"I know we're not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own." - Captain America.
My work schedule is finally starting to clear up. But, no matter how busy I was, there was always room to fit in going to see Captain America: Civil War. I really admired last year's Avengers: Age of Ultron (the first film I reviewed on this blog), and so I was looking forward to seeing how these characters have progressed since then. This time around, the Avengers aren't up against a madman wanting to destroy or takeover the world, but instead are torn apart over government interference and personal issues. Boasting new, exciting characters such as Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spiderman (Tom Holland), Civil War aims to up the ante greater than any other MCU film. With it's engaging story and characters as well as incredible action, the film achieves its goal and is a stunning opening chapter in the third phase of the most successful franchise in film history.
Following on one year after the Avengers defeated Ultron, Captain America (Chris Evans) leads Scarlet Witch (Elisabeth Olsen), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) on another mission. Their attempts to prevent the theft of a biological weapon ends in many innocent lives lost, with Scarlet Witch unable to be in complete control of her powers. This leads Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) to try and convince the team to agree to a new government initiative to keep the Avengers' actions limited, so as to lessen the chances of any more destruction. This causes a fraction within the team, with Captain America insisting they should act on their own freewill, and Iron Man feeling the imitative is the right thing to due after feeling guilty about creating Ultron in the last film. The divide is cemented by an attempt to frame Captain America's friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), which is orchestrated by a man named Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). Zemo seeks revenge on the team for the destruction they caused to his country in the last film, and feels the best way to do so is by having them fight one-another. So its Captain America and his Team vs. Iron Man, his team and the government, in the biggest superhero conflict ever devised!
A major plus point for the film is that it invests plenty of time into the motivations, emotions and personalities of the many characters. We've seen the tension between Iron Man and Captain America in previous films, but never have the stakes been this high. There's good drama to be had from Tony Stark (Iron Man) contemplating whether or not the Avengers are any better than "the bad guys" if they aren't supervised, but at the same time, Captain America's thoughts are difficult to argue against. So really, whichever "team" you decide to cheer for will come down to which you find the more cool, as both lead characters put in compelling arguments for and against the supervision initiative. I was also pleased that Scarlet Witch and Vision (Paul Bettany) are further developed. Scarlet Witch has made her transition from evil to good, but she is the most emotionally unstable of the group. Vision, being the all powerful being that he is, is able to understand her struggles, which covers the more sentimental parts of the film. This development aids the conflict as Scarlet Witch joins Captain America's side and Vision joins Iron Man's, which makes for far better viewing than just having a "good" character fight the token "bad" character, as is so often the case with superhero films.
Alongside the well written characters is the outstanding action. After city-scale battles in the two Avengers films, Civil War delivers on keeping up Marvel's high standard. This is helped by pitting the team against on another, as now they are facing their equals in combat. Before, the Avengers battled alien soldiers and robots, but now we get to see an all out battle involving technology, magic and hand-to-hand combat all being used against one another. There is also room for plenty of humour, too, especially when Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is involved. This prevents the lengthy action sequences from becoming tiring, and is a more than welcome presentation after the anti-climatic Batman v Superman a few months earlier. I don't want to go into too much depth here, as the action is the film's selling point and is best experienced without knowing all the little details.
Aside from the promise of seeing the Avengers battle one-another, much of the film's hype revolved around the introduction of two new characters. The first is Black Panther, who joins the fight after Bucky is framed for murdering his father. With incredible speed and agility, he is more than a match for most of the team. Chadwick Boseman is thankfully given much to do with the role, going from a proud son to a vengeful vigilante, whilst still remaining likeable throughout. However, for all of Black Panther's might and presence, he was never going to top the inclusion of Spiderman, seen here for the first time in the MCU. Whilst it was only two years ago we last saw this character (in the underwhelming mess The Amazing Spiderman 2), audiences aren't growing tired of him anytime soon, as proven by the reaction his reveal received online as well as the screening I was at. Tom Holland is the first teenage actor to play the role, and his performance is noticeably different from previous actor's portrayals as a result. He has a vulnerable look due to his young age, but when in costume, delivers all the humour and tricks one could hope for. I wasn't surprised to see he wasn't in the film too long, as they've yet to fully establish him in the MCU and was more a treat for the fans than anything else. I look forward to seeing him in his own MCU film next year.
The film is selling itself on the spectacle of superhero team vs. superhero team, and you get exactly that. However, there is nothing too surprising overall about the plot, aside from one potential game-changer reveal towards the end. Whilst it isn't as cookie-cutter as other superhero movies, there isn't anything that stands out as brand new, other than the sheer scale of action and characters involved. That said, there is certainly a lot to enjoy throughout, especially the battle at the airport, where all the heroes get a chance to show off their unique abilities. After the depressing tone of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this film feels like a breath of fresh air. It's much more fun and the conflict is handled so much better as the focus is mainly on Iron Man and Captain America. The supporting characters are all memorable, and it nicely sets up the rest of the series. Chances are you've probably seen the film by now, but if you haven't, go in expecting a fun ride and some decent drama and you'll have a blast.
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