Captain America: Civil War Review

Captain+America%3A+Civil+War+Review

Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with a bang as the Avengers waged a war against each other in Marvel Studio’s latest movie, Captain America: Civil War.

Before continuing, it is my duty to inform you that this review contains spoilers from the movie as well as from previous installments in the MCU. If you have not seen the movie yet and do not wish to see any spoilers, I suggest you stop reading right now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

After yet another incident that results in the death of innocents, the governments of 117 nations create the Sokovian Accords, an act that would regulate the actions of the Avengers and decide when they are needed. While Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.) believes that the Avengers need to be held accountable, Captain America (Chris Evans) believes that the safest hands are still their own. As the stakes get higher, the Avengers are divided, and war breaks out—a war that will leave no one unscathed.

I first want to point out the amazing cast of characters returning from previous MCU movies as well as brand new characters. Chris Evans, Robert Downy Jr., Scarlett Johanson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, and William Hurt reprise their roles as Steve Rodgers/Captain America, Tony Stark/Iron Man, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson/Falcon, James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Vision, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Sharon Carter, Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, and Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross respectively. Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, and Daniel Brühl also make their MCU debuts as T’Challa/Black Panther, Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and Helmut Zemo respectively (more on each of these characters later). On a lesser note, Martin Freeman and Marsia Tomei also debut as Everett K. Ross and Aunt May, respectively.

Did this ridiculously large cast make the movie amazing? Well, Marvel needed all these characters to tell the entire story they wanted, and they pulled it off magnificently. Almost every character played his role well enough to make me forget that these were fictional characters in a fictional universe.

The plotline and overall story was also well done. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo pulled off an amazing movie with a believable story and causes that led the heroes to actually fight. I am very pleased with their work and am excited as the brothers move on to their next MCU movie: Avengers: Infinity War.

I want to take some time now to talk about the new character in the MCU who everyone is talking about: Spider-Man. Before watching this movie, I had heard that Tom Holland is the best on-screen Spider-Man ever. This meant that he was better than both Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield. I will say that those reviews are absolutely true. Tom Holland’s performance blew me away as he joked and wisecracked his way onto the screen the way that the true Spider-Man should. I am excited to see more of him next year when he stars in his own MCU solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Despite all the amazing things happening, there are a few things that I was disappointed with (though these are very minor things), the first being Helmut Zemo. I’m not arguing against his portrayal, which was most excellent. I’m arguing with the fact that we did not see him in his classic purple mask from the comics. I also would’ve liked to see him fight Captain America, but we might see that in a future MCU movie.

Next, I want to talk about Crossbones. I think they killed him off way before his time. I would’ve liked to have seen more of him later in the MCU, but I guess that the Russo Brothers believed that the time had come to eliminate him.

Finally, I want to express my disappointment in the portrayal of Aunt May. Marsia Tomei’s performance of her in both speaking lines and appearance made her seem far younger than what I pictured. I would’ve preferred to see an Aunt May more like the one we saw in the Spider-Man Trilogy starring Toby Maguire.

Overall, I grant this movie a perfect 10/10, or A+, for its amazing storyline and believable characters. This truly is the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. I am perfectly satisfied with this movie and excited for the next MCU installment coming out in November: Doctor Strange.