By:James Southworth
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Marvel has begun the third phase and almost impossibly successful streak of superhero movies with "Captain America: Civil War". Everyone has consistently wondered whether Marvel can make a mistake now with two to three movies having come out for now many years, and all of them have done well. That still doesn't seem to be the case. "Civil War" made a massive hit at the box office, already earning $180 million solely on its opening. And it makes sense: this movie is easily one of the biggest in cast and it is the longest Marvel movie to date. The plot is pretty major, as well, as Steve Rogers/Captain America and Tony Stark/Iron Man are at odds with each other on whether to check on the power of the Avengers or not. Tony believes that the power should be limited as the Avengers (himself included) have done a lot of damage, and have become more like vigilantes. Steve is completely against this limit, as he sees this as stopping the Avengers from doing the work they should do. This leads to the rest of the supers in this movie picking either one's side, and the conflict turns violent. Meanwhile, the villain of this movie, Zemo (played by Bruhl) has a plan that could turn humanity upside down, and is determined to make sure the Avengers never discover it.
The summary I gave of the plot seems pretty basic, and essentially it is. But the themes surrounding it are some of the most complex presented to us in a Marvel movie. One of the biggest is the importance of friendship. While this could have been cheesy in certain hands, the Russo brothers (directors) nailed this perfectly. Throughout the whole of the movie there is a lot of weight put on the camaraderie of all the Avengers, and when this disagreement puts them at odds, the audience feels the weight of it. Steve and Tony are shown to have become almost like brothers, so it can be tough to see them argue. But even in their arguments, the Russo brothers show how much they care for each other, as they both make it clear they don't want to fight one another. The little quips characters have between each other, especially between Bucky and Sam, further highlight the deep-seated bonds these characters have formed in their time together. There is also the complex idea of freedom vs. control. It's a question the Russo brothers never fully answer, as the audience can see the reasoning for both ideas through Steve and Tony.
Besides the themes, there are so many things that are done just right in this film, and made it an incredible joy to watch. "Civil War" is two and a half hours, and through every minute of it I was invested. Humor and drama are perfectly balanced here (possibly better than any other Marvel movie so far). The two big fight scenes have some of the fastest and best choreography I've ever seen. The first one with nearly all the Avengers present is an absolute delight. I'd really prefer not to reveal anything about it, as it is simply something you have to witness for yourself, but let me just say the dialogue delivered as well as the punches make for fun. The final battle is on the polar opposite side as possibly the most intense Marvel battle ever. It was inevitable we would see Cap and Iron Man fight, but watching them actually do it is both emotionally damaging and gripping. The movements are intense and chaotic. What plays out in this moment is one of the darkest moments I've witnessed in a Marvel movie, but it worked perfectly in the context of this movie.
And how about the acting? I honestly thought there wasn't a weak link in the cast, as everyone gave perfect performances. Christ Evans absolutely nails it as Cap, highlighting his friendly nature while also giving Rogers a dark side we've never seen before. It made for Evans' most complex portrayal of Cap so far. We are able to root for him in this movie, despite the fact he is at odds with many other heroes we've come to love. Robert Downey Jr. gives in what is my opinion his best portrayal of Iron Man so far. In the first Iron Man, he was still testing the waters, in the second he was far too antagonistic, and in the third he was too emotional. Here Downey really balances the fun arrogant side of his character while also showing his characters' emotions in a way I felt was just right. We could understand his character too. I thought he might be playing his role more antagonistically, but the Russo brothers and Downey made it much more complex (which made me realize the Team Cap/Team Iron Man ordeal was just a promotional move). The supporting characters gave some great performances as well. Tom Holland gave an excellent new interpretation of Peter Parker/Spider-Man that totally won out over the garbage Sony gave us with Andrew Garfield. Spider-Man returned with his fun quips, and Holland gave Peter Parker an awkward boyish charm that Toby Maguire couldn't always pull off. Marvel did perfectly with Spider-Man in a mere 30 minutes what Sony couldn't do in two movies. The best performance of this movie to me came from Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther. He gave this character an interesting dark edge that many of the other Marvel characters don't have. He played Black Panther as a silent force, which made him feel like much more of a character to truly be feared and reckoned with. I honestly can't wait for his feature movie; he was just honestly so cool! Perhaps the most pleasing part of this movie was Daniel Bruhl's Zemo, who is Marvel's best movie villain since Loki. For a long time Loki has been the only great villain, with Ultron being a little generic, Red Skull being too cartoonish, and the Iron Man series giving us way too many villains who simply wore business suits. I could actually feel some menace exuding from Zemo, and the reveal of his true plan (as well as a twist involving him) was chilling.
I was definitely expecting a lot of "Civil War", and I'm glad it exceeded my expectations. I honestly don't have any problems with the movie: everything felt like it was executed just right: the themes, the balance of comedy/drama, the action, and the acting. Most pleasing to me was how in the midst of a huge cast the Russo brothers still managed to consistently keep the focus on Captain America. We were always feeling for him and what he was going through. "Captain America: Civil War" is easily the darkest in Marvel's movie career so far, but it is also the most compelling, and I might even go so far to say it is the best Marvel movies of all time. This movie will assuredly be in my top 10 movies of 2016 as it is pretty much flawless; I absolutely recommend seeing it in theaters!
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