Walking into Captain America: Civil War, the 13th Marvel film to be released since 2008, I felt like I knew exactly what I was in for. Like with a good majority of Marvel's past films, I assumed this was going to be another two-and-a-half hours of excellent action and CGI imagery peppered with some witty dialogue, wrapped around a serviceable plot with an uninspired villain.
Unsurprisingly, Civil War managed to hit a lot of those same notes. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable (and so very, very cool), and it's still undoubtedly better than a certain recent hero-on-hero film from a rival comic company, namely Batman v Superman.
Picking up some time after the events of Age Of Ultron, Civil War kicks off with Captain America (Chris Evans) leading a detachment of Avengers into the fictional African country of Wakanda in a mission to stop the theft of a biological weapon. But the Avengers end up getting blamed for an explosion that kills a bunch of innocent people, causing the world to question the idea of letting a group of super-powered individuals with no allegiance or overseeing authority run amok across the planet. This leads to the establishment of the Sokovia Accords, an international initiative meant to bring the Avengers organisation under the UN's wing, acting under their authority.
This drives a wedge between Captain America and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), with the former against the bill and the latter for it. Things come to a head when the Captain goes rogue to find his fugitive friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), aka the Winter Soldier, and the other Avengers must choose which side of the line they stand on.
As with all Marvel movies since the first Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War is very much like riding a roller-coaster: there's the slow build to the inevitable conflict, then it's all just a thrilling, heart-pounding blur before pulling back into the station. From the very beginning to the end, Civil War is just one spectacular action scene after another. Marvel has really managed to outdo itself with the choreography in its action scenes, a commendable feat considering how already action-packed its previous entries were.
One thing I noticed pretty quickly is how visceral all the fight scenes look now. It's still a PG-13 Marvel movie of course, but every kick, punch or vibranium-shield in the face looks so much more weighty and real. You really can't help feeling sorry for whoever is on the receiving end of any hero's attack.
It's probably not a surprise that Civil War features a lot of heroes. While I was initially worried that the film would stumble on its own need to shed light on all of its considerable roster, the directors (Anthony and Joe Russo) and writers managed to give everyone enough screen time to develop their motivations for taking part in the conflict between Cap and Iron Man. Every character was given their own moment to shine, though that's not to say that some don't shine brighter than others.
Of particular note is Paul Bettany's Vision, who manages to receive some much welcome characterisation following his brief origin story in Age Of Ultron. While much of his character's humour stems from the clichéd "robot-learning-to-be-human" premise (like not understanding the need for a door), Bettany's portrayal of the android is consistently charming, both in humorous and serious moments. But the real stars of the show come in the form of the two new additions to Marvel's superhero ensemble: Black Panther and -- wait for it -- Spider-Man.
Prince T'Challa of Wakanda -- otherwise known as the Black Panther -- manages to bring a whole new level of cool to a universe already chock-full of it. Portrayed by Chadwick Boseman, the character's central role in the story means that we get to see a lot of him in action, and yet the character never quite managed to break out of the mostly one-dimensional motivation. I look forward to learning more about this character in his own film, set for release in 2018.
Now, I can't even begin to describe how happy I am to see Spider-Man's long-overdue appearance in Marvel's cinematic universe. Even better, this incarnation of Spider-Man is undoubtedly the best so far, even though his only part in the film is the titular clash at the airport. With just the right amount of wit, awkwardness and sincerity, Tom Holland's Spider-Man doesn't exactly take himself quite as seriously as Tobey Maguire's or Andrew Garfield's, the two actors who came before him. This only makes it all the better, as his banter with many of the Avengers is certainly among my favourite moments. Though officially Spidey belongs to another comic book label, Marvel and Disney would be foolish not to do whatever it took to give their version of Spider-Man his own trilogy.
As for the plot, while the philosophical divide between Cap and Iron Man definitely serves an interesting premise, the film's writing never really manages to get past the same old arguments from the same characters, repeated over and over again. While the film tries to present both sides of the argument, many of the conflicts that lead to the affirmation of these arguments seem to stem from simple pitfalls like pride and stubbornness, and could probably be avoided altogether, though that wouldn't make for a very interesting film, would it?
If you're a fan of the previous Marvel films, then this film is pretty much just more of what you already like, with all the Marvel-spectacle you could ever hope for. But if you've never really enjoyed a Marvel movie before, this one won't do anything to change your mind.
Captain America: Civil War
Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson.
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo.
