With Civil War being one an event that went across the marvel universe and affected every faction in the comic, the hype for the movie was just exceeded by the expectations. Needless to say, the Russo brothers had big shoes to fill.
Despite being a Captain America movie, Civil War focuses on a myriad of characters and storyline. Although this would usually make for a disjointed movie, the Russo brothers pull it off nicely-it helps that it’s a three hour long movie- and explores multiple story lines including the birth of the Black Panther as a hero, the schism between the Avengers, and the conflict between Cap’s obligation to his country and to his fellow soldier Bucky Barnes.
The main plot of the movie is of course, the hero registration act. After a mission goes astray resulting in the death of civilians due to a misfired spell by Scarlett Witch, the government demands a way to keep in heroes in check. Their reasoning being that the Avengers should be held accountable for what they do, rather than be allowed to operate outside the government and with no restrictions. This demand splits the team in half. Tony leads half the team in the decision of signing stating that if those they protect are terrified of them, they’re not better than the terrorists they fight. Opposing them is Steve, who believes taking orders and missions from the United Nations would lead to corruption and the team eventually serving another’s agenda. As he puts it ‘At the end of the day, the best hands are still our own.”
Bucky’s story serves as another plot line in the movie. After the events in Winter Soldier, Bucky was left roaming free. This movie explores more about his journey as well as to what he went through during his conditioning in Hydra, as well as the Avenger’s decision on how to handle something as dangerous as The Winter Soldier roaming around. To Steve however Bucky’s still the best friend he failed to save. Eventually his feelings of obligation to the team, and to Bucky conflict with one another adding to the schism that the contract began. Bucky’s salvation becomes as much a contributor to the Avenger’s disassembling as the hero registration act did.
Another big theme of the movie is, unsurprisingly, comradeship and friendship. As the movie progresses it explores the bonds between all of the different characters. Tony and Steven are the central focus but other friendships such as Clint and Wanda and Tony and Steve and Natasha are also explored. Tony and Steve’s bond with Rhoades and Falcon respectively is also solidified, with each secondary character standing by their hero’s side without question as the civil war progresses.
The trailer made it clear that eventually Cap would have to make a choice, not just between his ideals and the government he served, but between his team mates who had become basically family and the only family he had before going in the ice. This was more than just a disagreement over signing papers for both Steve and Tony. Their relationship is put to a test and Steve has to choose between him and Bucky. Every fan irregardless of which side they picked broke a bit during the exchanged lines “he’s my friend…so was I”
Of course you also can’t forget about Spiderman’s cameo. Going back to the original spiderman Peter Parker is the poor kid from Queens who gets dragged into a schims he’s really not suited for. The scenes between him and the rest of the avengers pay homage to the spider man from the comics, who really was just a smart mouth dork in a web-slinging suit.
Overall Captain America Civil War was well worth the wait. The movie does a good job of showing multiple storylines and bringing them together in one consice story. The character interactions are on point, and the plot twists and alternations between humor and fast paced action does it’s job of keeping the audience on it’s toes. The movie received a 90% approval rating in Rotten Tomatoes and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times<