Movie Review: Captain America: Civil War

All the Superheros

Captain America: Civil War (2016): Political interference in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man.

You know, when I watched Batman V. Superman I mentioned I was feeling superhero'd out. I hadn't watched a great superhero film since Guardians of the Galaxy, and the films were starting to become far too serious than they actually should be. But then Captain America: Civil War comes along and reminds me what a great superhero film is like and why this genre can be an absolute blast. Now, there are some problems with this film, but ultimately? Yes. It is an amazing spectacle and just might be the best superhero movie to date.

Let's talk about positives first. The list of actors in this franchise at this point is ridiculous, and almost all of them show up here. But let's talk about the newcomers, because these were the people that really stood out to me. First off, Daniel Bruhl. His performance was awesome as the "villain" of the film, but his character was somewhat underutilized. But, the man who just might be the most underrated actor in the business right now brings it in his biggest performance yet. Then there's Tom Holland. This relative newcomer (though he does have some experience alongside Thor in the underwhelming In the Heart of the Sea) easily captured the hearts of everyone in the theater as Peter Parker. It only took one scene for me to be so thankful that Marvel finally got the rights back to this beloved character. He is somewhat underutilized in this film, but Tom Holland did more than I ever could've imagined in his limited screen time. Martin Freeman also shows up for just a few scenes and has VERY little to do in this film. It's obvious that his character will be used more in upcoming films, which I look forward to seeing. My favorite of the newcomers, though, was definitely Chadwick Boseman. If I took anything out of this film, it's that I cannot WAIT for Black Panther. Boseman quickly became my favorite of the group, which is saying something because I've always considered Spider-Man to be my favorite superhero. But I digress. This film really is an actor's showcase, but I'll talk about some other positives. The action. Zack Snyder, can you PLEASE take some notes about how this action was shot and, you know, do that? It wasn't perfect, but dear God was the big fight scene between the superheros better choreographed than Batman v. Superman. AND the Russo brothers were smart enough to film this in DAYLIGHT. You know, where you could SEE everything. Wow! What an amazing concept!

Buuuuuuut it was not perfect by any means. First off, HOLY CRAP THIS FILM IS WAY TOO LONG. This film comes in at 146 minutes , and it could've very easily dropped about 30 minutes off of that. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I have no problem with a film being long if it's filled with content, but there were definitely some scenes here that felt like excess fat as this film tried to establish some "seriousness" where there shouldn't be any. There were some great jokes to help us take a break from the tone of most of the film, (the banter between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan was some of the best banter I've ever seen in a superhero movie) but overall the film was too long and too serious. What other issues did I have? Right. The action. The big superhero fight of the film had too many cliches. Too many times would a certain superhero be in just the right spot at just the right moment to do just the right thing that some other superhero needed to have happen to, supposedly, save their life. It was a little eye-rolling during what should've been easily the best moments of the film. Finally, we come to my biggest gripe of this film as a "fan." We have now had two films where Vision, the character who, in my opinion, is BY FAR the most interesting character in this entire franchise, has been MASSIVELY underutilized. I get that they kind of have to do this to him since he is essentially a god, but they could've given him more screen time talking AT LEAST. The scenes where Vision was explaining his motives and thought-processes were easily the most interesting scenes of the film. Why isn't he getting his own film??? PLEASE CHANGE THIS MARVEL All that said....this film is still a great film and will definitely stand the test of time as one of the best superhero films to come out of this whole craze. Well done, Marvel. Thanks for reminding us that superhero films can actually be fun.

The Critique: While not perfect, Civil War is a refreshing reminder of how much fun superhero movies can actually be.

The Recommendation: Everyone is going to see this film so, uhhhhhhh.....go see this film. That's all I have to say about that.

Rewatchability: Moderately High

The Verdict: 7/10 Good


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