Review 381: Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War is miraculous Superhero film and one of the MCU's finest achievements.

Loosely based on the comic book storyline, Civil War by Mark Miller and Steve McNiven,
Set one year after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure ensures to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps - one led by Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) who desires for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without any government interference and the other led by Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) in support of the government oversight and accountability.

The plot contains a lot of usual pitfalls that Superhero films fall into e.g. multiple characters and storylines, attempting to set up future films. But it doesn't fall into them. Somehow it guides over these pitfalls. This is mostly down to the main focus of this movie being this conflict between Captain America, Iron Man and their respective followers and the great thing about it is it's not one sided.
You see the conflict from both teams. Stark feels The Avengers should agree to the governments demands because he feels responsible for the destruction The Avengers have caused, particularly when they battled Ultron.
Steve on the other hand, is more wary of government authority because of his own experiences and feels strongly that the Avengers should remain to operate independently.

And I have to say it's pretty hard to pick a side because each side is given detail. Both of the teams reasons are valid and both teams intentions are good. They still want to be able to help people and do the right thing. Tony Stark feels responsible for the events in Avengers: Age of Ultron as he created Ultron and feels that The Avengers should agree to the government terms. Because of this we're able to see his point of view on the matter, his inclusion doesn't feel shoehorned in.

The film also serves as a great examination of all the destruction The Avengers have caused during their escapades and what are the consequences of their actions. Even though they do these heroic things and save the world, wherever they go there are casualties and innocent people are caught in the crossfire and killed. Because this the government wants oversee their actions so that are fewer casualties. It also shows how interconnected the MCU really is, how it affects the characters, they are forced to make difficult decisions. We have spent 8 years watching the MCU grow and now we have a movie where those various characters and their ideologies clash and because we've watched them for so long we're able to feel sympathy and root for them.
The main theme of this film is who reports to who and can we agree to an oversight committee. Because at this point in the MCU there's no more Security Council, there's no S.H.I.E.L.D. and as a result of all this, the UN creates the Accords to oversee The Avengers and put them in check, however this film doesn't provide a definitive answer, both sides reasons for agreeing/disagreeing is valid, everyone can relate to one of the factions of Avengers.

Captain America: Civil War also deals with themes of loyalty, friendship, family as well as choice.

Friendship: A large portion of this film continues threads from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, such as Steve Rogers/Captain America's relationship with Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier. They grew up together and Bucky stood up for Steve before he became a Super Soldier and the Sentinal of Liberty. Now that he was brainwashed by Hydra, turned into the ultimate assassin and framed for the crime he did not commit, Steve wants above all else to redeem him and rediscover the Bucky he knew in the 40's.

Family: What sets Captain America: Civil War apart from other films in the MCU and other Superhero movies in general is that it's not a story about hero vs villain, it's hero vs. hero, it's friend against friend, it's about a family that's been torn apart because they have different views on how an ultimatum should be approached.

Loyalty: Captain America: Civil War is also about how love for your family and friends can force you to make very complicated moral choices. Steve Rogers for instance is torn between his loyalty to the Avengers as well as his friendship and wanting to help Bucky Barnes. He knows he's done terrible things and will do everything in his power to try and redeem him. But that also puts his allegiance to the Avengers on the line as he has to bring Bucky in as a vigilante.

Choice: The beauty of Captain America: Civil War is that it doesn't make choosing easy for the audience, both sides POVs are easy to understand. Yes super-powered individuals are potentially dangerous but, as we saw in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, governments are easily corrupted. Bucky is exhibit A of what happens when someone with Superpowers has their choice taken away from them by a corrupt government. But superheroes acting unilaterally also causes a lot of problems.  Because of this, Tony feels the Avengers need to be put in check and wants the government to take away his choice like a juvenile delinquent. Cap wants the Avengers to remain free to make their own choices, he even says it "If we sign the Accords, we surrender our right to choose."

Returning directors Anthony and Joe Russo's direction is unobtrusive and electric, they bring such a fluidity and realism that you just don't get from other Superhero films. The action scenes are just astonishing and superbly staged, they immerse you when they're happening and the punches feel so real, you almost feel the heros pain.
The cinematography is excellent, the score by Henry Jackman is brilliant, the special effects are just spectacular, the locations are fantastic, we go to Lagos, Vienna and Serbia. The production design is all marvellous, the costumes are superb, the suspense and tension is killer, the make up is terrific, the pacing is utterly relentless, the stunts are outstanding and the ending leaves you wanting more-you wander whats going to happen next.

There is also some really good humour in this film, most of it coming courtesy of Spider-Man and Ant-Man including a reference to The Empire Strikes Back.

The acting is wonderful all round. Because there are so many Avengers in this movie, there's a whole smorgasbord of characters and actors and this film balances them out superbly and all of the actors are given a chance to shine, wether it's a big part, a small part, a supporting part or a bit part.

Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson  Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, Daniel Bruhl, William Hurt, the list goes on.
I have to give particular props to Evans and Downey Jr. as Captain America and Iron Man respectively. They both have their respective teams and both feel they are doing the right thing and Tony Stark/Iron Man gets a surprising amount of depth and character development in this film and as a result he quite possibly at his best here.
Tony is at a point where he's willing to submit to an authority. After the Ultron Offensive, he has a guilt complex which drives him to make very specific decisions. His arc in this film is very emotionally complicated.

Both Steve and Tony are presented as both sides of the coin, as previously established Steve is a freedom fighter who has nothing in his life other than the fight. No wife, no girlfriend, no family, no home, no day job to keep him occupied when he's not saving the world. Without the mission, Cap is nothing. This puts him at a great contrast with Tony who is continually seeking that final solution to end the fight. This great contrast causes them to butt heads over the Accords.
Steve has always been the moral backbone of the Avengers. He's going through a lack of trust for other people, he's point blank seen government fail on multiple situations in his life so he, understandably, feels that he is the most trustworthy person. 

Scarlett Johansson, once again, is fabulous as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Widow in this film is torn between allegiances. Whereas most of the Avengers have chosen a side, Widow is somewhere in the middle. Her head is with Tony but her heart is with Steve in a lot of ways. She's also looking to strategize her position, putting herself in a place where she is able to let the powers that be fight it out in order for her to have a better perspective on what's really going on.

Sebastian Stan is once again very strong as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier. In this film we're treated a performance that's an amalgamation of both Bucky and the Winter Soldier. That struggle between the man he once was and the man he has become is very interesting going forward.
Along the way, he realises that he's never going to be Bucky Barnes again. There're going to be recognisable things about him, but the path through the experiences of being the Winter Soldier and being brainwashed is always going to be there, haunting him as a form of PTSD.

Paul Bettany also provides a strong voice of reason as the Vision. Because he was only created in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he's both omnipotent and naive at the same time. Experiencing the world in real time and his place in it, he has to decide if he's going to be a force of good or a force of evil.
He's also trying to understand what it means to be human and what love is which is portrayed brilliantly in his connection he forms with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
Both of them have new burgeoning superpowers that they don't understand. So he's worried that they're both dangerous, so he feels this real connection to her.

Elizabeth Olsen is once again strong playing Wanda Maximoff; In this film, we see Wanda come into her own and starting to understand and have conflict 

There are also some great newcomers such as Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther.
Martin Freeman also has a small role in this film as Everett K. Ross, a man who works for the government and works in conjunction with Superheroes and certain agencies that help tame superheroes powers. But he's also presented as an ambiguous type, you don't know whether he's good or bad so you're not quite sure which side he's on. It looks a little bit like he's playing one game when actually playing another and he's terrific in the few scenes he's in and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Tom Holland, meanwhile, nailed it as Spider-Man. As a character, he's inquisitive, funny, cool and has an all round youthfulness we haven't seen before in Sony produced adaptations of the character.

Chadwick Boseman is extremely effective as T'Challa/Black Panther, giving a messured, soothing performance which gives off a wisdom beyond his years. He has his own agenda but at the same time is trying to look out for his own people. He also provides a fresh perspective on the agenda as he's not part of the Avengers and as a result has a different point of view from either Stark or Rogers, thereby making his presence all the more powerful.

Another cast member worth mentioning whose in a bit part is Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, she's a younger more motherly version of the character which is something we all haven't seen before and It'll be interesting to see how her and Peter's relationship plays out in future movies.

Daniel Bruhl gives a chilling, sinister, calculated performance as the main antagonist, Hemlut Zemo. He's very clever, he's very cunning and smart and is doing what he's doing for a very simple but understandable reason.

Captain America: Civil War leaves you wanting more and is sure to be the beginning of a very daring slate of pictures from Marvel, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.