Cool uniform, bro.
As we all know, it is the current year and the latest offering off of the Marvel assembly line is a little picture called Captain America: Civil War. I took a little bit of time off of my writing streak yesterday to go and see this juggernaut at the cinema because I love me some Marvel flicks. Regardless of what you think about their quality, these films have always been undeniably entertaining with the possible exception of Iron Man 2, but the Captain America brand took everything to the next level.
As a continuation to the stories presented in The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War continues on with the stories of both films and how they have caused at least some of the Avengers to think that they need regulation and government oversight. But is the film good?
Sure, it is! However, this comes with some issues and caveats that I need to save for the spoiler section, so keep that in mind.
The Cast.
Round One. Fight!
Much of the fun of this movie can be found in how we know our cast of characters like they’re family by now, but it is hampered by shaky or wasted performances from several members of the Avengers. Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, and Chris Evans lead the Avengers into this conflict with a lot of the same genius that made us like them in the first place. These three men are the biggest linchpins that hold up the Marvel Empire, which is a shame because the same could not be said for Paul Bettany or Elizabeth Olsen.
Returning from Age of Ultron as Vision and the Scarlet Witch, these two delivered performances that were so lifeless that it negated their non-existent character development in this movie. Vision seems to be a character that is there solely for the sake of fan service, so I can forgive Paul Bettany for wanting a nice and easy voice-over paycheck. However, neither you nor I can deny that this movie has the cheese cranked up to eleven when Wanda’s accent starts to go in and out seemingly at random.
Hey, Russo brothers! Americanize her or don’t! It’s not that hard to put in that little extra effort to make sure that people are consistent in your movie!
The Plot.
Team Cap. Duh.
I am going to be light on details, but the script is arguably the weakest part of the film. This story was marketed repeatedly as one of “great depth” and “moral complexity” as each of the Avengers try to figure out whether or not to sign the Sokovia Accords, which is the main MacGuffin to get the story going. The Russo brothers attempt to play with a continuation of themes about government accountability and oversight, which some reviewers on Youtube (I’m looking right at you, Jeremy Jahns!) see as one of the things that this movie does right because it allows you to see both sides of the argument.
I was on Team Cap the entire time. I cannot go into any more detail on that without ruining things, so more on that in the spoiler section!
When we talk about the rest of the story and character motivations, the justifications in this movie are paper-thin and the film devolves into one long chase movie from point A to B. There are long action scenes that fail to move the plot along in any way and some twists that turn this story into an idiot plot, which is a huge stumble from its’ conspiracy thriller predecessor that left me breathless.
But again, more on that in the spoilers…
The Technicals.
Why is RDJ playing keep-away with Don Cheadle’s paycheck? That’s really rude!
If you are looking to see things explode, look no further! This comes with one caveat because I only saw the 2D version, but the visuals in this movie are virtually flawless. Anthony and Joe Russo continued to use their thriller street cred from Winter Soldier, but most movie-goers will be delighted by the fact that this movie continues to avoid the shaky-cam idiocy that is not done well, let alone properly, in most major action franchises. But apart from that?
- The fight choreography? Stellar.
- Special effects? You’d better believe they work well here.
- Product placement? With the exception of a Nestle painting and an endorsement of MIT, it is hard to notice.
All in all, the style of the film is a great credit to the creative team because they gave it their all. Unfortunately, eye-popping visuals do not a great film make!
Conclusion.
Bros for reasons. You know how it is.
Look, there is no doubt that this film was going to be successful in its’ opening. Marvel movies have been a license to print money since 2008, and they show no sign of slowing down despite what awful people like Amanda Marcotte and Joanna Robinson say. If you are looking for a popcorn flick that you can have some fun watching with your friends or family, you can do a hell of a lot worse than Civil War.
However, that is just about all this movie has to offer.
To the Spoilers!
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