Captain America: Civil War Review

        It’s crazy to think that I’m half-way close to wrapping up the MCU’s Infinity Saga. Phases 1 and 2 included one of the best films in the comic book genre. As well as some clunkers that aren’t bad in a stretch but were just borderline okay to me. Phase 3 is often debated as being the best phase in the MCU in general. Of course, they introduced new heroes and a culmination of storylines that were presented last time. Tougher though is debating which sequel is better, The Winter Soldier or Civil War. 

1. Disassembled

        With the title like Civil War, one would think that this is the crossroads the Avengers will face as a team. Mind you, we have a new lineup due to the events in Age of Ultron. Also, people tend to think that this is sort of an Avengers film, since we have mostly all of them appearing. Minus Thor and Hulk, we’ll talk about them in a matter of weeks. Ultimately, this film is Cap’s film, and the stakes is personal.

        We get a reintroduction to Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier as we see him commit an assassination. Not giving a clear look as to who were the victims but witnessing that he’s controllable. Transition to the present where we see the team in Lagos as they hunt down a former Shield agent turned terrorist. While they stopped him, Wanda accidentally caused a bombing that triggered casualties.

        Meanwhile, Tony is greeted from a mother whose son was part of the Sokovian attack. Feeling that he has blood on his hands, everything leads to the creation of the Sokovian Accords. A binding paperwork that restricts the Avengers to being under the control of the countries that have a threat. Aside from the fight they we ultimately wanted to see, just seeing the heroes argue over the justification of the framework visually draws the line where everyone is at. 

        Since this is Steve’s film, he can’t consciously sign the document. I think what makes the film so great is that the whole ideological battle is already established and that it doesn’t have to be bat in the head multiple times. Like, the whole story doesn’t stop by having random news channel bits discussing the pros and cons of the Accords. The argument practically sets up Steve as a fugitive who must rescue and save Bucky. 

        The whole type of film that we’re dealing with is akin to well The Fugitive. Where Rogers and his confidantes help him as he’s on the run. Thus, making the initial fight and argument more impactful since they were a team and now are in the opposites sides of the law. It’s not overstuffed but is centralized with everything focusing on Bucky. Right down to Prince T’Challa hunting him down for his own gain. 

        I might as well talk about the new cast that we see. T’Challa is the most interesting out of the cast since he’s of royalty. As well as being the Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman portrays him well were he’s just business where he’s just gunning for Bucky and nothing else. His character arc as well is great since he’s so blinded by rage that he realizes that what he’s doing won’t bring back his father. 

        When one of the trailers came out, I bet that no one would anticipate or even think that Spider-Man would even appear in an MCU movie. Just the story of how it went down is even crazier, and it happened due to a hack that occurred in 2014. I won’t divulge until maybe talking about it in Spider-Man: Homecoming. What I will say is that the whole thing is like a custody arrangement where two studios are sharing a character. 

        With a film that has a lot of lines being drawn and a team being divided, one of the details that I noticed is that the whole film has a muted look to it. Now, this is probably the only artistic thing that appears in an MCU film. But it works that how the characters look muted even in their costume. In one way, the colors don’t pop because they aren’t heroic but are fighting amongst themselves. 

        Lastly, I think the secret sauce to having the whole idea work is that there's no right and wrong. It would be one thing where the heroes disavow what they signed or simply stating to the audience who was in the right or wrong. All of it is up to the audience to interpret who was right and vice versa. We even see the effects of going against the accords that helps Tony realize that his stance has consequences. 

2. Zemo

        Aside from Loki, Helmut Zemo is one of the most interesting villains to appear in an MCU film. What separates him from the other one and done villains, even Loki to an extent is that he’s human. He has no powers or a suit that gives him super strength. Specifically, he accomplishes what he wanted to do. Drive a wedge and blow up the team from the inside. 

        What makes him work is that he’s the puppet master that ultimately pulls the strings to have everyone chase after Bucky. More so that he has a drive that is justified to get back at the heroes. It’s established that he lived in Sokovia and was part of a kill squad. Making everything that he does so calculating and malevolent. I think of the scenes that he’s in, my favorite is when he’s talking to T’Challa. 

        As he talks to the prince about regretting killing his father, he justifies doing what he did. It’s the rare moment where aside from Loki, we get a scene that breathes and just show how messed up Zemo is. All with interspersed cuts of Steve and Tony fighting each other. I was surprised that T’Challa saved him from killing himself. To top it all is we see him mocking the agent that he did what he did and no one else had done. 

3. 2016: Heroes Fight

        2016 is the one year that we will remember. From multiple deaths involving legendary celebrities to having a controversial election. It seemed that among the comic book realm was one where heroes clashed. Now, one can’t talk about this movie without discussing it’s opposite. I’ve already talked about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice some time ago. The gist was that it was the first time the duo finally met in celluloid and fought. 

        One of the many problems the film had was the overall approach to how they fought. The difference between how that one and Civil War was that the former lacked personal stakes. This one has it since we knew the characters and just seeing everything unfold is like seeing parents fight in front of you. Metaphors aside, Civil War worked because it depended on the character development that makes it believable. 

        For one thing, for as much as it’s bigger in scope than either of the individual sequels beyond the Avengers, it’s mostly on one character and his point of view. The focus is on Cap and seeing/hearing his reasons as to why he won’t be restricted. Contrasted with Stark’s who sees himself as the reason why the team must be put in check. It boils over when they argue and inevitably fight in the film. It’s about the characters and giving a shit. 

        Without beating a horse’s skeleton, Batman v Superman is about the ideas that’s disguised to be smart. Captain America: Civil War is a runaway film that knows what it is without being too smart for its own good. The fight’s in this one aren’t drawn out, it works in the context of Cap and Bucky escaping and Tony wanting to kill Bucky for what he did. The main takeaway is that it’s better to know what film you have than thinking it’s something more beyond heroes in tights. 

4. Overall

        Captain America: Civil War is one of the best in the MCU. And a successful kick off to the 3rd phase of MCU films.