GUEST POST BY DAVID ROBINSON
Genre: Superhero/Action
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Daniel Bruhl, William Hurt, Emily Van Camp, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei and Frank Grillo
Release Date: May 6, 2016
Runtime: 2 hours, 26 minutes
Rating: Rated PG-13 for “extended sequences of violence, action and mayhem.”
Plot Summary: “A series of controversial events caused by the Avengers leads the world to insist upon the regulation of superhuman activity, which causes a clash between Steve Rogers/Captain America, Tony Stark/Iron Man and their allies.”
“Captain America: Civil War” is Marvel Studio’s thirteenth entry into their highly successful cinematic universe and it has already reigned in $366.5 million and set a record on Fandango as the quickest advance ticket sale for a superhero movie. I, like many others, was not surprised by these numbers due to how successful Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe has been. After seeing this movie, I can conclude that “Captain America: Civil War” is not just an amazing movie due to its financial and critical success, it is because of so much more.
There are so many aspects of this movie that Marvel and the Russo brothers went above and beyond with, but these are my favorite ones:
I was worried going into this movie because I thought that since it was titled “Captain America: Civil War” instead of “Avengers: Civil War” it was going to be too negatively focused on Iron Man’s side of the superhuman regulation conflict and there wouldn’t be enough balance between conflicting viewpoints. Right after the story started to pick up pace and the conflict was set up, I was able to brush that concern aside. Although this film is technically a “Captain America” movie, there is a perfect balance of ideologies between characters; neither Iron Man nor Captain America are right in what they’re doing in this story and neither one of them are wrong either. “Civil War” ended up being so successful at this that there were many times throughout the film where I began to transition from my original alliance with Captain America’s side and consider the benefits of Iron Man’s. I’m so glad that the Russo brothers did such an excellent job of balancing this conflict because 2016’s earlier film about two superheroes battling each other, “Batman Versus Superman: Dawn of Justice,” had a huge problem with this.
The other part of this film that I absolutely loved is something that fans have been excited for since they first saw the trailers: the introductions of Black Panther and Spider-Man. They were phenomenal and couldn’t have been done any better. With Black Panther, Marvel has showcased their incredible ability yet again to take characters that no one knows or cares about and make them awesome. There was not a single Black Panther scene that I didn’t enjoy and this movie fueled my anticipation for his 2018 solo movie like gasoline on a flame. As far as Tom Holland goes, I was a little skeptical at first of him playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man due to how young and inexperienced he is, but after seeing him swing into action, I can confirm what every other critic has been saying about him: “This is the best Spider-Man superhero fans have gotten in a long, long time!” Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was hilarious, convincing, relatable and fascinating all at the same time and he was, without a doubt, one of the best parts of the movie. As far as him being the best on-screen interpretation of Spider-Man, I’d have to see the movie a few more times to determine whether or not he tops Tobey Maguire. This movie is all about a conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, but as far as fan satisfaction goes, Spidey and Panther are going to steal the show.
The last thing that I loved about this movie (I can’t describe everything I loved about this movie because I don’t have enough space or time) is that it’s not just a superhero film; it is a realistic, emotional and fantastic story about betrayal, control, friendship and courage. When I watched the characters interact with each other and react to situations, I didn’t feel like I was watching a movie; I actually felt like I was with these characters, absorbing their emotions and feeling them too. Even the villains of this movie have reasonable and legitimate cause for doing what they’re doing and when you can do that as a filmmaker, you know you’re a master of character.
I thought long and hard after seeing this movie and I’m pleased to say that I can not find one legitimate or reasonable criticism about “Captain America: Civil War” whatsoever. I can’t comprehend someone not loving this and I will say that this film is, in my opinion, the best Marvel movie ever made, the best superhero movie released since 2008’s “The Dark Knight” and one of the best superhero movies of all time. I’m going to give “Captain America: Civil War” an “A+++” and I’m really confused because I’m wondering what you’re doing reading this when you could be seeing “Captain America: Civil War” again and again and again.
