Captain America: Civil War - movie review

Captain America: Civil War

Plot: Political interference in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man.
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Rating: 12A
Runtime: 2hrs 27 mins
Release Date: Friday 29th April 2016

United we stand. Divided we fall. That's the tagline featured on the poster for Marvel's thirteenth entry into their cinematic universe and so far, it is widely believed that they have yet to make a bad film. Some of them may not have been great (Iron Man 3) but they have all been mostly well received. And now, I am happy to report that their reputation remains untarnished as Captain America: Civil War is another fantastic installment within this universe. Based around the insanely popular comic of the same name, Civil War pits superhero against superhero in a clash of ideals leading one of the greatest clashes in superhero history.


One thing that might catch some viewers off guard is the large ensemble cast on show here. Whilst the majority of the Avengers are present here and each have their moment to shine (some more than others), this is very much a Captain America movie. And with it being a Captain America focused film we of course have Chris Evans reprising his role as the Captain and he has never been better. In The First Avenger I thought Evans was good at playing the gung-ho soldier type but then he really came into his own in The Winter Soldier by becoming an absolute badass. In Civil War, not only is it clear that Evans has morphed into this role but he excels in it. He nails the complexity and emotional distress the Captain faces but still retains the cool suave personality of Cap himself. There were even a few scenes of unexpected heightened emotion that worked extraordinarily well because of Evans' quality of acting. Something that has impressed me with a lot of the Marvel movies is the actors ability to really act. Hollywood stars often mail their performances in during large blockbusters (case and point: any of the actors in Fant4stic) but in the Marvel movies, the actors form a connection with their characters making for a truly fascinating watch. Joining Captain America in his team is Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. Having not been the biggest fan of Bucky from the comics, I was delighted to see him get his due when he became The Winter Soldier and subsequently getting his own comic story in 2005. Then imagine my excitement when the Captain America sequel was titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Apart from a few little nitpicks, I thought that The Winter Solider was a masterpiece of a film and part of that was due to seeing Bucky redeemed as this Soviet Assassin. Obviously now in Civil War, the line is blurred as to whether Bucky has gained control of the Hydra hypnosis or if part of him is still The Winter Soldier. This makes for a fantastic portrayal by Sebastian Stan who basically, at times, has to deliver two different performances, both of which are top class. 

But Bucky isn't the only close friend of Cap joining his team as Anthony Mackie returns once again as The Falcon. What I loved about The Falcon is The Winter Solider was how he felt like a real hero who just wanted to do good in the world. Not to say that the other characters didn't but considering that he possesses the technology to fly, it seemed surprising that he was the most human and that is once again prevalent in Civil War as Mackie delivers the line: "Those who shoot at you, usually wind up shooting at me too". In that one instance I knew all I needed to know about their relationship and how Sam Wilson would stick by Cap through anything and this whole idea of comradeship is key in regards to adapting the Civil War storyline. We also have Jeremy Renner siding with Team Cap as Hawkeye comes back for another slice of the action. He doesn't really show up until the second half of the film and even though he isn't given a whole load to do, Renner still brings is some realism amongst flying men in armour and a robotic android. However, it made sense for Hawkeye to have only a minor role because this isn't an Avengers movie. His role was necessary but he didn't outstay his welcome. But what surprised me the most with his character was the developed relationship he had formed with Scarlet Witch. It was unexpected but still very satisfying. Speaking of Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen yet again owns this role. She was my favourite part of Age Of Ultron and whilst she may not be at the top of my list in Civil War, it is great to see her character still being developed. She continues with this inner conflict about her powers and if she can control them. The writers also put her in situations direct from the pages of the comic book which worked to fantastic results. It seemed seamless and effortless storytelling by both the writers and Olsen. Wrapping up Team Cap is Ant-Man played marvelously by Paul Rudd. Again, like Hawkeye, doesn't have a big role but whenever he is on screen, Rudd is phenomenal. I was intrigued to see how he would hold up against the heavy hitters who have done this for a while now but Rudd fits perfectly into the fray and he has some killer scenes, ones that will make any comic book fan giddy with excitement.



Fighting against Team Cap, we of course have Team Iron Man led by, none other than the incomparable, Robert Downey Jr. At this point now, after starring as Stark for the sixth time (seven if you include his cameo in The Incredible Hulk) Downey Jr. just is Tony Stark. I often compare him to Ryan Reynolds on how they are both their superhero characters in and out of the films. But what intrigued me most with Downey Jr's performance was the vulnerability he brings to it in this film. Whilst in some of the previous installments we see the flash and suave Tony, in Civil War, he has taken a really serious tone that worked meticulously. Not to say that there aren't any quips, because there are, but less frequent than we have come to expect. Siding with Tony, as some would not have expected was Black Widow played once again by the phenomenal Scarlett Johansson. Her role is very significant to the film and I think, as an audience, we see her flit between sides the most which was a good thing so we can see this complex internal struggle, but I wouldn't go into Civil War expecting the same size role she had in The Winter Soldier. Instead, she is clearly a supporting character rather than a second lead. That aside, Johansson nails the badass assassin as we have come to expect. The next addition to Tony's team comes as no surprise as War Machine played by Don Cheadle joins his buddy in this war. Cheadle actually had a far larger role than the marketing of this film had led me to believe and I love that. I think War Machine is a very underrated character both in the films and the movies so I was incredibly glad to see him get his various moments to shine. In fact, thinking about some key moments in the film that brought a smile to my face, quite a few of them included War Machine. 

As far as a new addition is concerned, I was ecstatic to see the Black Panther finally on screen amongst the Avengers and apart from one character who I have not yet mentioned, Chadwick Boseman's representation of the Prince of Wakanda was flawless and he was everything I had hoped for and then some. To watch him fight was incredible because he seems to have his own form of martial arts but the Panther also had his own character arc that just gelled perfectly alongside the various other storylines. If this is a sign for things to come during his own standalone movie, then the Black Panther film just shot to near to top of my most anticipated Marvel movies. We also have Paul Bettany return as Vision who is just amazing. He's just so cool as Vision and calm and collected but yet still emits this killer attitude. There seems to be some form of bond between him and another key character which I'll leave as a surprise but if they were to tread down this route, it could lead for numerous possibilities which gets me ridiculously excited. And the final contender in this superhero showdown is none other than the web crawler himself, Spider-Man. After countless attempts by Sony and a highly publicised deal having been reached, Spider-Man has finally come home to Marvel, to where he belongs and let me say this; Holy crap, I think they've perfected Spider-Man. Now, I can't say that he is the best Spider-Man ever put to film simply because I haven't seen enough of him to base my decision on. Having been in only two scenes, I don't think I can judge fairly. That being said, those two scenes were some of the best in the film and if this is the path that Marvel are intending for Spidey to head down, it will be nothing short of perfection. Tom Holland is brilliant and completely grasps Spider-Man's wit and humour but still retains the endearing quality of the character. 

Whilst that does it for the main heroes of the piece, there are a few other characters worthy of mention. Both William Hurt and Martin Freeman appear in very minor roles and they are good in what they do. I can't really go on anymore about them simply because they aren't in it enough for me to talk about them in depth. However, someone who I can talk about is Daniel Brühl who plays Zemo. Unfortunately, this is where the discrepancies of Civil War come to show as Marvel, yet again, doesn't deliver the goods in regards to their villain. Now Zemo definitely isn't the worst villain Marvel has ever produced but he is very forgettable and ultimately unnecessary. Whilst Brühl gave a spirited performance, Zemo's motives weren't that intriguing and he was just kind of boring. I still contend that the only two villains that Marvel have truly done well with are Loki and The Abomination.

Whilst I'm on the topic of negatives (and these are more of just nitpicks) the plot of Civil War isn't 100% perfect. I mean, it's like 99% perfect but only a couple miniscule issues prevent it from being flawless. Firstly, it is a tad long. With a runtime nearing two and a half hours, this is Marvel's longest film to date. Now this length can easily be justified if it is consistently engaging and it was throughout. Non-stop entertainment. However, I did notice a couple times in which the movie dragged slightly, but it really didn't hinder my enjoyment and appreciation of Civil War in the slightest. It was, like I said before, a small nitpick. But that's it. Of this two and half hour runtime of awesomeness, I picked up two nitpicks that didn't even really spoil my enjoyment of the film in any way. Moving onto the positives of the story, of which there are many, I am emphatically pleased to have the writers of The Winter Soldier return once again for Civil War because as well as taking the fun and action from the comics, both Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely craft a tale that feels real and authentic. Now, as ludicrous as that sounds with characters featuring a teenager with the powers of a spider, a walking talking android and a woman with magical powers, they find a way to incorporate that into the real world which is nothing short of a masterful feat. And also, considering that hefty chunks of Civil War involve characters having deep philosophical discussions,  it proves a testament of how well Markus and McFeely understand these characters. I remember one moment during the film where I began to notice that I hadn't seen an action scene in Civil War for some time now but then, through a conversation between The Vision and Scarlet Witch, it dawned on me that all these political scenes with conflicting ideals wasn't just to make every action sequence to be on a grander scale, but was some of the best character development in a superhero movie I have seen to date. The reason I didn't see it before was because of how seamless the writing and directing was. Continuing with the theme of directing, I must of course mention The Russo Brothers. They did such an incredible job on The Winter Soldier that it was really no surprise to see them return again and from watching their two outstanding ventures, I cannot think of a pair of directors that are perfect enough for this cinematic universe. With this under their belt, and the forthcoming Avengers: Infinity War films, I can wholeheartedly say that the Russo Brothers are bona fide geniuses. Their work on Civil War is a sight to behold and the way they are able to juggle so many characters and varying storylines and arcs but still keep this, at its core, a standalone Captain America film, is simply phenomenal. And whilst, this may not be my favourite Marvel movie, nor my favourite Captain America movie (Winter Soldier slightly getting the edge), the directing duo are now up there among the best. And to think, before this, their main credits consisted of sitcoms and now they've directed two of the biggest and most popular superhero movies ever. Quite an achievement.

Moving onto the action set pieces, they are all nothing short of spectacular. I'll leave my favourite until last but from the trailers, you would have seen a chase sequence that takes place within a tunnel. Much like The Winter Soldier, the actions scenes felt brutal and realistic whilst still retaining the comic book fun and that is once again present in Civil War. This time however, we have more characters at play and the first glimpse of this is the tunnel sequence. It's tension filled and surprisingly contains a lot of practical effects and stunts. If you've seen the film, you'll know what I mean but we do witness Black Panther's action debut in this scene and my word is it something to behold. It is also clear to notice that the hand to hand combat that was already awesome in The Winter Soldier has dramatically improved and that is partly due to hiring Chad Stahelski and David Leitch who together, made John Wick. Now, whilst I may not have been blown away with the film, the clear standout point was the crazily insane action scenes choreographed by themselves and their work on Civil War has just reached another level of insanity as all of the fight scenes are memorable for how skilled everything seems. The climactic showdown between Cap, Iron Man and Bucky is just as fantastic as the promotion has led to believe but it is surprisingly emotional to see these beloved characters tear into each other. Believe me when I say that this isn't just a casual dispute and they are just playing with each other. Some of these characters are out for blood and that heightens the stakes even further. But I have to talk about the airport sequence. Having only seen the film once at this point, I would need to see it again to be sure but I would not only say that these seventeen minutes contain the best action sequence ever put into a superhero film, but it does contend to be the best action sequence I have ever seen in a film. Boom! Mic drop. Guys, it's that good. There has been a load of press regarding this scene and it more than lives up to it. As a comic book fan, I had a smile on my face the entire time as it was everything I could have dreamed of. This sequence is just absolute perfection, it demands to be seen. The phrase of 'worth the price of admission alone' could not be more appropriate for this scene. In fact, I would go so far as to say that someone could walk out of Civil War and say that they didn't like the film but they would have to at least admit that the airport fight sequence was incredible. There is so much that you haven't seen and each character gets a moment to shine. It contains moments that I didn't even think were possible to include in a motion picture, but somehow they did and it is just a joy from start to finish. And even as I'm writing this now, I am desperate to see the film again partly so I can bare witness to this scene in all of its glory one more time.

Captain America: Civil War is not the best entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but not every entry needs to be the best and to say that it only misses out on being perfect is a large compliment indeed. The Russo's have done it yet again by giving the fans what they hope with complex character developments and a truly heartfelt and emotional story at its core amidst the chaotic action. The returning characters are just as great as they always are and the new additions have me hyped for their upcoming solo ventures. It may have some flaws regarding its villain and very minor pacing issues but it more than makes up for it with the most incredible fight scene I have seen in my entire life.

My Verdict: 9.5/10

What did you think of Captain America: Civil War? What team are you on? Team Cap? Or Team Iron Man? Post your comments below.

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