Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Review

147min

Genre:      Comic-book, Action, Adventure

Directors:  Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Cast:        Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson…more

Writers:    Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Mark Millar …more

-Synopsis-

An ideological disagreement between Iron Man and Captain America about how to best protect humanity, which surfaced in ‘Age of Ultron’, turns into an open battle that splinters “The Avengers” in this spring blockbuster and latest episode in the Marvel Cinematic Universe saga.

When Chris Evans debuted as “Cap” in 2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’, we could have never imagined that this rather one-note, flag-waving hero would spawn some of the most intriguing narratives in comic-book filmmaking for the years to come.

But thanks to directors Joe & Anthony Russo and their solid work on 2013’s sequel ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’; they’ve managed to effectively combine the political and personal elements of that film with the ensemble characteristics of the “Avengers” movies, to create a cinematic thrill ride which may be the best “Marvel Cinematic Universe” movie to date.

Kevin Feige & co. at Marvel have expertly managed to take the Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes storyline and the political elements of ‘The Winter Soldier’ and throw it into the ‘Avengers’ dynamic that began to fracture in ‘Age of Ultron’.

The result is a thoroughly enjoyable romp with varied tones which go beyond the usual Marvel, and let’s face it most Superhero fare, building a compelling drama which pays off in spectacular style, this is probably as good as a film with super-powered characters is gonna get.

Apart from Thor and The Hulk, all the usual suspects return to great effect and the new additions certainly make their mark; with Black Panther and Spider-Man stealing the show and exciting audiences for their upcoming standalone films, while Ant-Man helps to elevate the humour and charm at just the right spot.

But this is very much a Steve Rogers v Tony Stark conflict story which builds nicely with several turns and then concludes with a clever dramatic twist.

The action is meticulously crafted as expected but it isn’t non-stop, ‘Civil War’ might even be considered a slow-burn superhero film for the first half as the drama builds and Marvel flirts with DC’s darker territory, but it does so to great effect.

But all that comes to a head with the inevitable clash of the titans in an airport sequence which combines all the elements that make the Marvel films so successful; creating an extraordinary 30 minute action sequence with style and humour that even ventures into ‘Deadpool’ self-referential territory, while reinforcing everyone’s personality and abilities and producing arguably one of the greatest scenes in superhero movie history.

Comparisons will inevitably be made with the very recent and unfairly maligned ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. With the luxury of having fleshed out their characters over the last 8 years; Marvel has focused on crafting a more compelling conflict which doesn’t turn disappointingly on a sixpence into a battle versus an interchangeable villain… but please Marvel fanboys remember there’s room for everyone out there.

The Bottom Line…

Marvel have added to a proven formula and crafted a well-balanced and thoroughly entertaining blockbuster which takes advantage of every minute of its long runtime. We’re curious to see where the tentacles of this universe lead to from here but the Russo brothers may have set a bar that they and others may struggle to get over.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The world’s greatest Superheroes reunite to protect the Earth from the menace of a rogue A.I. program that threatens humanity as we know it, as “The Avengers” combat the powerful “Ultron” and his super-recruits they will have to face the consequences of past actions which threaten to destroy the team and doom humanity to extinction.

Directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans among others.

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