After
eight years of bringing superheroes and their stories to life, Marvel Studios
has finally reached the third phase of their Cinematic Universe. From the
beginnings with “Iron Man,” to the insanity of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” each
of the films have been very successful in both box office numbers and favorable
reviews across the map. And with the characters in place and the world spinning
in progress, it’s time to start the summer blockbuster season with a war. But
not just any war, but “Captain America: Civil War.”
I’ve
talked about the previous “Captain America” movies before, but here’s a bit of
a recap. “The First Avenger” still stands as my favorite of the Phase 1 films,
and is one of those films that I love more, every time I watch it. It gets me with its
great World War II setting, the underdog story, the lovable characters, and all
around fun atmosphere. What Joe Johnston gave to us was a love letter to that
era of propaganda films, where we root for the All-American icon that we
aspired to be, during times that were at their worst. Hell, that’s what Captain
America was when the comic was first released.
“The
Winter Soldier,” directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, took a lot of the elements
that were great about the first film and turned it up to eleven. The action was
better, the acting was better, but the writing is what really sells it. Not
only was it a superhero film, it was an action spy flick. The protagonist going
undercover, hiding from allies that are double-crossers, limited people to back
him up, discovering an evil organization still alive and working, it’s all so
enticing to watch. To me, this was Marvel Studios best written film and my
favorite of the MCU…that is until “Guardians of the Galaxy” took the latter
spot.
Now when
it came to “Civil War,” I was in a bit of a mix here. On one hand, the Russo
Brothers were returning to direct, but on the other hand, it had to follow up
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Ant-Man,” which were both underwhelming,
especially when trying to follow up the two before them. So did “Civil War”
live up to the hype that it was building up since its announcement? In some
ways, it really does.
After a
mission in Lagos goes wrong, the United Nations decides to put up a bill
restricting the Avengers on their missions, which divides the team up. Tony
Stark believes it’s for the better to keep the world safe and the team in
check, but Steve Rogers believes it’s against everything he stands for. And
with Bucky still on the loose and framed for murder, it becomes an all-out war
between Team Iron Man and Team Captain America.
Now let me
say, the action in this film is spectacular and very exciting. It really keeps
the intense and “fuck yeah!” nature that “Winter Soldier” had, and never gets
boring. Each of the main players gets their time in the spotlight, showcasing
what they can do, and none of them get overshadowed by the other. The Russo
Brothers really nail their eye for action, and I’m glad that they’re taking the
helm for “Infinity War.” The best scene by far is when the two sides clash at
the airport, which I’m sure fans had a huge nerdgasm while watching.
I also
enjoyed how they addressed the issue at hand that makes Tony and Steve go head
to head. Not everyone is safe from harm during the Avengers’ missions, and that
people still die no matter the situation. Heroes are always going to make sure
people survive, but it isn’t always going to be 100% successful. What’s the
better solution to handling it: restricting one’s self to the government’s
control or keeping one on the loose, both for the sake of the people? It felt like this was
the film “Batman V Superman” was trying to be, only this one felt more balanced. As you watch the film, both sides have very convincing arguments,
and that there isn’t really a good or bad side to any of this…that is, except
for one thing, but I’ll talk about that soon.
The
returning actors from previous MCU films all do great. They show a great deal
of growth from the previous encounters, and when they take sides, you do see
where they’re coming from. As the film’s release was approaching, there were
two characters that had me either excited or nervous. The one that made me
excited was T’Challa aka The Black Panther. Much like with Wonder Woman in “BVS,”
it was such a magnificent sight to see the ruler of Wakanda finally realized in
a big budget action film. His storyline was very interesting too, having a
vendetta against the Winter Soldier for the death of his father, and going with
the side against him to make sure his vengeance is satisfied. It really fleshes
out nicely, and I have to give props to Chadwick Boseman for his brilliant performance
in the role. After “42” and “Get On Up,” it really pleases me to know that this
fresh actor is getting more work in the future. Now the one character that made
me nervous was of course Spiderman. Now my worry about this character being in
the movie wasn’t because Andrew Garfield wasn’t playing him anymore (which I was still upset about), but rather
that the film was possibly going to exploit him as to say “WE GOT THIS CASH
COW, AND WE’RE GOING TO MILK IT AS LONG AS WE CAN BEFORE SONY TAKES IT BACK!” But
I’m happy to report that they treated Spidey very decently. He may only show up
for a small margin of the film, but I think it’s a pretty good introduction to
the character. As for Tom Holland’s performance, I thought it was pretty good.
The way he embodied his performance kind of reminded of “The Spectacular
Spiderman” (the best Spiderman cartoon by far). He was a smart alack, he’s
quick with his reflexes, but is still inexperienced. Is he the best actor to
play Spiderman? Well…I can’t confirm that yet, at least until his solo film
next year, but with what I’ve seen, I’m liking it.
Now with
all the praise I’ve given it, is it the best MCU movie? No, not really. In
fact, I don’t think it’s the best “Captain America” movie either. Why? Well,
the villain of this movie sucks. Zemo is just a generic waste of time,
especially compared to Crossbones. Yeah, Crossbones, who appeared in “Winter
Soldier,” is in this film…for about 10 minutes. For a film called “Captain
America: Civil War,” you’d think it’d have a Captain America villain. Or better
yet, with a film that already has conflict between the two sides, why do we
even need a villain? That, and the climax of this film, while good, felt tacked
on. With how big of a brawl the airport scene was, did we really need to pause and
go to a new location for a two on one battle? And it goes back to Zemo, where
his big plan is to show Iron Man, Cap, and Bucky a recording of Howard Stark
being killed by the Winter Soldier. Okay, two things. First: didn’t we already
establish that Bucky killed Howard Stark in the “Winter Soldier” movie? It’s
been a couple years, so I might be wrong on this, but I believe they did establish that. And two: what would have
happened if Iron Man didn’t show up? Seriously, Zemo was planning on Iron Man
showing up, after getting info on Cap’s location from his team. What if they
didn’t tell Stark were to go at all? Think about it. As for the two post-credit
scenes, are they worth sitting through? Not really. On the plus side, there are
teases for upcoming Phase 3 films, but they don’t really say that much aside
from what we know now. You won’t be missing much.
So with
all that I’ve said, do I recommend “Captain America: Civil War?” Yes, I do.
While the climax might not be as big as the Avengers brawl, and the villain is
awful, the rest of the film is still really solid. The action, the story, the
themes, the characters, everything else about it is definitely worth seeing. And if
you’ve been watching these films up to this point, might as well continue on.
Rating: 8/10
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