The
Marvel Cinematic Universe, almost as if trying to address
Batman v Superman and how to do
a major superhero battle film right (or, after the disappointing
Age of Ultron, how to do an
Avengers film right), unloads Captain America: Civil
War into theaters with a reverberating bang. Directors Joe
and Anthony Russo, having already impressed with one of the best
superhero flicks in the prior Captain America outing,
Winter Soldier, prove that they
have consummate chops in the genre with another film to contemplate
putting in one's top ten favorite of all time.
The first order of business is that the Avengers aren't just
misunderstood, like Batman and Superman in their film, but that the
public knows exactly what they have, and even sees the importance in
them, but also wants to be able to control them. On their part,
the members of the team also see themselves as human beings with
responsibilities to go along with those great powers, and have to mull
over serious considerations that their actions have consequences.
It's one thing to save the lives of thousands, if not millions, but if
through an error, they end up killing hundreds all on their own, it's
something that weighs heavily on their consciences as Earth's only
line of defense against powerful master terrorists and strange
extraterrestrial entities. As with most superhero films, the
effects are global, but the stakes are, refreshingly, completely
personal, which gives us the ability to invest in these characters in
a way that the DCU haven't yet been able to do under the care of Zack
Snyder.
Loosely taking off from an idea borne of the giant crossover storyline
mostly under the direction of comics writer Mark Millar, Civil War
is a movie that addresses something that is not often remarked upon in
superhero stories, and that is the cost of the collateral damage,
especially in human lives, when super-powered humans battle one
another over an urban landscape. The beginning of the film shows
us firsthand the cost of trying to save people, as the Avengers'
mission against villain Crossbones (Grillo,
The Purge: Anarchy) in a
battle at the heart of Lagos, Nigeria, sees the deaths of many
innocent bystanders, including many from the (fictional) country of
Wakanda.
Enter Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (Hurt,
Race), who pushes forward the Sokovia Accords, a law that
requires United Nations approval and oversight when engaging in future
world-saving battles that might jeopardize the lives of helpless
people. Tony Stark (Downey Jr., The
Judge), haunted by guilt of a young and promising teen's
death resulting from his own perceived recklessness, signs on,
thinking that this law will not only be inevitable, but that agreeing
with it now saves them from a more severe implementation down the
road. Steve Rogers (Evans,
Playing It Cool), once used as a government propaganda tool
for things he didn't always believe in, think it's a bad idea, not
only opening up the superheroes to be used as a tool for a bunch of
selfish bureaucrats, but also because the absence of quick and
decisive action, or even inaction in some cases, may cost countless
more lives down the road.
After a terrorist explosion ends up killing the Wakandan leader, his
son, prince T'Challa (Boseman, Gods of
Egypt), who is also a super-powered human clad in a pliable
form of vibranium (the same nearly indestructible substance from which
Cap's shield is composed) known as the Black Panther, vows revenge on
the responsible party, with signs pointing toward Bucky Barnes (Stan,
The Martian), once the
Soviet-brainwashed assassin called the Winter Soldier, as the main
culprit. Barnes disavows any knowledge, Captain America, who
sees the good in him when he's not triggered into malice, protects his
old friend, and together they vow to unearth the real mastermind
behind the tragedy. However, they can't get far, as acting on
their own brands them as criminals, which means the Avengers who've
signed the new law, led by Iron Man, must keep the peace so that
costumed vigilantes aren't acting of their own accord, possibly
causing more distrust from the public and governments they've sworn to
protect.
While Civil War is a Captain America film, and does
feature its titular hero in significant enough amount to maintain
that, this could just as appropriately have been an Avengers
film, as there are more members of that super-team in this film than
in any entry thus far, with only Hulk and Thor as significant members
missing from the line-up (they'll return in their own adventure in
2017's Thor: Ragnarok). The miracle of the film is in how it
gets us on board for the battle royale without substantially changing
the personalities of the players involved, or in making any side look
malicious. While most viewers will likely side with Captain
America's faction (it is his movie, after all), there's a logic and
pathos to Tony Stark's concessionary stance that makes him also
heroic, even though he directly puts himself as an adversary to those
who are also trying to do good.
The film is also impressive for having just enough time and rationale
for each member of the teams to be on the side they choose, with each
hero having chances to contribute -- this is not just Cap vs. Tony,
and a flavorless army on each side. There is a villain in the
film, but he won't go down into the pantheon of great movie bad guys,
merely serving as a catalyst for the events that unfold. At the
very least, while his modus operandi is the same as Batman v
Superman's Lex Luthor, at least Daniel Bruhl's (Burnt)
performance as Baron Helmut Zemo doesn't erode the good will of the
film as Jesse Eisenberg's manic turn does.
Scripted by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who not only
collaborated on the first two Captain
America entries, but also created Cap-Universe TV spin-off
"Agent Carter", the storyline touches all of the bases necessary to
make it a success. There is a great deal of table-setting
involved in taking heroes from allies to battling frenemies, so it's to their credit that the build-up
doesn't feel forced or overly contrived to get us there, even though
it does take quite some time, about a third of the film's 2.5-hour
length, for the story momentum to finally kick into high gear and be
the film we are all expecting going into it. As the 13th film in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is a great deal of overhead, and it
continues to expand, so the fact that even casual viewers of Civil
War will have little problem understanding the stakes and the
nature of the two-dozen-or-so characters given ample screen time is
something to bestow praise upon for being able to deliver with such
consummate skill.
If there are lulls to the film, they come mainly in the large-scale
jittery action set pieces. It's not that any of them are bad;
they are all, each and every one of them, visually imaginative, as
well as very impressively mounted and choreographed, even if overly
jittery in execution. However, there's a curious lack of
exhilaration to them that makes them feel like they're perfunctorily
checking off boxes of audience expectation rather than in trying to
tell a good story. Characters fly, crash, smash, and pummel each
other while going at high speeds, and yet there isn't a that feeling
of weight or destruction to anything they are doing, despite a lot of
well-rendered special effects to make everything look monumental.
But, without them, fans would be outraged that they were not getting
their money's worth, so they are there in all their glory, and at
least they are peppered with some decent humor to make them modestly
entertaining as a diversion, even if the sight of buildings crashing
on superheroes we care about don't resonate the way they might in if
witnessed in real life.
Civil War also introduces the MCU to Spider-Man (Holland,
In the Heart of the Sea),
traditionally Marvel Comics' most popular character worldwide, as part
of a deal between Disney and Sony, who desperately needed some
revitalization and freshness to a character that had grown stale under
their care. Knowing he needs allies on his side prior to
mounting his quest to roust up Captain America and his crew, Tony
Stark personally recruits the star-struck, impressionable teenager at
his home in Queens (introducing Marisa Tomei (The
Big Short) as the sexiest Aunt May to date) to assume even
greater responsibilities in his quest to do what's right. Fans
of Spider-Man will be happy to note that the character is more than
merely a cameo in Civil War, even
though the purpose of his inclusion is more to set up for his solo
adventures with Sony than in making him an integral part of the MCU,
but it's seamless and, more importantly, sparks a great deal more fun
and interest in his character than anything that could be mustered in
the Amazing Spider-Man reboot
attempt of the last several years.
Well acted, nicely paced, and with enough nuggets of fun moments to
overcome the heavy amount of plotting necessary to set up for the main
events, Civil War rises to the top of the superhero genre to
become one of the better entries thus far, entertaining in just about
every respect for the here and now, while also leaving fanboys and
fangirls eagerly anticipating what's next in store. It's a lot
to juggle narratively, but the Russo brothers have continued to put on
the best show one could reasonably ask for in spending one's
hard-earned movie-going dollars.
Qwipster's rating
:
©2016 Vince Leo
