The much anticipated ‘Captain America: Civil War’ has arrived and I am happy to jump on the bandwagon of everyone praising this movie. A culmination of the 13 Marvel movies that have preceded it, yet setting a new bar and standing out on its’ own. Marvel shows that it is not done exploring what is possible in “Super-hero” movies and delivering a true cinematic experience. As I watched this, it occurred to me where DC is failing to find its’ niche. It seems obvious, but Marvel captures the most important and obvious aspect of any storytelling; that characters come first. Marvel delivers us smart dialogue and characters in which we all become engaged and invested, despite or because of their all too human flaws. ‘Captain America: Civil War’, despite being packed to the point of overflowing with superheroes, never forgets that the characters and their development comes first. Despite all the heroes, old and new, in this film, not one is used gratuitously and each has their part that expands the story.
The plot is basic, yet complexly layered at the same time. When a UN terrorist attack, seemingly perpetrated by Cap’s friend Bucky: The Winter Soldier, kills scores of people, including King T’Chaka of the fictitious nation of Wakanda, it’s the straw that broke the camel’s proverbial back and the world governments demand accountability for all the destruction that seems to follow the Avengers. The Secretary of State (William Hurt, reprising the role of Thaddeus Ross) offers a compromise: The Sokovia Accords. This would move the Avengers from a private organization to having oversight and accountability from a U.N. panel. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr at his best), racked with guilt over his role in the devastation created by Ultron embraces accountability, whereas Steve Rogers (Chris Evans comfortably owning the role of Captain America), an individualist, and distrustful of government bodies and their unpredictable agendas, chooses the side of freedom from oversight. Thus the philosophical lines are drawn with each viewpoint being correct and the heroes take sides according to their beliefs.
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely return as Captain America’s writers and their impressive ability is to create a conflict where both sides are justified. Even if we choose a side, we fully understand and empathize with the other viewpoint. What is further impressive is that a film that is overflowing with characters are all deftly handled and flow seamlessly into an overall narrative. Even with all these characters, we are introduced to two new ones who will be part of the Phase 3 Marvel plan. Chadwick Boseman makes an impressive debut as the royal Black Panther. Regal and tortured by the death of his father, his performance makes us long for his solo movie to come quickly. In addition, Tom Holland is introduced as the MCU’s new rebooted Spider-man. His performance has almost been universally heralded as getting the character right. Even these blatant seed plantings of future franchises don’t feel forced and they belong in the film as much as all the other characters.
The choice of villain in this film is what impressed me most of all. The ‘rapidly becoming my favorite actor’, Daniel Brühl introduces us to a smaller than life villain named Zemo. He has little screen time and much of it we are trying to figure out what he is doing and what his motivations are. Instead of going over the top with the movie villain, like many Super-hero movies, Zemo is low key and mysterious. We know his actions are leading to something, but without knowing his motivations, we are left in confusion. It isn’t until the third act that the full purpose of his actions are realized and we understand how truly devastating this reserved and somewhat sympathetic villain is. Daniel Brühl delivers exactly what he is supposed to.
As I started with this review, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ shines because of its’ character development. From the intense visceral conflict between Tony Stark and Captain America to the more light-hearted moments between The Vision and Scarlet Witch and even further to the comedic interactions of Ant-man and Spider-man, all seem to belong in this movie and we are invested in these characters and care what becomes of them because of it. This film is a symphony of character interplay that transcends the super-hero genre to become a truly great movie. I give a metaphorical standing ovation. The Russo brothers, who directed this, have proven to be great directors capable of taking the most successful movie genre in history to an even higher level of depth and respect. The Marvel machine is not even close to running out of steam.
Phase 3 of the Marvel universe is packed full of new heroes and personally, I cannot wait to see what Marvel has to offer. They have proven that they won’t just recycle storylines, rather attempt to just give us new and exciting journeys into these characters that I have known since my childhood. I don’t think it’s a case of DC vs Marvel as I feel there is room for both, but Marvel is definitely setting the pace. DC needs to find their own style, but they could also take some notes on how to make a movie that is more than just a super power showcase. Hats off to everyone involved at Marvel for giving us this cinematic work.
I give this film ***** stars
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