Marvel Studios/Disney
When we last saw Captain America (in his own movie), he was battling his best friend Bucky and the government in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. When we last saw the Avengers, they were taking on another alien menace that was set on destroying mankind while destroying yet another city themselves in the process. The residual effects of these storylines are brought to bear in the latest Marvel Studios action flick Captain America: Civil War.
After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron which left the city of Sokovia in rubble with hundreds of civilians dead (and this seems to be the first time any of these Marvel films have actually dealt with the human consequence to the superheroes attempting to save those very people they end up killing, while Batman v Superman dealt with that issue head on), the government of the world, under the banner of the United Nations, wants to put a leash on the Avengers, basically controlling when and where they have the authority to act.
Marvel Studios/Disney
Still not fully reconciled from the events of both Avengers actions in New York or Sokovia, along with his guilt over Ultron’s actions, Tony Stark is fully on board with allowing the government to muzzle the team, and he’s got some back-up with Black Widow, Vision, War Machine and some new allies on his team. Cap is backed up by Hawkeye, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, the newly deprogrammed Bucky (aka Winter Soldier) and Ant-Man, with some assist from Sharon Carter, who finally revealed her familial connection to Peggy after he death. While Tony is fine with some oversight, Steve thinks that it’s too much interference to let someone else decide who they should help, posing some good questions like what happens when they need to be somewhere but the UN says no. It’s a tricky line to walk and both sides have valid points.
Of course, things have to come to a head to explain the film’s title, and as the leaders of world’s nations have come together in the country of Wakanda to sign the Sokovia Accords, a terrorist attack on the UN building injures many and takes the life of the president of Wakanda. When surveillance footage seems to indicate the Winter Soldier was responsible, the action puts Steve and Tony at odds, and makes a new enemy/ally in the form of the president’s son T’Challa, who has an alter ego of his own, Black Panther, who sides with Team Iron Man after a daring rescue of Bucky puts Team Cap on the wrong side of the new law.
Marvel Studios/Disney
And did I mention Tony also employs another new member of his team? One teenager by the name of Peter Parker? Yes, Marvel finally ironed out their differences with Sony and are now able to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel-proper universe (still no X-Men on that horizon though). This introduction to Peter/Spidey can be seen as basically the origin story for his next stand-alone movie, and it’s probably not a stretch to say that any moment Spider-Man is on screen is a true highlight of the film and bodes well for his own cinematic future. Tom Holland, who is just barely out of his teenage years, plays the teenaged Parker to perfection with all of his teen angst and awkwardness, and the classic never knowing when to shut his yap character everyone knows and loves from the comics. He helps lighten up what could have been a very dire war between the two sides (and let’s not forget Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, who also adds some terrific comedy relief).
Besides Holland’s Peter Parker, this film also introduces Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther (who will also have his own stand-alone film). Boseman brings a lot of intensity to the role of a man blinded by revenge who must reconcile his feelings when secrets and truths are revealed. And the Black Panther character is pretty cool. It’s a good intro for the character and it will be interesting to see where the character goes from here.
The film also brings back Frank Grillo, who played Brock Rumlow in Winter Soldier, who has now taken on the Crossbones persona in this film. Unfortunately, he’s dispatched a bit too quickly. Daniel Brühl is also featured prominently as Zemo (we won’t reveal any spoilers about his character), Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and William Hurt returns as Thaddeus Ross, now the US Secretary of State who pushes the Avengers to sign the accords.
Marvel Studios/Disney
While the film functions as a continuation of the Avengers movies, it is also a direct sequel to Winter Soldier as Bucky is a focal point of the terrorist attacks and the impetus for the battle of the heroes. But there is a lot more going on with the Winter Soldier than we first see on the surface with some shocking events that go back to Tony Stark’s teenage years. (And a scene depicting a teenage Stark is an even more startling and amazing effect than the digitally de-aged Michael Douglas in Ant-Man was.) The film really poses some deep questions about how far governments should be allowed to go when it comes to people’s lives, and it’s not all wrapped up in a neat bow by the end of the movie. It will be interesting to see how our heroes will recover from these events in their own upcoming films, how the story will affect TV’s Agents of SHIELD, and how Marvel will basically put a cap on it all with Avengers: Infinity War plays out over the course of two movies.
Captain America: Civil War may not be quite as good as Winter Soldier, but it is still quite a terrific superhero action movie that does manage to excel where Age of Ultron failed by not just being a carbon copy of the previous film in the series. Each Cap movie has had its own “persona” and style, and while this one feels more like an Avengers tale, the directors, the Russo Brothers, and their screenwriters have upped the ante for our favorite superheroes (and the Russos have proven they can handle a multiple hero film), making us even more eager for their take on the Avengers with the Infinity War saga yet to come. Needless to say, Marvel has another home run on their hands and the fans should be quite happy.
Share this post
