Review Captain America: Civil War film review by Gavin
Written By Gavin on 2016-08-16 22:49:57
Captain America: Civil War is the thirteenth movie in Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the first movie in the third phase of the MCU. The third movie in the Captain America trilogy, narratively the movie continues from its predecessors Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as the events depicted in recent MCU movies such as Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: The Dark World. The Avengers (Thor and Hulk are absent) are brought to bear for the collateral damage that has accumulated from their repeated attempts to save our world from ever-increasing threats with the Sokovia Accords, a petition signed by 117 countries demanding the Avengers be governed by a committee that will determine if and when they are needed. Tony Stark bearing the guilt of having created Ultron believes in the accords, Steve Rogers, however, does not, believing the Avengers should be free from political agendas and free to determine their own actions. This segregation of the Avengers is widened through the actions of Sokovian terrorist Baron Zemo creating the MCU's version of Marvels Civil War.
Spider-Man
Tom Holland appears as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, brought into the Civil War by Tony Stark with the promise of a whole new costume to replace the homemade 'onesie' outfit he has used thus far. Along with Paul Rudd's Ant-Man for Team Captain America, everyone's favorite wall-crawler is perfectly utilized as the comic relief for the movie during the 'Airport scene' seen in trailers. The young British actors performance as Marvels premier web-slinger is lifted straight from the comic pages and cartoon series that have helped make the character so popular, and his reference to The Empire Strikes Back as 'that old movie' is both hilarious and revealing (to audiences of a certain age) at the same time. Based on his performance in Civil War I am looking forward to Spider-Man Homecoming.
Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa is a challenging role. The prince of Wakanda donning a cat-man suit doesn't sound very appealing, yet Boseman's performance is A-grade. Driven by revenge the Black Panther is a vicious, brutal and dangerous beast. The characters introduction is quite frankly amazing and one of the best chase sequences in any action movie. The physicality of the character is matched by Boseman's iron-jawed, straight-laced performance that honors the characters popularity among fans and the characters narrative in this movie. As with Spider-Man, based on his performance in this film alone I am looking forward to seeing Chadwick Boseman in the solo Black Panther movie.
The Real Avengers 2
While Civil War features more superhuman characters than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice I never felt overwhelmed by the barrage of Marvel characters. All of the characters are given their chance to develop enough within the narrative to serve the decisions they make, which is a feat in itself considering how many characters are featured. Unlike DC's offering earlier this year, when the heroes clash you are curious as to which ones will emerge the victor, especially during the airport scene. While the airport scene is the biggest scene in scale, it is the final battle towards the films end that carries much more impact.
The End of an Era
In the world of the comics, Bucky Barnes was originally a teenage sidekick to Captain America, much like Robin has been to Batman but in 1968 Marvel killed off Bucky and rescinded from using the plot device of the teenage sidekick. Yet in 2005 Bucky returned as the assassin The Winter Soldier. Looking back at the Captain America trilogy of movies one thing becomes clear - Steve Rogers would die for his friend Bucky. Despite all of the friendships he has forged while serving as an Avenger, to Rogers his one true friend is Bucky. And in the movies closing battle, it is that devotion that forever drives a rift between Rogers and Stark. The resulting fight is one as an audience we don't want but accept is inevitable and must be, for a fan of these movies it was heartbreaking to see this confrontation and the brutality behind it.
Final Thoughts
The aftermath of the events in this movie gives Marvel Studios a new, fresh and interesting slate upon which to take us towards the Infinity Wars. The Russo brothers may have impressed many with The Winter Soldier but with Civil War, they have hit a resounding home run of a movie. The heartbreak I felt during the movie's final battle is a testament to the talents to the screenwriters (Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely), the directors (Anthony and Joe Russo), and the cast to weave together such a tangled narrative down into such a simple yet effective confrontation between loyalty and vengeance. Captain America: Civil War is not only the best movie I've seen this year, but the best movie Marvel Studios has made yet. Oh, and Stan Lee's cameo is golden!
Scified Star Rating
4 out of 5
"... a resounding home run of a movie"
