CAPTAIN
AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
USA, 147
Mins
Dir: Anthony
& Joe Russo
I’ve mean meaning to get around to
writing up the latest instalment in the Marvel universe for a while, but have
wanted to mix it up a bit with a few other different styles of film, so the
latest Captain America flick has had to wait its turn! But while it’s still
relatively fresh in the mind, let’s take a look at the latest Hollywood
superhero blockbuster!
So this film follows on from the last
Avengers film – Age Of Ultron, & at this point, we are starting to reach
the stage where it certainly is fairly useful to say the least if you’ve seen
at least a few of the Marvel films leading up to this point so as you can
follow the storyline, as this is technically the 13th film in the
Marvel Universe! Again, the writers & directors do a fairly solid job of
clueing even the causal viewer in, but it’s certainly useful if you’re up to
speed in where things stand.
Though it’s titled as a Captain
America film, pretty much all of the Avengers cast are on hand here, in
particular Iron Man, as the story centres around these two characters. Of
course, all the big name, A-Listers are also back reprising their roles – Chris
Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olson & Sebastian
Stan just to name some!
We pick things up around a year after
Age Of Ultron – once again several of the Avengers are called into action to thwart
an attack in Lagos with a biological weapon. While largely successful, several buildings
are destroyed & civilian casualties are sustained. This adds fuel to the
fire in the political world of the United Nations (UN) to do something about
controlling the actions of the group, or at least have an authority to answer
to rather than go out & carry out their own actions. A panel is established
& an accord known as the Sovakia Accords is prepared, which will oversee
the Avengers team. This causes much division in the group – one group, headed
by Tony Stark (i.e. Iron Man, Downey Jr) supports the Accord, while the other
group, headed by Steve Rogers (i.e. Captain America, Evans) believe they
themselves are the best judges of their own actions, & refuse to sign. At a
meeting in Vienna, the accord is set to be ratified, but the building is
bombed, & King T’Chaka of Wakanda is killed. When security footage reveals
the culprit appear to be James “Bucky” Barnes - the mysterious Winter Soldier
from a few films back - his son T’Challa, swears revenge. Rogers, knowing Bucky
from his war days as an old friend, attempts to track him down himself.
Meanwhile, the villain of the film,
Helmut Zemo, acquires the ancient book that has the words to brainwash the
Winter Solder, & set Bucky off. He uses this to his advantage, & while
Rogers reunites with the Winter Soldier & learns of Zemo’s plot, he doesn’t
wait for the needed permission to apprehend him, so he goes rogue with several
other of the Avengers. Meanwhile Zemo continues to manipulate information he
has learned to turn the group upon itself. The result is a giant fight between the
two factions. Will this be the end of the Avengers as we know them? Will Zemo
succeed in his plan? And which side is right in its beliefs? All will be
revealed…..
Civil War stands up very well as yet
another quality film from Marvel. As well as our known superheroes, Civil War
does an excellent job in introducing a new character in Black Panther, as well
as bringing in a few other established names in cameo roles, namely Spider Man
& Ant Man. It really succeeds in the plot itself, a notable difference to
the boring, dragging plot from Batman v Superman a few months earlier. Again,
the shades of grey, & exactly who is right & wrong with what they believe
is at the heart of the film. For once, the villain isn’t the primary issue –not
trying to take over the world, etc. But by trying to turn the Avengers against
each other provides a very interesting storyline to follow. It also shows how
important a strong script is, because that’s the notable difference here. The
special effects are great as always, the actors are all excellent in their
roles, it just feels like a more intense & therefore superior film based
upon the engaging storyline, & resulting dialogue between the main
characters.
The inventible showdown between the
two groups is probably the highlight, though it is a bit over the top if you
stop & think about it for too long. But it was pretty cool seeing your
favourite superheroes tangle it up! Even the banter & dialogue was really
good, & it was especially an excellent introduction for Tom Holland as the
new Spider Man.
Overall, as you can tell, I really
enjoyed this film. Probably a touch superior to Age Of Ultron, but it also does
set the bar fairly high. Will viewers still be content with just the solo Super
Hero film going forward is a worthy question. At nearly 2 ½ hours, it’s a long
film, but very engrossing. The Russo bothers have done another very good job
directing here, & with a plateful of both individual films coming up for
likes of Spider Man & Black Widow, plus a 2 part Avengers film already
lined up for the coming few years, the Marvel universe looks set to dominate
the Hollywood Blockbuster/Super Hero franchise cinema world for the near
future. I’m giving Captain America: Civil War ****
