Civil War Reviewed
When Captain America: Civil War was first announced I was very excited. The story is based on the famous comic series by the same name, but the Russo Brothers, who also directed Captain America: Winter Soldier, made the story their own. It is Iron Man vs. Captain America, and unlike the comic book series the sides are much more blurred. You don't hate anyone for the choices that they make; there is no bad guy in this movie. Except of course the bad guys.
The movie begins with Cap (Chris Evans) trying to stop a familiar villain and it was tough to watch. The Russo brothers implement a lot of shakey camera work and fast movement. This was all made worse by the movie being in 3D. In fact You can tell when an action sequence is coming by the change in camera work. It takes a while to get used to the style, but by the time your eyes have adjusted you're rewarded with the movie’s big battles scenes. More on that later.
During the early parts of the movie I think I liked the story more than the action. The story builds in a very organic way. Each side is well-defined; each decision is true to the character’s arc made throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In other superhero movies of the same ilk I never understood why, for example, Batman and Superman hated each other. It always seemed like if Superman could just sit Batman down and talk it out with Bruce, things could have worked out. With Iron man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America it makes sense--the two have fundamental ideological differences of opinion about how and why things are done. The tension boils over in the climax when emotions run high, leading to feelings of anger and betrayal. The buildup in this movie makes sense and is possibly the best part of Civil War.
It's good that the story is enjoyable because there is a lot of it. Captain America is just about two and a half hours, and even though I was having a great time in the theater I still noticed it was long. Luckily the final moments of the movie prove worthy.
The movie begins with Cap (Chris Evans) trying to stop a familiar villain and it was tough to watch. The Russo brothers implement a lot of shakey camera work and fast movement. This was all made worse by the movie being in 3D. In fact You can tell when an action sequence is coming by the change in camera work. It takes a while to get used to the style, but by the time your eyes have adjusted you're rewarded with the movie’s big battles scenes. More on that later.
During the early parts of the movie I think I liked the story more than the action. The story builds in a very organic way. Each side is well-defined; each decision is true to the character’s arc made throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In other superhero movies of the same ilk I never understood why, for example, Batman and Superman hated each other. It always seemed like if Superman could just sit Batman down and talk it out with Bruce, things could have worked out. With Iron man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America it makes sense--the two have fundamental ideological differences of opinion about how and why things are done. The tension boils over in the climax when emotions run high, leading to feelings of anger and betrayal. The buildup in this movie makes sense and is possibly the best part of Civil War.
It's good that the story is enjoyable because there is a lot of it. Captain America is just about two and a half hours, and even though I was having a great time in the theater I still noticed it was long. Luckily the final moments of the movie prove worthy.
This is the movie's best moment
Enough of the story; put on the costumes and fight. There are two major fight scenes in the movie. Both are great in their own way but the big battle that takes place at the airport is pure joy. The choreography is fantastic, but it’s the interaction between the heroes that makes this the best scene in any Marvel movie to date. While watching this scene I found myself laughing at the remarks our heroes made during the fight, and smiling at all the tricks the Russo brothers used. The climactic fight at the end is also great, but is much more intimate. The scenes have different tones, so despite the relatively short amount of time between the two, they both work.
The other thing this movie does very well is reintroduce Spider-Man, as you may have seen in one of the trailers. Spidey has a much larger role than I expected and probably steals the whole show. This kid is going to be a star and from everything I saw what I'm now most excited for is the new Spider-Man reboot. Tom Holland is going to leave Toby Maguire in the dust.
For all the Marvel Universe fan boys out there, those who have been to every movie on opening weekend like I have, Captain America rewards your loyalty. I don’t want to hate on Age of Ultron, but this is the second Avengers movie people expected. When I walked out of the theater I knew this was in my top three Marvel movies. After a week to think about it I have no problem saying this is the best movie of the year so far, and is the best movie Marvel has ever done. A
Two things of note: There are two after credit scenes, one at the very end, so make sure you stick around. Also, Marissa Tomei is still a total smoke show.
The other thing this movie does very well is reintroduce Spider-Man, as you may have seen in one of the trailers. Spidey has a much larger role than I expected and probably steals the whole show. This kid is going to be a star and from everything I saw what I'm now most excited for is the new Spider-Man reboot. Tom Holland is going to leave Toby Maguire in the dust.
For all the Marvel Universe fan boys out there, those who have been to every movie on opening weekend like I have, Captain America rewards your loyalty. I don’t want to hate on Age of Ultron, but this is the second Avengers movie people expected. When I walked out of the theater I knew this was in my top three Marvel movies. After a week to think about it I have no problem saying this is the best movie of the year so far, and is the best movie Marvel has ever done. A
Two things of note: There are two after credit scenes, one at the very end, so make sure you stick around. Also, Marissa Tomei is still a total smoke show.
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