dilemma.

Characters’ relationships are also developed greatly. There are multiple instances where Rogers’ pledges himself to keeping Barnes safe from his pursuers. Evans and Stan’s best performances in the film are during the scenes where their characters are together. However, the interaction between Barnes and Sam Wilson Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is equally enjoyable to watch. Wanda Maximoff Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) also have interesting interactions, as both of them have powers that are more based on the supernatural, but take opposing sides in regards to the Sokovia Accords.

As mentioned, it is obvious that “Civil War” was used to set up future Marvel Studios movies. T’Challa Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) had considerable screen time, and was an expressive, memorable character. Though many details about him are not revealed, both comic books fans and purely Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will be looking forward to the “Black Panther” movie coming in 2018.

The audience also gets to see the new Peter Parker Spider-Man actor, Tom Holland. Despite previous adversity towards the fact that the Spider-Man franchise is being rebooted for the third time in the 2000s, Holland shows a lot of promise. Since he is younger than the other actors who played Parker, Holland is better fit to convey high-school Parker’s personality as the nerdy kid with great curiosity. The only problem was that Parker’s involvement in this movie seemed like a cameo to get the audience excited for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” set for release in 2017. Parker has little screen time in “Civil War”, and overall did not contribute to the outcome of the movie itself.

Are the Avengers hurting too many civilians, and do they need to be kept in check by a government organization? Or will the government’s ulterior motives only hinder the Avengers from doing their work, ultimately costing even more lives? “Civil War” is one of the better Marvel films, and largely overshadows the DC comics-based movie released earlier this year, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. “Civil War” is successful in keeping the audience entertained, and though there are ways it could have been improved, the movie was definitely worth waiting for.

Watch the trailer: