Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received mixed reviews, partly because it was being compared to the movies being churned out by Marvel. With the release of Captain America: Civil War, DC's offering is sinking even farther out of the limelight.
The story of Captain America: Civil War follows the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. As trailers have revealed, the movie centers around a clash within the Avengers as they have different stands on whether to sign and accept the Sokovia Accords. The document states that the United Nations should oversee and control the Avengers.
The rift between the Avengers has split the team into two. On one hand, Captain America believes that the Avengers should not be controlled or prevented to act immediately on addressing potential threats. Iron Man, on the other hand, believes that such oversight is necessary to prevent civilian casualties due to the dangers that their abilities possess.
The movie that unfolds from this plot is an adrenaline-pumping action-packed film that never lets go of the throttle, while masterfully utilizing all 12 characters to have an impact on the movie and on its story.
Sharing The Spotlight
Captain America: Civil War has been nicknamed by some as Avengers 2.5, due to the sheer number of Marvel heroes featured in the film. In addition to the titular Captain America and Iron Man, also present in the movie are the Winter Soldier, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, War Machine, Vision, Black Widow, Black Panther and Spider-Man (we'll come back to him later).
Despite the number of characters in the movie, directors the Russo brothers were able to provide each one with enough share of the spotlight to prevent them from being relegated to a filler character. Captain America is the one that had most of his emotions portrayed through the film though, which is just appropriate given that this is his movie... Or is it?
Spider-Man: Civil War
Another nickname being given to the movie is Spider-Man: Civil War, due to the excitement generated by the webslinger. This is the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where Spider-Man is involved, and theaters all over the world will likely be cheering the moment that the wallcrawler first appears onscreen.
Tom Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker is spot on. I was skeptical that anybody could do a better job at it than Andrew Garfield, but Holland was able to pull it off much better than expected.
Spider-Man is back with Marvel, and Holland's depiction of the character will have fans looking forward to Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will be released in July next year.
Action Scenes, And More Action Scenes
While the story of the movie is a compelling one, showing the many facets of Captain America's dilemmas as he looks to protect his best friend in Bucky, the Winter Soldier, amid his disagreements with Iron Man and some of the Avengers, the action scenes steal the show.
The superhuman capabilities of the Avengers are in full display, but standing out in the action scenes are the perfectly choreographed hand-to-hand combat sequences, especially the one between Captain America, the Winter Soldier and Iron Man that is featured in the trailers. The movie could have resorted to blasting everything and everyone out of fights, but the action was crafted perfectly to make each battle feel and look different from the others.
Verdict: A Rare Superhero Movie Masterpiece
Equal parts fun, smart, emotional, thrilling and thought-provoking, Captain America: Civil War is a rare masterpiece of a superhero movie. With First Avenger, The Winter Soldier and now Civil War, the case can be made that the Captain America films could possibly be the greatest superhero movie trilogy of all time.
