The Captain is back and is suiting up to fight his most powerful foe to date: the Avengers.
Following the events that occurred in The Age of Ultron, the Captain and the other Avengers find themselves in Lagos hunting for Brock Rumlow, a former hydra agent turned into a heavily armed terrorist. After a long fought battle, the team returns to the Avenger’s compound and receives an unexpected visit from United States Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross. Showing video recordings of the collateral damage the Avengers have caused since their formation as a team, Ross states that the world can no longer tolerate a group with “unlimited power and no supervision” and gives them an ultimatum: each hero is to either sign the Sokovia Accords, a document that would put the team under a United Nations panel, or relinquish the use of their powers entirely.
Meanwhile, a schism in the team grows as Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s childhood friend and the winter soldier, is put on a kill list after allegedly bombing a UN compound. With Captain Rogers and Tony Stark having polar opposite views on the two situations, the remaining heroes are forced to choose sides as tensions between the two leaders rise.
“While a great many people see you as a hero, there are some who prefer the word vigilante…”
Sec. of State Thaddeus Ross
Overall while I enjoyed the movie, there were a few spots which could have been improved.
Place transitions
Captain America: Civil War passes through a multitude of places around the world and it can be hard to follow for some people. Place transitions are okay but the way it was incorporated into the movie bothered me. There were five to ten seconds of silence and big bold white letters plastered across screen each time the movie swapped locations. Being an avid Marvel movie fan whose watched a fair number of their movies, I’ve seen them do better than this.
Plot: Impetus for Iron Man’s choice
While the conflict in the plot is excellent, the way the producers set it off, especially for Iron Man, is a bit weak. This is Tony Stark we’re talking about—a billionaire who does what he wants when he wants with little regard for other people. I’ve seen him singlehandedly kill his father’s best friend in Iron Man and leave a 13-year old child alone at night in the cold streets of Tennessee in Iron Man 3 and you expect me to believe that Miriam, a woman who has no connection to Tony at all, can move him by flapping a picture of her dead son in his face to the point where he willingly fights his best friend? Not likely. Also I find it kind of inconsistent that at the start of Iron Man 2, Tony was arguing against the US government taking his suits saying, “The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude…You can’t have it.” Then he basically turns his suit over in this movie.
Here’s what I think they did well:
Action
If there’s one thing I like about a movie, it is undeniably the action. With the influx of heroes that are joining the Captain for this film, the wow factor of any previous Avenger movie dwindles in comparison to Civil War. Whether it’s Hawkeye shooting Ant Man from an explosive bolt or Captain America denying the laws of physics with his shield throwing, there is no doubt that this movie is fantastic in 3D, which I regrettably opted out of.
The Final Verdict
Now, I don’t really go to the movie theater a lot but if given the opportunity, I would absolutely see this movie a second time. Although there were minor issues with the plot and cinematography, the overall plot and action are unparalleled to any other Marvel movie except perhaps Captain America: The First Avenger. The movie is great regardless of whether it’s in 3D or not but I would recommend seeing the movie in 3D to enhance the action scenes. I chose to side with Captain America. Who’s side are you on?
