Review: "Captain America: Civil War"

Captain America: Civil War is a remarkable example of blockbuster entertainment done right, and Marvel Studios is getting very good at what they do. Civil War feels like the culmination of everything that has come before it, with regards to the earthbound characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. It is most definitely the next chapter in the story of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), but it is also a reaction to everything that has happened since 2008's Iron Man when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) became the first superhero of a new era for Marvel characters on the big screen.


Directors Anthony & Joe Russo, who also helmed the previous installment, Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- a film that changed the landscape of the MCU by resurrecting HYDRA and splintering S.H.I.E.L.D -- are able to build off what came before, while telling an even more ambitious story and incorporating the largest cast of any Marvel film yet. Given the failure of many recent superhero movies' attempts to lay seeds that will later expand their movieverse, the most significant praise that should go to Civil War is that every character is treated as a valuable chess piece. Returning characters are not sidelined to make room for the new additions; each role is well considered by the Russos and screenwriters Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and every actor is given their moments to shine, regardless of screen time.

As the title suggests, the plot revolves around a rift between the Avengers over a piece of legislation, The Sokovia Accords -- named for the country where the climactic battle in Avengers: Age of Ultron takes place -- which would force the super-powered dream-team to work exclusively at the request of the United Nations, under the supervision of Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt from The Incredible Hulk). Tony, whose arrogance is matched only by his guilty conscience, is in favor of the oversight. War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are also willing to submit to the terms of the accords, whereas Cap and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) are leery of the agendas they would be serving under U.N. control.

Things blow up quite literally when an attack on the U.N. kills the king of Wakanda, and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is blamed for the incident. This intensifies the conflict and pits Avenger against Avenger as the race for Bucky forces both Cap and Iron Man to bring in reinforcements. For Cap, help arrives in the form of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who springs Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) from house arrest in the Avengers compound and tracks down Ant-man (Paul Rudd). For Iron Man, the mysterious and formidable Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is ready to avenge the Wakandan king's death; and popping up to steal the spotlight for a bit is the new Spider-man (Tom Holland). Separately, Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl), intent on unlocking the secrets of the Winter Soldier program, is manipulating things towards his own end.

The centerpiece battle glimpsed in the trailer (Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man) will surely please those looking for big, CGI-heavy, comic-book-style action. Like The Winter Soldier, however, there's a more grounded feeling to many of the action sequences that feature a lot of hand-to-hand combat. Some of the second unit scenes were handled by the team behind the excellent Keanu Reeves vehicle John Wick, and it shows in how dynamic the choreography is. (If you haven't already, you should see that movie ASAP!)

Visually, there's more gray in Trent Opaloch's cinematography than in Kim Novak's Vertigo wardrobe, but that thematically echoes the worldview presented in the MCU, I suppose. The film is certainly well-photographed, otherwise, but I'd love to see a more daring palette in future movies, honoring the great artists who first gave these characters life on the page. Obviously, the more cosmic-based installments, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, have an easier time accomplishing this, and, to their credit, the Russos do stage one beautifully-timed reproduction of a famous comic book panel in the finale that garnered some applause in the screening I attended.

Any complaints I have about Civil War are bound to be of the nitpicky variety. There's so much to enjoy about the interaction of the characters: the return of "Thunderbolt" Ross, a personal favorite; the eager yet nervous rambling of Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spidey; the strangely perfect and hilarious pairing of Falcon and Bucky; pretty much everything related to Vision or Ant-Man or Black Panther! This is truly a home run by the Russos, who are set to direct the next two Avengers movies, which will finally pay off all the post-credits stingers featuring Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin) and bring together the infinity gems. With Civil War being a slight improvement over The Winter Soldier and being a cut above both previous Avengers movies, I have a feeling that Infinity Wars, or whatever they end up being called, couldn't be in better hands.