Captain America: Civil War Review

With an excellent story, tight plotting, and compelling characters, Captain America: Civil War is the best Marvel Cinematic Universe installment yet. This movie is sure to become a new standard in comic book adaptations.

Captain America: Civil War has an official US opening date of Friday, March 6, 2016, but we all know that hardcore fans always see their favorite films the night before. That’s right, yours truly just got back from the theater. How was it? Well, from the title of this review, you can bet that I’m still composing myself. So to give myself a little bit of breathing time, I’m going to blurt out a few quick words to describe Cap’s third “solo” outing:

Emotional …

Hilarious …

Heartwrenching …

Thrilling …

Action-packed …

People who haven’t seen this movie will probably ask, “What type of film is this? It sounds like something with a personality disorder.” That’s the magic of Marvel Studios. Its superhero films defy genres, and Captain America: Civil War defies them like no other. It is truly an achievement for superhero films. This is The Dark Knight reincarnated. With characters who have fully grown and evolved since their previous movies, and a complex plot that can go up against any Nolan film, Captain America: Civil War will be a new gold standard.

Warning: There may be some spoilers beyond this point

The story starts out simple. Captain America leads his team of new Avengers to stop Crossbones from acquiring a biological weapon. In the ensuing fight, Crossbones attempts to suicide bomb himself and take Cap with him. Scarlet Witch saves Cap by creating a protective bubble around Crossbones, sealing in the explosion. However, she releases the explosion’s energy into a nearby building filled with civilians — killing most of the people inside.

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Because of this incident, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, supporting a United Nations proposal, meets with the Avengers to have them sign the Sokovia Accords — the establishment of an oversight committee that will manage the Avengers. Tony Stark, after meeting with the mother of a young man who was killed in Sokovia, is so guilt-ridden that he fully agrees with this new policy. The Avengers are immediately divided: some side with Cap and feel that this accord will infringe on personal liberties; and some side with Tony, believing that control is what’s needed to keep the world safe.

The magic of this story lies with the script and directing. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and the directing team of Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have an innate understanding of escalation. Things don’t go haywire right off the bat. We get stepping stones to things that are larger. When everything does blow up, the audience understands why it happened — allowing everyone to empathize, as well as sympathize with the extreme reactions of each character.

It’s hard not to talk about the year’s other superhero versus superhero film — Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — when talking about Captain America: Civil War, especially in terms of plotting and escalation. The Warner Bros. film dialed up the hate from the start. This resulted in an audience being confused and not invested in the characters, giving way to people describing it as cold and without heart.

Captain America: Civil War helps the audience understand what the conflict is and lets us decide for ourselves. Trust me, there is no right or wrong side here. The creative team did a fantastic job in exploring questions, but never dictating to us an answer. When the lines are initially drawn between Team Cap and Team Iron Man, you will find yourself seeing both sides as reasonable. Members from both teams have compelling arguments advocating for and against signing the Sokovia Accords.

Again, comparing it to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War is a story with a strong emotional throughline. In the face-off between Batman and Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the battle is so rage-filled that it becomes ridiculous and comedic. Captain America: Civil War doesn’t compromise character traits for the sake of excitement and shock. The fights between the teams show belief in their own respective ideals, but are never vindictive. There is no animosity, making the battles and their drive as realistic as can be.

This is a movie that explores real issues in a fun and compelling way. And what fun it was seeing the characters interact with each other.

If this is Robert Downey, Jr.’s final outing as Iron Man, he is surely leaving on a high note. The character of Tony Stark has come full circle. Once a freewheeling playboy, Tony now plays parent to his Avengers. There are still small quips and one-liners from our favorite billionaire, but there is a heavy streak of seriousness. Everything he does now is cautious. He cares and is not afraid to show it. In a very poignant scene at the beginning of the movie, we see Tony show regret for what he should’ve said to his parents before they died. This is a grown up Tony Stark, and he has fully evolved since we first saw him in 2008.

Let’s not forget about Cap. After all, this is still his movie. Chris Evans is as comfortable as ever playing the greatest patriot. What was once seen as a slightly cheesy character is now one of the most complex in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He too has secrets, and he hides them for the wrong reasons. In terms of character development, this film is Cap’s finest moment.

The supporting players (and trust me, there are a lot of them) never feel shoehorned in. Every character served his or her purpose and was fully realized. It’s true that a couple were just introduced in the middle of the film, but that’s because the Marvel Cinematic Universe has earned it. They’ve developed these characters so much in other films that the audience is ready to lap up anything that’s thrown at us. It’s a large cast, but it’s not overcrowded. Think of it like a Thanksgiving dinner. When was the last time you complained that there were too many side dishes?

There’s too much to praise about this film: plotting, story, character, action scenes, etc. One review will not do it justice. However, if there’s one thing to take away from this review it’s this: Captain America: Civil War is a film that invests in its characters and never lets the audience question why we’re following them. This is the highest compliment you can give a storyteller. We all know that characters drive a story. The cast of characters in Captain America: Civil War don’t just get behind a wheel, they get behind the stick of a fighter jet, supersonic speeding us to the end. We have reached a new era in comic book adaptations.

Make sure that you also visit Christina’s breakdown of the mid and post-credits scenes.

Have you seen Captain America: Civil War? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.

Next: Captain America: Civil War Mid And Post-Credits Scenes

Captain America: Civil War – Official Synopsis: Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

Captain America: Civil War has a United States release date of May 6, 2016. It will be directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, star Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, Robert Downy Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon, Paul Bettany as Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes / War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Agent 13, Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones, William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther, Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo, John Slattery as Howard Stark, Kerry Condon as F.R.I.D.A.Y., Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Alfre Woodard as Miriam Sharpe, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, John Kani as T’Chaka, and Hope Davis as Maria Stark.

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Captain America: Civil War Review – An Impressive Achievement

By Steve Lam | May 6, 2016

With an excellent story, tight plotting, and compelling characters, Captain America: Civil War is the best Marvel Cinematic Universe installment yet. This movie is sure to become a new standard in comic book adaptations.

Warning: There may be some spoilers beyond this point