By this point Captain America: Civil War has been out and I know a review from us is overdue (when you’re a college
student with a almost full time job it becomes difficult to keep track of what
and when something is due). At this
point, this article will not be considered a just a review but much rather an
overview of the movie as a whole, from how characters were portrayed in this
movie to where I could possibly see them in their next installments.
With the movie receiving VERY positive reviews from several
critics, there is no need for me to say that this is a must watch and very
enjoyable movie. From the newly
introduced characters to the certain plot developments, Civil War did something we have been missing from this cinematic
universe since Avengers Age of Ultron. Although as great as this movie may be, it
came with some major flaws that consistent enough to be noticeable but
personally not trash the movie completely.
Before I go on, I would like to state in this review that comparing this
movie to Batman vs Superman just
seems wrong (not that it’s superiorly better, but simply because it feels like
comparing apples and oranges. One
featured the story of man vs god while the other was a story
of….miscommunication…). With this said,
the best way to go over this movie would be to split the good from the bad, and
look at the different components of the movie that made this a strong phase 3
installment.
What didn’t work…
Let’s just get the bad stuff out
of the way, as much as my co-host like to tear anything they can get their
hands on a new one, I like to see the faults and find ways it can be polished
(if possible). The movie was extremely
heavy, with tons of characters, multiple key plot points and camera work
reminiscing the glorious phase 2 installment Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Character Development: When
you pack 10 or more characters into a movie, you will tend to see characters
not really get a chance to shine. This
case isn’t any different but surprisingly it works more as a positive rather
than a negative. Before we get to the
big two new faces, I want to discuss Ant-Man and Hawkeye’s appearances in this
movie which, to keep it short, felt off.
Neither character felt like they belonged in this movie, their purpose
for joining Captain’s side felt like fillers rather than characters with actual
incentives. But hey shouldn’t being cool
with Captain America and being a fan be a good enough incentive to make these
characters show up… No, not at all.
Every character in this movie had a purpose for being there, be it
because they were an extremely powerful being with little to no control
(Scarlet Witch) or the logical catalyst between two sides (Vision). Hell, even Rhodes (War Machine) felt like a
good enough fit given he had little input (but solid input) prior to the major
fight between both sides. These two just
felt like cameos to fill a roster, added free DLC that you didn’t ask for but
honestly don’t care because it was free and it was cool to see it.
Unfortunately no one is safe from
poor cameos. Yes as much as it pains me
to admit it, Black Panther and Spider-Man (*sobs) both had amazingly good
cameos but lacked solidarity, giving us faith that these two characters can
stand alone in their own standalone movie and sadly enough a reason to care for
them. Beginning with Black Panther, his
biggest flaw in his appearance was giving the audience a reason to care for
him. Unless the viewer is sensitive and
will cry for just about anything, the movie glossed over the loss of his father
but showed it to us long enough for the movie to say “CARE FOR HIM DAMNIT”. His major incentive for fighting next to Iron
Man was simply because the crimes committed by those responsible were not being
held accountable. This was understood,
but the sad nature behind it was not all there and it made for a clearly rushed
and poorly developed motive for him being in the movie. Honestly, I never felt a direct connection to
him, nor cared for his loss. All that
came to mind was just how badass he looked while fighting and that sick
costume. Spider-Man’s cameo had a better
set-up (which I will explain later) but his quick appearances in the fight
scene leave us to ask, how will his solo movie work? From what we saw, the audience was treated to
a great introduction of this iteration of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and looks
great when surrounded by the other cast.
What lacked about this appearance was enough evidence show us how he can
stand on his own and if Tom Holland can give us the proper Spider-Man when his
solo movie roles around in the next couple of years. It is too soon to tell of course but more
time with these characters could have given us a better idea of how they would
be able to stand on their own two feet when their time comes in the next couple
of years.
Also as a side note, T'Challa felt so overlooked it was sort of
sad. Personally, unless the audience
knew of the actor prior to the movie or understood that T’Challa was the Prince
and his appearance there was because of his father, it was somewhat difficult
to connect the dots and say “OOOOOOHHH, that’s Black Panther”, which is why I
guess they had to add the scene where he removes his helmet after being
surrounded by police to make it obvious to the audience who Black Panther was.
Honorable Mentioned: When Crossbones
was announced to be in character for this movie, the internet exploded. Having the character we saw in Winter Solider finally in costume and
having a clip of him kicking Captain America’s ass led some to believe that the
death would happen in accordance to the comics…which sadly did not happen. For the 15 or so minutes we got to enjoy
Crossbones, we got to see a spectacularly progressed villain that we needed to
see back within Winter Soldier; a
threat to the Avengers and someone who can match Captain in technique. When we witnessed his death, personally it
felt like the writer’s did all this for fan service. What could have been a great villain for Civil War got thrown away so quickly.
Plot Development: The title is very misleading, and by very I mean
A LOT. If you ever read the original Civil War written by Mark Miller, you
would be able to understand why this movie should not be titled “Civil
War”. From its progression of signing
the Sokovia Accords (this movies iteration of the Superhuman Registration Act)
to saving Bucky’s life from Hydra once again and “not telling Iron Man because
he wouldn’t believe me”, this movie felt more like an internal conflict of The
Avengers and not a conflict coming from the outside tearing them apart. This also causes another problem, the
transition of conflicts. There were
simply just too many of them that they all felt unfinished and unresolved in
the end. It felt as if the movie wanted
us to make these connections on our own rather than telling us directly “this
is exactly the outcome and you don’t need to make theories”. This wouldn’t be a problem given that we have
multiple other movies where we get to see these heroes again but each new
conflict felt like it changed the purpose of what each side stood for. Having to protect and rights and liberties of
super humans from the hands of the government all of a sudden became, trying to
save Bucky Barnes because he is Captain’s friend and the Sokovia Accords became
something of the past. Which each new
point overshadowing the other, the movie became cluttered and unless the viewer
kept track of what has been going on throughout the movie, or simply didn’t
care, understanding the progression became a hassle and at times bumpy. There are other small little annoyances such
as tone transition (from serious to humorous to serious again) that felt choppy
and out of place, but this I consider minor as it is more of a preference and
didn’t ruin the overall enjoyment of this movie.
What did work…
Character Development: One
major aspect of this movie that I am very happy to see is that it kept true to
one key element; it was a Captain America movie through and through. From start to finish, we were treated to
seeing how Captain’s America’s actions affected The Avenger’s as a whole. From the progression of the story to the
character interactions, everything somehow connected to a decision or action
that he did. Stopping Crossbones in Sokovia,
that led to the Sokovia Accords.
Rejecting the Sokovia Accords, this led the splitting of The
Avengers. Trying to protect Bucky Barnes
from the hands of the authority and Iron-Man, this led to everything else in
the second half of the movie. Unlike The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, the story was not progressed by a threat
that affected an entire cast (Loki in The
Avengers) or the introduction of characters that brought everyone together
(Ultron, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in Age
of Ultron), it progressed based on what Captain America did and the characters
response to his actions. At its core it
felt like a Captain America movie.
Looking at Iron-Man, this movie
almost completed his character. Every
installment featured Tony Stark as a party hard, playboy who dealt with the
consequences after they happened. It
wasn’t until this movie where we saw the other half of Tony Stark, one that saw
the consequences of his actions and decided to deal with them AT THAT
MOMENT. The biggest character growth was
seen by him and for this I applaud the writing.
Whereas every installment and appearance of Iron-Man gave us an expected
Tony Stark/Iron-Man, this movie gave us a refreshing new side of him that can
well show us how he could stand in a future solo film (you know…if it
happens). He took action and control of
the situations quickly and effectively while remaining humorous as always.
Now I know I mentioned Spider-Man
and Black Panther in the “What didn’t work” section but it would be a crime to
not say these characters shined extremely well in their cameos. Besides the poor introduction and incentive
for being there, Black Panther was great.
Costume payed homage to the black suit we see in the comics and his
character stayed true to his comic book counterpart. His progression throughout the movie made him
clear as a character and how he could possibly stand in his standalone
movie. Spider-Man shined the brightest
with his cameo, giving us a beautiful introduction with his interaction with
Tony Stark and establishing the student/mentor relationship we will hopefully
see later on. Character wise, Tom
Holland captured Spider-Man’s talkative nature, smartass remarks and attitude
extremely well as well as giving us a dorky looking Peter Parker within a
modern era in such a beautiful way it brought tears to my eyes (literary). Within the couple of minutes we had with
Spider-Man it was enough for any hard fan to really appreciate this iteration
and hope for the best possible outcome in his solo movie.
Plot Development: Just like with the character development, there
is one major key aspect of the plot that saved this movie from being a
cluttered unenjoyable mess. As enjoyable
as the main story line was and the fight scenes to follow, the movie’s excesses
amount characters and loads of detail were all packaged in an organized manner
that made point of Civil War
understandable. This allowed for one
amazing aspect of the movie to shine, the ability to see all points of
perspective of both sides of the conflict.
By this I mean that the audiences gets to see what Tony Stark is
fighting for, his reason behind his push for the Sokovia Accords and betrayal
of Steve Rogers as well as Rogers side of the conflict from wanting to protect
The Avengers rights to keeping people like Scarlet Witch and Bucky safe from
the hands of the government. This is
something the comic book didn’t show and left me clearly in support of Captain
America’s side after seeing that the Superhuman Registration Act was a poorly
written mess. What the movie did well
was give me options with reasonable support from both sides. In the end, (as much as this was the
unpopular opinion) I sided more with Stark’s case but more in support of checks
and balances for The Avengers. This
aspect of the movie was insane, particularly because it kept me hooked
throughout the entire movie, trying to understand both sides and their
reasons. Not wanting to judge one more
than the other is something I never got from any superhero movie, and the left
me so uncomfortable I enjoyed it.
Honorable Mentioned: As disappointing
to see that the main villain for Civil
War be Baron Zemo not in costume but rather an instigator for the internal
conflicts of The Avengers (honestly hoping he comes back as actual Baron Zemo,
wouldn’t mind it) it led to one of the most spectacular fighting scenes in the
movie. As great and amazing as the
airport sequences was, the fight between Captain America and Bucky vs Iron Man
was probably the most heart wrenching sequences in the movie. It was very uncomfortable to watch these two
fight it out with such emotion after their betrayals. Having both sides cooperate and set aside
their differences only to have Zemo pull a last minute trick felt real. On a personal note, the fight was so
uncomfortable for me I almost wanted to yell “STOP IT PLEASE!” in the
movies.
So Where does this leave the Marvel
Cinematic Universe?...
Of course no one will know for
sure since nothing has been confirmed and the next movie won’t be until fall of this year. All we can do is guess, so why not take a
shot at it.
Doctor Strange: This is the
next movie due to come out during the fall of 2016. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen
Strange, the movie will follow his beginnings as Doctor Strange and how he
acquired his mastery of the magical arts.
There was a brief mentioning of him back in Winter Solider (recall the rooftop scene) meaning that this movie
MIGHT take place before the events of Winter
Soldier. With this in mind, his future
might not be with The Avengers rather he may serve as an advisor for the likes
of Spider-Man (within Homecoming along with Tony Stark) or an advisor or
helping hand for Captain America’s Secret Avengers.
Black Panther: We got to see him in all his glory as a cameo in
this movie and if we can connect the dots correctly we might have gotten a hint
of what his upcoming movie may be about. Not coming out until July of 2018,
Black Panther may focus on the possible fall of Wakanda after the events of Civil War. This may be a long shot since I am not basing
this on possible Black Panther story lines but according to the end credit
scenes, we see Bucky going into a comatose state until a cure is found for his
brainwashing procedure. Keeping in mind
that this is not the last time we will see Bucky, his movie may revolve around
Hydra or another outside organization coming to take Wakanda tech, Vibranium
reverses or Bucky himself. This is only
assumed because since we leave the Black Panther at Wakanda along with the
Winter Soldier.
Captain America and his side of heroes: The Avengers split, and
Captain breaks out all captive members incarcerated within the ocean jail
headquarter…thing. What does this
mean? The Secret Avengers of course! Since Captain America did not follow up with
the Sokovia Accords it can only be assumed that Captain America along with the
rest of the heroes who were imprisoned will become their own group not under
any jurisdiction (this includes S.H.I.E.L.D or whatever is left of it). In future installments of the MCU, this could
only mean that this group of heroes may not appear elsewhere until Infinity War
begins. If mentioned or certain members
make cameos, the best possible movie to do so would probably be within Captain
Marvel if it does not follow an origin story (unless the writers make the
origin happen after the events of Civil
War).
Iron Man and his side of heroes:
More than likely this will be the side we see most of because of the
consequences they will have to face for having signed the Sokovia Accords. If RDJ signs a new contract to appear in more
films and not just Infinity War we may see Tony Stark take lead as the new
S.H.I.E.L.D head after Nick Fury made an exit in Winter Solider. With The
Avengers now under the United Nations jurisdiction, we may see The Avengers not
be as effective in stopping threats leading to the remaining members
questioning the effectiveness of the Accord.
In regards to Rhodes coming back as War Machine, he may be after either
one of three things happen, 1) Tony builds him an exoskeleton of some sort of
use the War Machine suit properly 2) he completes his physical therapy and
manages to walk again allowing him to use the War Machine suit properly 3) he
quits and lives a normal life. If option
three is the case, I am sorry but it would have been better to see him die.
Spider-man: Not many details
have come out about his solo-movie except that at the moment of finishing this
article Michael Keaton has officially been casted for this movie. Some are saying that this could mean that the
possible villain for this movie may be Vulture which would actually be pretty
damn great. Alongside this prediction,
since RDJ has also been casted to make an appearance here we could possibly see
an Iron Spider-Man suit cameo since Tony Stark served as a mentor for young
Peter Parker. The movie did little to nothing
to show us what his possible solo movie could lead to and not until more
details emerge, any predictions about this movie concerning the plot would be
more along the lines of what we would want, rather than what we could possibly
get.
Only time will tell what the
events of Civil War will lead to, but
honestly this movie (as harsh as my fellow co-host are) got me excited for
what’s to come.
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