Title – Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Director – Anthony and Joe Russo (Welcome to Collinwood)
Cast – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Bruhl, Tom Holland, Paul Rudd
Plot – The world bands together to make life harder for the Avengers, with growing tensions, a rift develops between Captain America (Evans) and Iron Man (Downey Jr) as the two well-meaning heroes find themselves at odds on what should be done and The Avengers will find themselves torn between two sides.
“You’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That’s something the world can no longer tolerate”
Review by Eddie on 3/05/2016
Nothing lasts forever, a sentiment that extends to the now overstuffed and far to frequent superhero films of the modern day and where adventures like Spider-Man or the team up of The Avengers once felt like a true event, superhero films whether they be of Marvel or DC variety in today’s climate feel increasingly uninspired and forgettable, which makes the enjoyment levels found in Captain America’s third outing Civil War that much more surprising.
While it neither reinvents or rejigs the comic book staple that has become so stale over recent years and while it sometimes takes itself far too seriously for its own good, Winter Solider helmers Anthony and Joe Russo successfully balance a large roster of beloved characters and a couple of new ones in the form of a fresh faced Spider-Man and Black Panther to make Civil War’s slightly overlong run time an enjoyable and likeable event.
Delving into the idea of an inwardly warring Avengers group with larger than life personalities like Tony Stark clashing with the well-meaning and old school like Steve Rodgers, Civil War presents us with a collection of superheroes and super soldiers that aren’t all lovey-dovey, rather at the point of blows within a world that no longer wants to give these creations free reign around the globe, themes that were prevalent in the recent Batman v Superman but explored far more enjoyably here in this more fun focused ride.
With its fair share of dialogue heavy situations and scenarios, the Russo’s infuse Civil War with a collection of highly entertaining action set pieces filled with great moments (many that involve a teenage Spider-Man and Paul Rudd’s endearing interpretation of Ant Man) and humorous quips by its now seasoned cast members that make its weaknesses like a largely forgettable baddie in the form of Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo and terrible payoff of bad guy motivation and plans far more tolerable and new cast members Tom Holland as Peter Parker and 42s Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther seem like positive additions to an ever expanding roster of players.
Hard to hate and easy to enjoy, Civil War doesn’t exactly make one feel as though the superhero blockbuster is 100% assured heading into the distant and not too distant future but it certainly enough to makes a now cynic like me feel far more willingly to be a part of the crowd pleasers for the next little while as long as they are as well played and constructed as this energetic adventure.
3 1/2 Vision cooked dinners out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
Heading to the cinema this Friday to see it. Glad to hear it was enjoyable. I actually loved ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. I thought the Russo Bros did a great job of blending humor and incredible action sequences, so I was hoping that would bleed over into ‘Civil War’.
Looking forward to this one!
Hey mate I think you’ll have a really good time with it. The successes the brothers found with Winter Soldier are certainly here in Civil War and while I was not a huge fan of Soldier this was a great big screen popcorn event that while not a classic is certainly a good excuse for a night out at the cinemas 🙂
E
Hey, an excuse for a night out at the cinema sounds great to me.
Mate doesn’t it just 🙂 I know I’m always looking for a reason to get to the local cinemaplex ha.
E
With a son that’s into comics, those Marvel/DC flicks are always a good reason to go. Would love to see ‘Midnight Special’ if it ever shows here.
Yeh Jordy managed to catch that one, its barely on any screens here in Aus. I do kind of wish I got to grow up with these marvel movies, kids these days are so spoilt ha.
E
Yes they are. They’d scoff at the stuff I was forced to watch. Superman 4: The Quest For Peace? Yikes.
Oh mate – they would not have a bar of that ha! There are certainly a lot of films from that era that can barely be watched today.
E
Too many to count.
Spider-Man was so good that he really does make you forget how lame the bad guy is. A total waste of Baron Zemo.
He was terribly done mate. Did not rate it at all as a villain.
E
I loved this movie as a fan of this franchise. Though I think people give Zemo a bit of a bad shake. I’ll admit that we’ll probably never get a Marvel villain as enjoyable as Loki, and I see how his motivation could be considered kinda weak (because it is). Though I think this was the villain the movie needed. Someone more reserved and in the background so as to not conflict with the actual conflict of Steve vs Tony.
Some good points there Box. The movie was a heap of fun just not sure its as amazing as some people have made it out to be, my thoughts are its not one that will hold up as well on repeat viewings as say something like the Avengers or first Iron Man.
E
I respect that. It’ll be interesting to see how all of the Marvel films will hold up in a decade or two. You’re right about Iron Man and The Avengers being primed for classic status. As for the rest, it makes me wonder.
Yeh agreed mate – you look at ones like Age of Ultron, Iron Man 2/3 etc and you can already tell there’s not a whole lot of love around the traps for them.
E
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