Review: Avengers fight each other in action packed ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Posted on May 13, 2016

By MARK VIOLA

In the eight years since “Iron Man” ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), its films have welcomed the summer blockbuster season every year but once, and that was all the way back in 2009. (Technically “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” debuted in April 2014 rather than May, but that just meant summer started early that year.)

This year, we once again saw an MCU movie kick off blockbuster season: “Captain America: Civil War,” the third Captain America movie and the 13th MCU film overall. Amazingly, the franchise is still running strong, perhaps stronger than ever because this movie is one of the best of the entire lot.

Pulling in many of Captain America’s fellow superheroes, this could almost could be considered “Avengers 2.5,” bridging the gap between last year’s “Age of Ultron” and the two-part “Infinity War” set to debut in 2018 and 2019. Fortunately, as with the two previous “Avengers” films, solid direction and storytelling keeps this one from feeling overcrowded, despite the fact that we have 10 returning superheroes along with the introduction of two new ones.

Let me point out up front, however, that 13 movies into this story, it would be extremely beneficial to have previous knowledge of the MCU’s earlier films, especially “Age of Ultron” and “The Winter Soldier.”

“Civil War” is a superbly produced action film with an excellent screenplay, strong performances from its ensemble cast and insanely fun action sequences. While the stakes might not be as high as in “Age of Ultron”–when the entire world was at risk of destruction–they are much more personal here and as the title would suggest, friendships will be tested and teams will be torn asunder.

This is the second superhero movie of 2016 to feature our favorite characters fighting each other rather than the bad guys–the first being “Batman v Superman.” While I enjoyed that film more than most, there is no competition between it and “Civil War,” which is a vastly superior movie. The level of popcorn enjoyment is not as high as some of the MCU’s other films for the simple reason that our heroes are fighting against each other and that can be hard to watch, especially since we have become so invested with them over the previous 12 movies.

There is a lot more I would like to say about this film, especially about the final act, but I can’t without spoiling the story. Therefore, for those who have already seen the movie and would like to hear more, I have filmed a spoiler-filled analysis on Youtube, which can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eopxZGtqkUs.

“Captain America: Civil War” is rated PG-13 for extended sequences of violence, action and mayhem.

(This is a abbreviated version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

 

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