CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR- A Battle to Remember

"This job, you try to save as many people as you can. That doesn't mean everybody, but you don't give up". A quote said by Captain America himself (Chris Evans) in his new solo film by Marvel Studios, Captain America: Civil War, even though he is accompanied by an ensemble cast of Marvel superheroes including new and old allies. But nonetheless the film itself explores the meaning of this quote a lot and what it means to the very character of a superhero as two split factions of The Avengers try to explore this, one led by Cap and the other led by Iron Man aka Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). As more disastrous events occur around the world that involve the Avengers saving the day from protecting the globe from an alien invasion in Manhattan in the original Avengers, to recent events happening in the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron, there have been casualties which of course include innocent civilians dying. Many of the nations' government force an agreement called "The Sokovia Accords" on to the Avengers, in which they would answer to and be controlled by the UN on when they can interfere in global disasters. Cap does not agree with this as he believes the Avengers and himself has a right to take part in preventing global terrorism because that is their responsibility has noble super powered beings, as with Tony Stark, he's realized the casualties the Avengers have caused around the world and he believes the team needs a restraining leash in order to better prevent this. This of course causes a rift between the heroes, as many of the other Avengers choose their sides based on their personal morals. On top of that we have personal subplots that belong to many of these characters. Then on top of that we have the introduction of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and probably most aniticpated, Spider-Man (Tom Holland)! Also on top of that we have a subplot in where Cap tries to find and rehabilitate his old friend Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier while dealing with Stark and his pursuit for the First Avenger. AND on top of that, there is a new villain out there that goes by the name of Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), who is just making situations worse for Cap and the Avengers. And with ALL of this....this film more than succeeds from making this movie Captain America's despite the Avenegrs' subplots, but it totally delivers its promise of creating a mature and grounded superhero film that changes the game for both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superhero films in general. It created a standard that many studios should look at if they want to make a grand spectacle blockbuster, while at the same time creating relatable and developed characters and stories that we expect in great films.

 

Chris Evans nails it again as Captain America. Evans does a great job portraying the noble and ethical morale hero. The writing as well does a great service to our main lead as it helps both the character and actor go through several emotional and dramatic situations. The writing even fleshes out the noble Cap as not a perfect human being who at the times can make poor decisions and maybe even act a little selfish sometimes. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe progresses, the character of Tony Stark seems to evolve, as well as Robert Downey Jr's performance. Downey Jr. may have probably given the best acting performance from this character within this movie. A lot of the other characters that appear in this movie like Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and The Vision (Paul Bettany) all have engaging personal character arcs, and are all given solid performances and shining moments from their respective talents. All the characters have a point and purpose, and not just shoved into the film for the purpose of a grand spectacle.

 But of course I've got to talk about couple of new characters, which I both consider to be highlights of this movie. First there is Black Panther, also known as T'Challa the prince of the nation of Wakanda. Boseman and the writing of this character do an excellent job of bringing power, presence, and gravitas to this new hero. From the way Panther speaks to how he presents himself, and to how even his combat style is portrayed makes this character a sight to behold. Then of course, there is Tom Holland as our new Spider-Man! Now over the couple of years since the The Amazing  Spider-Man 2 had not pleased audiences, which caused that franchise to kick the bucket with Sony Pictures starting all over with Marvel Studios at their aide, which now allows the Spider-Man character to take part in the MCU. Now to a lot of people this caused many worries and frustration, as the a lot of people have caught Spidey fatigue and dread that they have to see YET ANOTHER rebooted Spider-Man franchise. So as you can guess this did not cause a lot of excitement for the new Tom Holland portrayal, so he had a lot of weight on his shoulders. Folks, fortunately I can say that Holland NAILS Spider-Man! It is still too early to say if he is the best Spider-Man we have seen, as we probably only get around a total of eighteen minutes of him in the entire movie. But let's just say with Marvel Studios and Tom Holland taking care of Spider-Man now, we can be rest assured that the character will be in great and caring hands after seeing Holland's performance and how overall this character is and will be portrayed in this universe. 

The movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been known to have some underwhelming antagonist, outside of Thor's devious brother Loki. I can see where one is coming from if they say Zemo joins that crowd, but I disagree a bit. Zemo, I can say without giving away anything, is a different type and refreshing kind of villain. It is mostly his wits, intentions, motivations, and mind games that make him stand out of most the villains we have seen in this universe. I enjoyed the type of character he was, even if he is significantly different from his portrayal in the comics. 

A lot of stuff are going on with the characters of this movie, but I think the main idea to take away from all of this is that so many of these superheroes have their personal arcs to go through, but this movie stays a Captain America movie and keeps the focus on his situations, struggles, and conflicts, internal and external. 




Joe and Anthony Russo return to direct this film, as they were previously in charge ofthe last Cap film, Captain America: The Winter Solider, which like this movie is also spectacular. The Russo Brothers have upgraded their game as they succeeded in telling a compelling and dramatic story, developed these great characters even further, and also giving us blockbuster grand spectacle action set pieces. One of the many highlights of the film is a superhero showdown taking place in an airport. In the trailers and promotional ads it seems like a standard fight, but trust me people it is WAY more than you think it is. After experiencing it, you feel like you have just exited the most exciting and adrenaline rushed roller coaster you have ever rode on. But there also other great and exciting action set pieces that are placed throughout the movie, not forgetting the climatic and tense filled combat between Captain America and Iron Man. 

Though throughout the promotions and marketing of this movie, in which they often asked audiences to choose a side, Team Captain America or Team Iron Man, once the story is presented to you, arguments from both sides of the conflict seem fleshed out, thought provoking, and even relatable. It is rare to find superhero films like this to address the accountability of these grand characters and ground them into reality. It is amazing how this film does take our characters into the dark and troubling places of reality, while at the same time basking the the fantastical and marvelous fun that can be had with these characters. I would say only very small gripes I have with the film is an out of left field romance that involves one of our leads with another character. But at least it sets up for a very funny visual gag. You'll see what I mean if you plan to or have already seen this movie. The other small issue is that I wished the movie ended on more of a bitter note, but it was more bittersweet with things kind of looking up, but not quite. Maybe it's the little cynic in me, but I just hoped for something a little more heart wrenching for the end. But overall those problems do not distract from the film as a whole for one bit, and I think after much thinking not only is Captain America: Civil War my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, my favorite Marvel movie in general including the ones made by Fox and Sony, but now it has become one of my top favorite comic book superhero films period. It just entertained me and kept me invested in from beginning to end. It gave me a groundbreaking and emotional story I expect from a great film while also providing with some spectacular fun and thrills I expect from a blockbuster. It simply has the whole package and I proudly salute it for that! 

GRADE: 100/100