Captain America: Civil War Review

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl

As you can tell, this movie has a pretty humongous cast. It really serves as an "Avengers 2.5", where Marvel's best superheros have joined either Iron Man or Captain America, and are engaged in a "civil war". The title comes from the popular definitive Marvel comic, so this should be the definitive movie, right? I mean, it's Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man VS Iron Man, Black Widow, War Machine, Black Panther, Vision, and Spider-Man. While the movie is certainly epic, and it's every fanboy's dream, I much preferred Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Civil War is still a fantastic movie and I loved it, but it's bogged down by a few problems.

Of course, the cast is amazing. For many of these actors, it's their third or fourth outing as the iconic superheroes. I'll get to Cap and Iron Man later, and address the returning supporting actors first. Scarlett Johansson is always great as Black Widow. I thought she came off a little misplaced in this movie. It's obvious Joss Whedon has the best ideas for the character, and she suffers when he doesn't direct. She undoubtedly has the best action scenes in the film, and her close combat style probably helps this. Next is Scarlet Witch. Her powers have upgraded, and I truly believe she is the Superman of the MCU. Her abilities are unlimited. However, the crime she commits at the beginning is never really addressed. I'd have loved to see Olsen emit more regret and pain over what happened, but they really brush it off quickly. I thought this was the best for Falcon and War Machine. Don Cheadle is a great actor, but Rhodey's never really made a big impact on me. This was the first time I actually felt an impact. The same goes for Anthony Mackie and Falcon, though he's had much less screen outings. My personal favorite was Ant-Man. Paul Rudd is so funny, and he just seems like the guy so surprised he's an Avenger. Plus, his powers get a HUGE upgrade, and it's done so well. Hawkeye also is always great. I think they really figured out how to portray Hawkeye in Age of Ultron (he was the most exciting part in a lackluster film) and Renner is just loving it. He doesn't appear as much as the others, but he doesn't need to. Hawkeye is perfect in his little appearance. I did not like The Vision. I wish he did more! He's so powerful and was so good in the last one, and they greatly lessened his role. I thought his sweaters were weird, and I still don't buy Paul Bettany as a superhero. Finally, Bucky aka Winter Solider. A lot of people hate Bucky. I did too, but I really understood him in this movie. I think Stan did a great job, and I finally was able to understand why Cap fights so hard for him. His helplessness is really endearing, and even though he does terrible things, it's not his fault.

Now onto Cap, Iron Man, and the new characters. First I'd like to salute Marvel for the return of General Thunderbolt Ross, now Sec. Ross. The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton is probably something Marvel wants to forget, but William Hurt's portrayal of the Avengers legal archenemy was outstanding, and definitely the best part of the film. Marvel's ability to recognize this and have him return is really commendable. And Hurt does an amazing job here intimidating Captain America. I'm Team Cap, so I really sympathized with him for most of the movie. I will admit, I switched to Iron Man halfway though, then went back. I understood both sides, and that's because Evans and Downey Jr did such great jobs as their characters. I felt Cap's fierce independence, and his need to have all superheroes be free, but I also understood Tony's pain, and why he needed them to have limits. I think Tony is a volatile and self-destructive character, so I can't really be on his side. But I do think that Cap's big reveal at the end totally changes the Avengers forever. I understand why he did it, but it's so horrible I don't think Tony will ever be able to forgive anyone on his side. Now to the new characters. Black Panther is amazing. Chadwick Boseman captures your attention whenever he's onscreen, and the suit is incredible. His movements resemble a cat and the whole thing is completely awesome. Black Panther is coming next year, and there's a tease in the credits that excited the theater. The post-credits scene belongs to Peter Parker, and I have to say, Spider-Man was very well done. He was used in the perfect amount, and his naive quips and jokes really helped the airport battle. I'm looking forward to Tom Holland's Spider-Man, and I think it's clear Marvel handles this character best.

By far, the biggest problem is the pacing. The movie is way too long. Dreadfully long. I guess they had to give every character 15 minutes, which benefits the acting, but takes a toll on the moviegoer. I was getting really fed up and just wanted it to wrap up. I think that a good movie knows when to end, and this film just kept going on and on and on. I also did not particularly like the Vision. He's just too awkward, and I didn't realize why he wasn't utilized more. He's SO powerful so why doesn't he just annihilate everyone? It's also a superhero staple to have an opening battle scene with a B-level villain. Crossbones, an amazing Captain America villain, was really ripped off. Plus the whole scene was too long. Basically, what I'm trying to say is this: It's a good movie, but it's way too long. I much prefer The Winter Soldier to Civil War. I like that all the characters are here, but I don't like it when a good movie starts to bore me.

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