The “Captain America: Civil War” Review

Captain America: Civil War is the genesis of Phase Three as well as the 13th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A remarkable franchise that began in 2008. Civil War takes place one year after the Avengers: Age of Ultron. The loss of innocent lives directly or indirectly because of gifted humans breaks the Avengers into opposing groups which are led by Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

World leaders begin to push for the The Sokovia Accords; basically the world governments want to decide when, where, and how superheroes can react to threats around the world. The film does a good job showing both sides of the argument. Not just with political talking points, but with an abundance of guilt, common sense, and interesting scientific points of view. It’s a tad bit different from the source material. In the comic, superhumans are afraid to give up their secret identities, and wish to simply be left alone. In the MCU secret identities do not exist, therefore the film is more about world governments demanding accountability and control of “gifted” individuals.

If you’re a fan of witty banter, Civil War has a plethora of that. The characters don’t just talk to kill time, rather every kind of interaction only serves to develop them. There really isn’t a hero on Team Cap, or Team Iron Man that you won’t care about. With the amount of people in this film, that’s not easy to do. Black Panther and Spider-Man are without a doubt a glorious sight to see. Tom Holland IS Spider-Man now. He did a fantastic job playing a young Peter Parker. I knew the Web Head would have the audience’s attention, but going in I wasn’t sure about Panther. No need to worry, Marvel did a great job showing off how much of a bad ass he is (that epic intro though). Chadwick Boseman’s take on the iconic hero was amazing. I was also impressed with how well his accent was.

Every fight scene was enjoyable and did a good job furthering the development of the characters. The battle at the airport was nerdgasmic. Yes, I know that really isn’t a word, but you get the idea. The final act is when things get downright dark and twisted. When you see it, you will know what I mean. At that point, the political views are tossed out the window. It no longer matters if Captain America or Iron Man is right about Sokovia Accords. Basically you will say to yourself, “Shit Just Got Real”, trust me. This scene reminds me of someone trying to get their idiot friend out of a bad situation right after he started some shit with the biggest guy in the room. This is when Robert Downey Jr. truly shines. I guess that’s why he makes the big bucks.

Though I truly enjoyed Captain America: Civil War, there are some things that bothered me. Where is Nick Fury? He played a major role in putting together the Avengers. Wouldn’t it be ideal to have him some where in this film? Where the Hell is Agent Coulson? Isn’t it about time the Avengers find out he’s still alive? At the very least, Black Widow and Hawkeye should know he’s back. And lastly, Marvel needs to decide if and when they are going to let the Movie Universe acknowledge what is going on in the TV-verse. People such as myself are frothing from the mouth for some sort of major crossover. I’m not asking for much. When Stark and Rodgers were putting their teams together, would it have killed Marvel to have a Daredevil, Jessica Jones, or Luke Cage mention? Speaking of Luke Cage, I believe actress Alfre Woodard (who is in Civil War) is playing the same character in the Luke Cage Netflix series. Just a hunch. Why is that? In her emotional scene with Tony Stark, she never said her name; only that she worked for the government. In the Luke Cage series, she is playing a politician. I guess only time will tell if my hunch is correct. [Update: My hunch was wrong, oh well]

So how does Civil War rank among Marvel’s best films? My personal favorites are Avengers 1, Captain America: Winter Solider, and Guardians of the Galaxy. This third Captain America movie deserves to be put on that list; a Mount Rushmore if you will. CW has everything you want in a comic book movie. Action, humor, character development, nice Easter eggs for nerds like myself, and some nice surprises. Some might not like the villain Zemo, but he was able to do what no other criminal in the MCU has done so far. I enjoyed the dark way he pulled it off. Without spoiling it, pay close attention to the final thing he says.

Marvel’s hard work really shows in this movie. They have mastered the template of having big name characters ascend others to the next level while taking all of us on a wild ride. It’s also a good bridge to the upcoming Spider-Man and Black Panther films. Captain America: Civil War epitomizes why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is so popular.