Captain America: Civil War (2016) Review

"Can you move your seat up?"
-Bucky Barnes



When a mission goes wrong in Nigeria, the governments of the world call for some oversight over the Avengers.  Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) thinks the team should go along with it, but Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) refuses.  The tension builds after another terrorist attack with Steve's friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), painted as the target.  Soon the Avengers are forced to pick sides and risk destroying themselves more quickly than any enemy they've faced.


What Works:

My favorite parts of the first two Avengers movies are the sequences where our heroes face off against each other.  I love the tension of the laboratory scene in the first Avengers and the battle over the creation of Vision (Paul Bettany) is the best scene in Age of Ultron.  I just find it far more interesting to watch the good guys fight each other.  To get an entire movie with this type of conflict is fantastic.  The team dynamics and how personal this film gets elevates it about most of the MCU and is fascinating to watch.

The highlight of the film is, of course, the airport fight.  This sequence is so much fun and completely lives up to its potential.  Everyone get something to do and the different match-ups are a blast.  This sequence is nothing short of epic and never gets old.

I love the introduction of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).  Boseman brings a lot of ferocity and anger to the role and is an exciting and unpredictable element in the story.  I not a huge fan of Spider-Man, but I like Holland's performance and he's a lot of fun here.

The emotional impact of the conflict between Tony and Steve is intense and extremely well done.  Both of them have very clear motivations for why they are doing what they are doing.  Both sides have a point and that's what makes the film so interesting.  The revelation of how Tony's parents died is brutal and the ensuing fight is the darkest point in the MCU to this point and its also one of the best moments in the series.

I really like the action sequence where a brainwashed Bucky escapes from prison.  None of the characters trying to stop him from escaping are suited up and it's very novel watching these guys fight in street clothes.

Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) is a really great villain and has probably the best motivation of any villain we've seen to this point.  The death of his family can be 100% blamed on Tony Stark and it's totally understandable why he does what he does.  Brühl gives an incredibly emotional performance even with a smaller amount of screentime. It's interesting that one of the best villains in the MCU is one with no powers or super-suits.   

Finally, I love that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) joins the fray here.  He brings some much needed comic relief to the film and has my favorite moments in the airport fight.  I don't really know why he's here, but I'm glad he is.


What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.


Verdict:

Captain America: Civil War is one of the best films in the MCU and one of my favorite superhero movies, period.  The action is amazing, the emotional elements are incredibly strong, the conflict is intense, and it's also a lot of fun.  It has absolutely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing      

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