'Civil War' divides Avengers in action-packed sequel

The superhero-stuffed "Captain America: Civil War" - an engaging if overwrought series of vibrant visual effects sequences featuring furiously fast fights choreographed by editing software - takes on surprisingly complex political issues in Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's dense and prickly screenplay.

Should the Avengers be a regulated entity or remain free-market superheroes? Are the Avengers social saviors or just vigilantes with cool costumes?

And what about the collateral damage when the Avengers lay waste to cityscapes while battling sinister forces?

Good questions, yet this movie - a sequel to "Captain America: Winter Soldier" and a third "Avengers" adventure - begins on a clunker note when Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) says to her fellow superheroes: "You guys know I can move things by using my mind, right?" (Isn't that like Superman asking Lois Lane if she knows he can leap tall buildings in a single bound?)

"Civil War" quickly recovers. During a mission in Lagos with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Wanda loses control of her telekinetic powers, allowing an explosion to go off in a high-rise, resulting in many fatalities.

The U.S. secretary of state (William Hurt, impressive as a voice of reason) acts quickly, insisting the Avengers come under the control of the United Nations as demanded by 117 concurring nations.

Robert Downey Jr.'s pragmatic Iron Man/Tony Stark, perhaps wracked with guilt over the deaths caused at the end of "Age of Ultron," says they must comply now to avoid more serious restrictions later.

Wanda, Natasha, Lt. James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle), even the blue humanoid entity the Vision (Paul Bettany) see his point.

But Rogers says no, no, no! The Avengers can't compromise their autonomy. A chilling faceoff tests friendships and convictions.

"Civil War" brings in Rogers' estranged best bud Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), a super assassin thawed out of a cryogenic deep-freeze in 1991 to be the Winter Soldier. He figures into a seriously edgy subplot about loss and outrage, with Daniel Bruhl's nefarious villain proving to be a super manipulator.

A good amount of self-aware humor permeates the challenging two-hour, 26-minute running time of this movie.

Youthful British actor Tom Holland pumps Marvelous fun into "Civil War" as Peter Parker, playing him exactly as I remember him from the 1960s Stan Lee "Spider-Man" comic books.

Holland, assuming the role from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, nails Parker as a naive science nerd and unlikely superhero constantly worried that his doting Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) will discover his secret crime-fighting identity.

He contributes to a bizarre superhero pile-on of Marvel denizens, among them Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther (out to avenge his father's murder), along with Paul Rudd's Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye, who pop in for enjoyably superfluous, virtual shout-outs to lighten things up.

In the end, you'd think all the discussions about collateral damage would impact superhero behavior in this story.

Nope.

Wanda punches a huge hole through the floors in a high-rise without considering she might be killing people below. Later, the Avengers don't hesitate to destroy a few floors of a packed parking garage.

Is all that talk about superhero responsibility just super lip service?

Am I overthinking a comic book movie?

Or are the filmmakers not thinking enough?

“Captain America: Civil War”

★ ★ ★

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Sebastian Stan, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd

Directed by: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Other: A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 147 minutes