“Captain America: Civil War” busted into theatres on May 6.
Photo courtesy of YouTube
The summer movie season is officially here, with the release of Marvel’s latest superhero epic, “Captain America: Civil War” (CACW). After being heavily criticized for “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) needed to reunite its top heroes in a way that would please fans and critics alike. “Captain America: Civil War” doesn’t disappoint on any level; the fights, stunts, humor and stunning camera work all come together to form the best Marvel movie that Disney has released in a while.
There aren’t enough good things to say about “Captain America: Civil War”. Everything about this film went right, which is a huge plus for Marvel. The introductions to some new key players for Phase Three were done very well, which led to great setups for the future.
Two newbies, Spider-Man and the Black Panther, have a significant amount of screen time. They both picked up the slack for the missing Thor and Hulk characters, but neither was necessary for this story. It was impressive that Spider-Man and the Black Panther affected the story and action of “Captain America: Civil War”, instead of having measly cameos. They fit in well with the other characters and will be good additions to the MCU.
One of the best parts of the film is that Disney has saved Spider-Man from the terrors Sony inflicted on the franchise. Disney’s Spider-Man is the classic character from the comics, which fans should embrace nicely. The new Spider-Man is a quirky teenage Peter Parker, who is just getting to test the potential of his powers. He is still unsure of himself and doesn’t know how to fight. “Captain America: Civil War” helps him to gain some confidence in his abilities, while giving the audience a glimpse of what to expect in the future. Since Spider-Man is a lot younger, his lack of knowledge gives him some funny lines. He definitely adds that classic Marvel humor to the story.
Another great aspect of “Captain America: Civil War” is the lack of dialogue to pave the way for incredible fight scenes. A vast majority of the film is action sequences, which is refreshing. Sometimes, it’s hard to sit through a superhero film when the characters only sit around and discuss things (I’m talking to you, “Batman v Superman”). These scenes are brilliantly choreographed, with stunts that we can only dream of. The hand-to-hand combat and motorcycle stunts are incredible to watch, with some being jaw-droppingly awesome.
The film truly embraces its title, as it is a civil war throughout its entirety. The rifts between the characters feel natural and unforced, since most of the characters have previous history with each other. Power struggles between Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Iron Man (Tony Stark) have been occurring since the first Avengers film. This new story is perfectly timed by being sandwiched between “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1.”
Most of CACW acts as a miniature Avengers film, but the key difference is who the villain is. The Avengers typically come together to fight aliens or power-hungry robots that are trying to rule the Earth. But, “Captain America: Civil War” doesn’t have this typical Villain – instead, the villains are the Avengers themselves. Each side of the issue believes they are fighting for the proper cause, which makes them look like villains to the other side. The lack of a big, bad villain is perfect and essential to “Captain America: Civil War” because it isn’t necessary to have the Avengers fight themselves and others at the same time. There are some sub-plots that involve minor villains, but they aren’t the driving force of the film.
Overall, “Captain America: Civil War” is absolutely incredible and a 140-minute ride of pure exhilaration that is fun to watch. It sets the standard even higher for all the upcoming Marvel films, as the insane fights, match-ups and well-timed humor combine for success. “Captain America: Civil War” is the perfect way to kick off the summer movie season.
