Movie Review: Marvel's Captain America: Civil War

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Captain America: Civil War
Release Date: May 6, 2016
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus (screenplay), Stephen McFeely, (screenplay), Mark Millar (comic book), Joe Simon (characters), Jack Kirby (characters)
Starring: Chris Evans, Robery Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 147 minutes
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After another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps, one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark's surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

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On Thursday, April 14, me and 300 or so movie nerds packed into an auditorium to be the first super fans to see a screening of Captain America : Civil War, and I have been dying to tell everyone about it since! Don't worry. I will not spoil anything. Everyone should get to enjoy the film as I did, spoiler-free. 

It's a must-see, action-packed, movie. I loved it! Go see it when it opens. Now, to be fair, I would tell everyone to go see it even if I didn't love it because this film is an important cog in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you're at all invested in the MCU, like I am, you have to keep watching all of the films. 

The Captain American films in the MCU have not been my favorite. To me, The First Avenger was one of my least favorite Marvel movies and The Winter Soldier, while better, still isn't one of my faves. Captain America : Civil War is the best Captain America movie and a great addition to the MCU. It wasn't perfect, but still very good. 

I loved the cast. I'm not going to tell anyone which Avengers are in it, in case someone doesn't know, but it's a lot.  All of the favorites are back, in all of their glory, and a few new characters are added. It was super-hero galore!  The introduction of the new heroes worked better for one of the new heroes than the other.  A minor imperfection. Just as an example, when one of the new characters appeared on-screen, the audience cheered audibly. For the introduction of the other new character, no cheers. I don't think that either of the characters was disliked or un-welcomed, I think that one of them needed a bit more explanation.  I'm sure that the fact the I needed more background on one of the new characters means that there will be a new movie with a new origin story, and that isn't a bad thing. 

The script was great. Captain America movies tend to have the best dialogue, and this film is no exception.  It's all there.  There are some great heart to heart conversations and funny one-liners. It is all made more impressive by sheer number of Avengers in this movie. The fans, the MCU diehards, were going to know if someone spoke out of character. Thankfully, there was none of that. 

The plot kept me entertained. This installment is a sequel to both The Winter Soldier and Avengers : Age of Ultron.  It even ties back to Steve Roger's WWII days. It all works seamlessly.  The story has the right amount of history and the right amount of future.  I had a tiny issue with War Machine's story, but that maybe because I have never cared about War Machine.  To me, War Machine is just an unpainted, lesser version, of Iron Man with none of the personality. The movie is two and a half hours in duration. If War Machine's story was cut down, the movie wouldn't have to be so long. 

Nevertheless, by the end of this adventure, there is a definite end to some story arcs and a definite path to future story arcs. The future for the MCU looks good.  I will probably see this again when it opens. Don't forget to stay for the credits. See Captain America : Civil War when it opens on May 6.

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