Sunday Review: Captain America: Civil War

Hello all!
So it has finally arrived. My most anticipated film of the summer, and of this year. Civil War is upon us, and I got to experience it all last night. Let's get into it! (This is a no spoilers review!)

Captain America:  Civil War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, and stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, and Tom Holland. Yeah, that is one stacked cast.

The basic plot of this film follows the comic story of "Civil War" in which the government, recognizing the number of enhanced individuals that are causing mass destruction while supposedly saving the people, proposes the "Sokovia Accords" to the Avengers, in which they give up their freedom of acting whenever they please and become assets of the government, who are deployed when needed. Those who supported such an idea, led by Tony Stark, were now debating with those who rejected it, led by Steve Rogers.

I loved this movie. I had such an amazing time watching it, and I can't wait to go back to watch it a second time. It was everything I wanted and more. 

The Winter Soldier, which is also directed by the Russo brothers, took the Captain America character in a far more serious tone. It was not your typical Marvel campy action. It was serious, realistic, and gritty. Civil War does something very similar. While there are bombastic action sequences and all, the film dares to delve into realistic themes and ideas that will lead you into questioning yourself on what you believe. There is all the Marvel extravaganza stuff you wanted, but really, this is a film about friendship and revenge. Civil War is much more mature than I expected. It addresses a lot of the political consequences of something like an entire city being lifted into the sky and dropped. People died, and it is addressed here.

If that bored you, relax, this movie is a bunch of fun. The stunt-work in this film was incredible. There are numerous chase sequences and hand-to-hand combat fights where some of stunts just blew my mind. Of course there was CGI and stuff, but you have gotta praise these guys for performing some of the best stunt-work I have ever seen. The action was significantly improved upon from Winter Soldier, and it's always nice to see directors grow with each subsequent film. 

Let's talk about the newbies in this film. Black Panther. Oh my goodness, Black Panther was an absolute monster here. I didn't know a lot about the character of Black Panther prior to this film, but after watching this, I think his solo film is my most anticipated currently from the Phase 3 line-up. With so many characters, it is easy to leave some behind in the dust, but the film takes it's time to fully let the audience understand why he does what he does and the emotional aspects of the character. Chadwick Boseman hit a home run with this performance. Spider-Man. This was the only thing I was nervous about coming into the film. I was completely surprised by Tom Holland and the writing of Peter Parker, because he is awesome and one of my favorite aspects of Civil War. They understood why people love Peter Parker; his youthful aspect that inspired kids that they can be a hero now, and not wait till they are older. They played on that well and he was great. As said before, this film is not as funny as others, but Spider-Man brings a lot of humor. As someone who was not the slightest of interested in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I am really excited to see more of Tom Holland. Marvel Studios has finally nailed the character of Spider-Man, and this is the web-slinger at his best since Spider-Man 2. 

Although the large chunk of the advertising for this film was Team Cap or Team Iron Man, this film does not show case either side as the villain. Every single character has a motivation for why they are on either side of Sokovia Accords, and was not just randomly allocated to keep the sides balanced. Also, with such a large cast, it can feel like some of the characters are shoe-horned in here just to have them here. I did not feel that at all. Every single character felt like they had a clear cut reason for being here.

Now, without spoiling anything at all, the airport action scene that you are seeing advertised in all of the trailers with the two teams running at each other, is one of the most incredible action scenes I have ever seen. It is without a doubt the greatest action sequence I have ever seen in a comic book film. I don't want to reveal the specific parts of the sequence that stood out, because this is non-spoilers of course.

I had but one problem with this film and that was Baron Zemo, the villain. I felt like there was absolutely no need to have a villain in a Civil War movie, but he was there. His motivation was interesting and you can see where he is coming from, but in the end, he felt out of place and had no reason to be here. I didn't really mind him, but there was no need.

Guys, Civil War is so far my favorite film of the year, combining incredible action, a well written set of characters, one of the greatest action scenes I have ever watched, and explores mature themes about friendship and vengeance, and details the consequences of having enhanced individuals in our world. Please, go watch this film!

Consensus: A