'Captain America: Civil War' Movie Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   It’s finally here! The summer movie season has officially started! The season where film buffs and casual moviegoers alike can rejoice in great films to just sit down and have fun with! The first weekend in May has traditionally always been the sort of kick-off point for the summer movie season. Some of the highest grossing films in history have opened on this weekend. It’s also recently been a big movie for superhero films. In the past ten years alone, Spider-Man 3, Iron Man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Thor, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Avengers: Age of Ultron have all been released this weekend. Now, it’s time for Captain America: Civil War to try its luck on cinema’s biggest weekend of the year.
   Captain America: Civil War stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johannsen, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, and basically the entire cast of the Avengers that we all know at this point. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, famous for directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, also returned to direct this latest installment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chances are, you already know what this movie is about. So, let’s just jump right into the review. Shall we?

   Captain America: Civil War is, in every way, the perfect kick-off to the summer movie season. While it does have a few minor issues, it is a film that any superhero fan can love. Yes, I say any superhero fan because the film relies very much on you seeing previous Marvel films for it to make sense. Unlike some of its predecessors, Captain America: Civil War doesn’t waste any time getting you caught up on the Marvel Universe so far. It just jumps right in. To people who have seen both Avengers and Captain America films, it’s not a problem. If you haven’t seen those films, however, you will get lost in the plot, easily.
   Looking at the trailers and all of the cast involved, it would be easy to believe that this film is basically Avengers 2.5. However, the film does a fantastic job keeping its focus on Captain America, while giving enough time to other characters to please audiences. This is first and foremost a Captain America movie and a sequel to 2014’s The Winter Soldier. Civil War walks that fine line between being an Avengers film or not. There are full superhero sequences in this film that do not involve Captain America at all. However, the film changes focus back to Cap relatively quickly.
   The cast that has been assembled for this Marvel Cinematic Universe is unparalleled. Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. prove once again that they were the perfect choices for Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. The entire supporting cast was also very good in their individual roles. There were a few that stood above the others. Particularly, Anthony Mackie as the Falcon, and Scarlett Johannsen as the Black Widow; as well as newcomers Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther and Tom Holland as Spider-Man. Both the Black Panther and Spider-Man are new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they both created some of the best moments in this film. I cannot wait to see how they expand upon their characters in their individual solo films set for release in the next couple years.
   The story as a whole was very well done. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo provided in-depth looks into the personal point-of-view of each character. You really understood how each one of them felt, and it was up to you to decide which character to side with. Despite the fact that this was a Captain America film, there were moments where you felt Iron Man was in the right while Cap was in the wrong. I can understand why some people wouldn’t be big fans of the whole Bucky Barnes storyline. Personally, I think it really works for this universe they were creating. If you were a fan of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, then you will definitely love this film. That being said, Captain America: Civil War does suffer from the same disease that seems to be affecting almost every film in this cinematic universe. That is that the villain was relatively weak. Both physically and dramatically. While I won’t give too much away, he isn’t in the film nearly enough for him to be interesting. Also, they never clearly state what his motivations are. Similarly to Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman, they just expect you to believe that he hates these characters and then they try to sort of explain it at the end. It didn’t work in BvS, and it doesn’t work here. Nothing against the actor who played him, he was just written poorly.
   The action sequences in this film were by far, the best action scenes in any Marvel movie to date. The Russo Brothers came up with fantastic new ways to give us the action sequences we wanted without making them rehashes of what we’ve seen already. Every punch thrown in this film has an emotional weight behind it, and it makes the fights so much more interesting and captivating. Each character had their own fighting style, and that really made for some breath-taking sequences.
   Captain America: Civil War is every bit as good as I’d hoped it would be. It has an intriguing plot, dynamic characters, and jaw-dropping action scenes. Black Panther and Spider-Man are brilliant new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each of the actors does great in their respective roles, although the villain was a bit lack-luster. I can see the film being confusing to people who aren’t caught up on the MCU, although if you are it’s a fantastic new addition.
9/10

   So what’d you think of Captain America: Civil War? Are you excited about the upcoming Spider-Man and Black Panther films? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
 
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