Captain America: Civil War
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, John Kani, John Slattery, Alfre Woodard
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 146 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 3 May 2016
Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, John Kani, John Slattery, Alfre Woodard
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 146 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 3 May 2016
The perpetual drip of superhero movies start to feel less marvelous and more obligatory. I was less excited entering the theater than I was in year’s past because my expectations were lower. Even though I knew surprises, snarky one-liners, and overwhelming action scenes were all on tap, we experience these same features a couple times a year now. Captain America: Civil War, where the team splits and superheroes line up on opposite sides, where did I just see that? Oh yeah, Batman vs. Superman. Sure, they are different studios and based on different comic source material, but they are all superheroes and they are regurgitating eerily similar themes.
Unfortunately for Chris Evans, his character titles the film, but it may as well be a full-fledged Avengers movie; almost everybody is here. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) gets about as much screen time as Steve Rogers and don’t forget Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Vision (Paul Bettany), Hawkeye, Falcon (Anthony Mackie, The Night Before), War Machine (Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and a couple newbies. All these ingredients don’t leave too much time for the good ol’ Captain, but he seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight. The biggest surprises aren’t the arrival of new characters, hidden villains, or suspect loyalties, it’s how the team arrays itself on opposite sides.
Unfortunately for Chris Evans, his character titles the film, but it may as well be a full-fledged Avengers movie; almost everybody is here. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) gets about as much screen time as Steve Rogers and don’t forget Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Vision (Paul Bettany), Hawkeye, Falcon (Anthony Mackie, The Night Before), War Machine (Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and a couple newbies. All these ingredients don’t leave too much time for the good ol’ Captain, but he seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight. The biggest surprises aren’t the arrival of new characters, hidden villains, or suspect loyalties, it’s how the team arrays itself on opposite sides.
Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who began Captain America’s story arc with The First Avenger, set up Steve Rogers as the rebel. This cuts against the grain because Steve is a goody two-shoes. He respects the chain of command, order, and loyalty. Tony Stark is the rogue, the guy who shirks responsibility and actively tries to annoy his superiors. Dividing our heroes and kicking off the ‘war’ are new bylaws and protocols drafted by the United Nations meant to bind the hands of The Avengers and put them under civilian oversight. I thought The Avengers were underneath S.H.I.E.L.D. until The Winter Soldier storyline burned that organization to the ground. Captain America would normally be the first in line to John Hancock the new laws, but Markus and McFeely imbue Rogers with a libertarian streak. He ain’t signing over his sovereignty.
We expect Tony Stark to act the rebellious teenager and skewer the U.N. with relentless sarcasm. Too easy. Due to a mounting sense of guilt and regret over all the innocent victims and collateral damage inflicted upon civilians because of The Avengers’s many destructive battles, Stark believes the new code of conduct is the way to go; a 5-second Alfre Woodard cameo confirms his choice. Iron Man’s buddies naturally line up on his side and Captain America’s homies stand by him with a couple new fish scattered around. The main problem with the conflict set-up is it’s a bit lazy on the part of typically inquisitive superheroes and forces the plot in directions it doesn’t want to drift in order to cue up the iconic fight scenes the filmmakers sense their fanboy legions want to see; shield vs. power suit.
Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan, The Martian) aka Steve Rogers’s BFF from The First Avenger is accused of blowing up the U.N. accords where the new laws are to be ratified. Rogers thinks something is amiss and the real villain is yet to reveal himself. In any other Avengers film, the rest of the crew would be right with him kicking around hypotheses and spit-balling ideas. Not this time. We don’t have room for grey areas when there are black and white sides to choose. Stark stiff arms alternatives and proper investigative techniques because there is capturing to be done and one of the new heroes, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, Gods of Egypt), is out for personal vendetta and it doesn’t matter if you’re guilty or not; if he has your name, you’re a marked man.
Black Panther does not come off too impressive. There were plenty of audience claps for his first appearance but this guy looks like The Avengers’s Catwoman. There is a solo Black Panther film on the way and I hope it gives this guy another dimension for all we get for his first impressions are solemn, declarative statements and blind hatred for whomever he decides his enemy is today, whether or not they are the guilty party. I gravitated toward Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson, The Jungle Book) by the end because even though Civil War’s plot requires single-mindedness and blind obedience regardless of your side, these two almost manage to locate a middle ground.
But there is no time to explore these misgivings. Civil War is the longest Avenger film to date at 146 minutes and there are so many characters, sub-plots, and action scenes, hardly anybody gets their due. The audience certainly doesn’t. Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Falcon, War Machine, and the new Spider-Man (Tom Holland, In the Heart of the Sea) are all one-dimensional stick figures. Oh yes, Marvel’s latest crossover, Spider-Man entering The Avengers universe lit up the internet like a Kardashian selfie, but is nobody else tired of new Spider-Men? They are starting to turn over as often as Batmen did in the mid-to-late ‘90s. Tom Holland appears to be another plucky applicant, but his comedic scenes playing an amateur teenager amongst the big boys is underwhelming.
The Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who are also set to direct the next two Avenger films, opt for more hand-held and shaky cam this time around. An early scene featuring Black Widow kick some butt is borderline nauseating to watch because the shaking is Cloverfield-like. Even hanging out in Peter Parker’s spartan bedroom is no escape from the hand-holding; put it on a tripod fellas! Futhermore, we’re in 3D again and there is no need. There are more than enough whizzes and bangs without the added cost and irritating over-sized glasses. I sound like a grouchy old man here but Civil War just happens to be the superhero movie that solidifies my saturation point with the genre. The audience, many dressed up in Captain America attire, were so jittery to see the new installment; I wished so many people would fight to squeeze into the documentary playing down the hall.
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