Captain America: Civil War (2016)

[Joel M]

It's enjoyable for the most part but the more you think about it the more it falls apart. The airpoprt scene is fun and exciting but it's completely devoid of any stakes. The movie stops for 10 minutes so the heroes can play war like 10 year olds. And the same goes for most of the guest superheroes. Spider-Man scenes are fun but I don't understand why he is in this movie (besides setting up his own solo flick). Hawkeye, Wanda, Vision and War Machine also feel out of place outside of the playground “fight”. Even the Cap-Tony divide gets muddled in all this noise, and only becomes powerful at the end.

I liked that the villain's supposed plan was a red herring and he was in it just for personal revenge, but it feels a bit random after half a dozen triumphant victories with leveled cities now it's the time to ponder about the collateral damage of those victories. It rings so hollow like many things in this movie.

But it's decent even on a rewatch, and the final act at least gets personal and pays off some of the potential the premise had. Maybe it's the Russo's skill or my inherent investment on those characters after so many movies that you can still enjoy the movie, despite most of it being so half-assed and inconsiquential.

Definately a step down compared to the first 2 CA films, it feels like the Iron Man 2 of phase 3, split between being a singular story and a launching pad for future movies. The difference is Marvel got much better at the small stuff over the years. 

 

B-.

[Blankments]

Captain America: Civil War holds up relatively well. Bruhl and Boseman’s scenes are the best, adding a gravitas the rest of the film lacks. Holland’s Spider-Man also works a lot better in a team dynamic than in his own film; his scenes are still super fun and more alive than the other humor here. Otherwise, it’s a tad overlong but the action scenes are pretty good and Evans and Downey sell their emotion in the fights and their performances. Captain America: Civil War is an above average Marvel adventure that only really works because of the mega-crossover nature being anchored by a story that actually feels somewhat important, despite several aspects of the film contradicting that. B+