Captain America: Civil War Review
AKA Black Panther and Spider-Man are all we needed
As the next installment in the Avenger’s story line, this film had a hell of a lot to live up to. With The Winter Soldier being so popular and Age of Ultron having deeply mixed reviews, the anticipation and expectation of fans was definitely elevated. I would say this film has lived up to my expectations in some aspects but there are significant things it could have improved upon.
I will admit, when I actually saw this film, I had actually seen the previous Captain America and Avengers films in rapid succession leading up to the all important midnight release. This definitely made me even more excited to see the film itself so that had a strange impact on me for this viewing as I oddly didn’t find anything I could fault it on until I went home and digested the events that had happened before me.
For starters, the opening was in a rather spy flick style in that there were a handful of heroes at different marks communicating what’s happenning. This reminded me of the vibe The Winter Soldier gives off and instantly drew me in. But the sudden appearance of Crossbones had me shaking in my seat with how excited I was. I didn’t realise at first that this was who they were after so I was so shocked to find this out. It was so refreshing to see a more backseat Marvel character displayed in such a way and in a blockbuster no less. However, we are also greeted by our new comic relief character of Falcon. I didn’t expect this character to be as humorous as he was but Anthony Mackie really brought a sunny and lighthearted side to this role. Also it was great to finally see Black Widow as I feel she should be. I’ve been constantly disappointed with her throughout the past 4 films as often it seems she doesn’t bring too much to the table other than a little kicking and hacking. I often think of this clip when trying to tell people why I cannot enjoy her screen time that much: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6kHDw1xvuA
Our next port of call is the man himself, Captain America. I feel that this film is everything Age of Ultron was missing even though I enjoyed that film very much. It felt like everything was put on hold and Civil War returns to the matters at hand, such as Bucky. Chris Evans was wonderful as always but his reasoning for not complying with the accords or Stark for that matter, seemed rather strange to his character and actually quite unexplained. Other than his trying to protect his best friend, it seemed that he was just disagreeing for the sake of it. I just didn’t find it to be particularly believable that his character would act this way considering he is a form of law enforcement.
Sebastian Stan however was flawless as Bucky Barnes. He seamlessly switches between being Bucky and The Winter Soldier and it is wonderful to finally see why and how it all happens. I feel he really brought a lot of life to not only his character but to Cap himself as it really felt like he was trying to be a part of Steve’s life again. There was obvious compassion for each other. Also, he made Bucky’s memory loss incredibly believable as he seemed perfectly innocent amongst everything he is accused of.
Also on Team Cap we see the return of Jeremy Renner as the believed to be retired Hawkeye. It was great to see him come back but also to see him “go rogue” was actually rather refreshing considering he laid down a lot to help Team Cap. He’s another character who showed genuine compassion and once again, for the Scarlet Witch. As he did in Age of Ultron, he was there to help her in her time of need. On another note, Elizabeth Olsen was as good as ever as Wanda but she had a lot shakier accent than in Age of Ultron. She’s bordering on an American accent for a lot of the film which did take me out of the experience a little considering her Russian accent was previously rather good. But this team got all the better for me with the introduction of Ant-Man. Paul Rudd was as amusing as ever as Scott Lang if not a little irritating in parts. He has a great sense of humour and definitely brought a lot to the table but his awkward fangirling around the other characters was a little over the top, bordering on annoying. But I have to say that making him go from “Tic-Tac” to Giant Man really did make up for this.
Next up, lets look at the other side of things. This “Civil War” is started by a little disagreement, not unlike any other war. But of course, Iron Man stirs things up as usual. Robert Downey Jr. was, as always, a pleasure to watch. Also, as I do support Team Iron Man, I was not disappointed with this choice (just to clarify though, I am not biased either way, I just like the sass). As a leader of a “team” I felt he wasn’t too great but as just Iron Man, he was as fun to watch as ever. Consequently, his pairing with James Rhodes (AKA War Machine) was fab to watch. It’s always a delight to see those characters together. Also Paul Bettany was absolutely brilliant as Vision once again but he was also really funny. He added just the right amount of comic relief to his character to show he’s not a gimmick but also not too serious. Plus, his cooking sequence was downright hilarious.
The real star of Team Iron Man is definitely Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. His portrayal was absolutely flawless as a vengeance seeking King of Wakanda. I also cried once again as he sobbed over the body of his dead father (there were lot of feelings to be felt, especially after 14 hours of film). He is another character who plays his two sides seamlessly as the transformation between T’Challa and Black Panther is not an easy thing to play. But his thirst for vengeance over his father’s death was hardly challenged and he was consequently entered into Team Iron Man to defeat Bucky for his team and himself.
However, we have to talk about good ol’ Spidey. I have to admit I made some pretty inhuman noises as sweet little Tom Holland arrived on the scene. His introduction was equally awkward and hilarious which is everything Spider-Man should be. But one thing immediately bothered me, Aunt May is about 35–40 years old all of a sudden and being hit on by Tony Stark. Alarm bells anyone? Probably not just me. Either way, pretty damn weird but not completely soul destroying. His fight sequences were flawless too as he fumbles around chatting to all the different heroes as a teenage boy would rather than just fighting them. His constant sense of awe had him appearing as a sweet little fanboy which really made him a believable and genuine character. Tom Holland, well done! You’ve reclaimed what Spider-Man always was and I salute you.
As soon as I saw Daniel Brühl I gasped in such a dramatic way and shook my head so much that I’m pretty sure everyone around me must have assumed I’m mental. As some may be aware, I am a rather big fan of Inglorious Basterds and I feel that Daniel makes a wonderful villain in that picture so as soon as I saw him in Civil War I knew he was the guy. The one who would really fuck things up. He was a wonderful villain but with a terrible motive. As terrible as it was that the Avengers were a part in the death of his family, there was literally no reason to destroy them all over it. It was delightfully devious and a wonderful plan but I was really hoping for a more solid reason, even if he was just mentally unstable would have suited me down to the ground. But all in all, he was a fabulous Zemo and I do love what they have done with the character.
I do not have many negatives about this film at all as it was simply a delight but one thing that really bugged me was the constant flip flopping between locations because the huge text to tell you where you were going next really takes you out of the whole experience. Rather distracting to say the least. Also the introduction of more Winter Soldiers seemed really rather meaningless to the story as it was just a plot device to get Steve and Bucky to Siberia so things can really go nuts. I was actually quite annoyed at this as it was a shame to not see them in action any more than a few minutes. But on the other hand, finding them dead fueled that dark shadow over the Marvel universe and brought back some of the harrowing side of The Avengers. A real plot twist and a half. Lastly, the first post credits scene was a little but meh but otherwise ok.
All in all, Civil War was a very good film. A solid addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and great fun to watch. A few tweaks could be made but I have to say I am still in awe of it regardless. And that second post credits sequence? I can’t wait until it happens!!!
