American audiences will have to wait until next week to see “Captain America: Civil War,” but the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has already hit theaters across Europe, Asia and South America.
And like early stateside reviews, critics around the world are raving over the third standalone “Captain America” film, with some calling it Marvel’s best yet.
The film currently sits at 94 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on a sampling of 82 reviews. Critics praise “Captain America: Civil War” as “surreal, engaging and funny,” and a “high note” in the franchise, noting co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo‘s deft balance of action, humor and character development.
Read a few of “Civil War’s” international reviews below:
Donald Clarke, The Irish Times (Ireland):
“Let us be frank. After the loose stool that was ‘Batman V. Superman,’ the latest Marvel film merely had to turn up to win the summer’s critical death match. If ‘Captain America’ spent two hours impersonating farmyard animals, the picture would still seem like a breath of fresh air. I’m happy to relate that, like its predecessors in the Marvel Comics Universe, the disingenuously titled ‘Captain America: Civil War’ hammers forward like a well-maintained locomotive.”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK):
“It’s crazily surreal, engaging and funny in the best Marvel tradition, building to a whiplash-twist reveal that sports with the ever-present idea of duplicity and betrayal within the Avengers’ ranks themselves.”
Anthony Morris, SBS (Australia):
“No doubt this is the kind of high note Marvel would like to continue indefinitely across the franchise. This is still a (small) step down from Winter Solider though, suggesting this particular gritty corner of the Marvel Universe might be showing some fatigue. The emotional core of this film is its real strength. Downey Jr and Evans have played their characters for so long now that their history gives this somewhat thinly scripted feud real weight. Marvel might not get this lucky with casting in the future; enjoy this double act while you can.”
James Mottram, South China Morning Post (China):
“With a third-act twist that gets Iron Man all misty-eyed, Captain America: Civil War is a film that puts characters before carnage. Alongside Joss Whedon‘s first Avengers, it’s the best Marvel movie yet.”
John Lui, The Strait Times (Singapore):
“To its credit, the villain is not a deus ex machina alien baddie with powers written to thwart their combined strengths, but a human with a cunning plan. That story takes a while to get its engine revved up, and in a movie two-and-a-half hours long, that first act can feel like an eternity. But once the plot kicks in, things chug along nicely, though action scenes are blighted by shaky camera syndrome.”
Pablo Villaça, Cinema em Cina (Brazil, translated from Portuguese):
“Surely establishing itself as the best among all produced by Marvel so far, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ is fun without being reckless, serious about its issues without being artificially dark and — not least — a beautiful action spectacle, all without ever sacrificing the development of its characters.”
Jonathan Sánchez, Cinema Movil (Mexico, translated from Spanish):
“It is fair to say that ‘Captain America: Civil War’ is the best film that Marvel Studios has done so far. The script is round from start to finish, plus it leaves no loose ends and delivers a darker story than previous productions, full of intrigue and tense moments that take your breath away more than once; in addition to shocking secrets that will undoubtedly be decisive in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
“Captain America: Civil War” hits theaters stateside on May 6.