Captain America: Civil War – Review
5th May 2016Super-hero fans and enthusiasts will have their fill this year with DC’s Batman V Superman and now Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War staying away from the typical story lines of the early-2000’s films and present the audience with dilemmas about this fantasy world where super powers exist; who polices the police, should heroes be held accountable?
Civil War puts together the largest number of super-heroes in Marvel films so far and follows up the action of both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who also directed the first two Capt. films, it is the most ambitious project ventured by Marvel Studios due to the importance this event has in the comic book universe and by redefining the “good vs evil” duality audiences are used to in their films. It certainly has hyped fans for the last year.
The plot follows a mission led by Captain America in Nigeria which ends in civilian casualties caused accidentally by one of his team members, resulting in a global call for an Avengers “nationalisation”.
Events from previous Avengers and Cap films are brought back to justify this position like the destruction caused by Ultron, S.H.I.E.L.D. and a stampeding Hulk, causing our heroes to make a decision; either act under United Nations supervision or be considered vigilantes and be criminalised.
This ultimatum causes big changes in the two main characters of the film. Steve Rogers, the eternal poster boy for patriotism and result of a government programme, opposes this policy arguing that the Avengers should be kept out of any political agendas, acting as part of a higher purpose for freedom; while Tony Stark, the rebel multi-millionaire that never conforms with traditional policies, realises that heroes must be kept in check because of the civilian lives they are responsible for when they go into action.
It’s this break that causes one of biggest upsets in the Marvel world; war among our heroes… or so you would expect.
The Winter Soldier also gets dragged into this situation by being present in another attack and an order is issue for his arrest. Even in this issue our heroes diverge, with Capt. taking Bucky Barnes side as he doesn’t believe in his involvement against Iron Man’s side who want to the super-hero regulation seriously.
As expected, the whole film is packed in two hours and 30 minutes with amazing shoots of action and fight-scenes, and the introduction of the new Spider Man and Black Panther in this universe met most of our expectations; and the scene where Tony Stark recruits Peter Parker is definitely one of our favourites moments of the film.
Is it a Civil War though? No.
If you’re a comic book fan don’t expect many resemblances with the novels but focus more on the Captain America part of the film. It is in fact about Steve Rogers, and the ending is very important for the future of the Marvel films as it is hinted that the New Avengers could be a thing in the future.
Overall the film was surprisingly shocking in many ways, good and bad, but the production is remarkable and it’s definitely great entertainment.