Captain America: Civil War is an action packed thriller that Marvel fans will love. Why will they love it? The characters, the long-awaited battle of Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man, the involvement of Black Panther, and many other facets. But what do I think? Well, I enjoy a good conspiracy here and there, and anyone who follows the House of Mouse (Disney) knows a few that follow them.
Weeks leading up to Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, reviews leaked left and right (and as media we were embargoed to a certain date, but reviews were released beforehand) absolutely bashing the movie to death. In my review of BVS, I cited headlines leaning towards disgust and disapproval of Warner Bros. venture into the DC Universe. Now we have Civil War, a Captain America movie that was 80% everyone else and 20% Captain America. So how is a movie that was predictable the majority of the way through score so well but DC’s film tanked? Just have a look:
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Cinema Blend: 5/5
Metacritic: 75%
Variety: The most mature and substantive picture to have yet emerged from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Now contrast that to everything that was said about BVS. Both of these movies are fair, but as I know crowds and trends, everyone will be hailing Civil War as the best thing ever (like Variety above) and discussing how it was so much better than BVS. Well, here’s the thing, they aren’t the same… And they’re more similar in storyline/action scenes than people want to admit.
(*Minor plot spoiler, proceed with caution*) Captain America: Civil War’s main focus is the divide amongst the group at the signing of the Sokovia Accords. Their contrasting opinions on the new U.N. amendment to oversee their activity and how to handle things, is what drives them to split. Heroes begin to pick sides, love interests arise, old friendships are measured against new ones, there’s a lot that goes on. So much that it overshadows the fact it’s a Captain America film. You can watch this movie and in the first 30 minutes I’m pretty sure you’ll fee like you’re watching a third Avengers installment.
As far as the negative, Marvel ruined this movie by exposing way too much in the trailers (just like BVS), leaving most things to be predictable. Especially in the 2nd trailer when we discover that Spiderman (Tom Holland) would be featured in the film. That would’ve been a great shock to audiences in the theater, ruined by these 8 minute long (exaggeration) trailers they show months in advanced.
For the good, people will love the array of heroes they get to see. People have been buzzing about Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) for months and I’m happy to say he had a great performance (watch his assistant in her 10 second cameo). Ant Man (Paul Rudd) totally steals the show once the fighting begins. You’ll find him to be G-rated Deadpool for the kiddos in this one. So the brightest spots in the new Civil War are the fight scenes, the emergence of Black Panther, and the collective humor of Ant Man and Spiderman.
So Avengers 3 (see how easy that was) gets an 8 out of 10 from me. Don’t be fooled by all of the DC/Marvel comparisons. This rivalry started in comic books long, long ago. Marvel fanboys are the Beyhive of comic films. Review with caution…
-Jon J.