Review of Captain America: Civil War (2016) by Patrick L — 17 Aug 2016

"Action-packed and exciting, "Captain America: Civil War" is an energizing start to the summer movie season".

Movie Review: Captain America: Civil War.

Date Viewed: May 6 2016.

Directed By Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree and Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

Screenplay By Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Based on the Marvel Comics created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony.

Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, William Hurt, Tom Holland, Emily VanCamp, Marisa Tomei, Frank Grillo and Daniel Bruhl.

"Captain America: Civil War" is an energizing start to the summer movie season. Not only does it feature great action sequences, it also wants to acknowledge that thousands of people died all for the sake of creating blockbuster entertainments. A morally difficult choice fractures the Avengers into two opposing teams, one led by Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America and one led by Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. Even though this is another Captain America installment, it feels like another "Avengers" movie if you look at the ensemble cast. "Civil War" also marks the exciting debuts of two new superheroes, Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther and Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man.

Both will have their own feature films in the near future.

After the disappointing smackdown between Batman and Superman, the showdown between Captain America and Iron Man is worth seeing because "Civil War" tells a compelling story and gives the many characters in this movie room to develop.

One year after the Avengers defeated Ultron, the superhero team gets involved with another international incident which results in extensive collateral damage. The latest incident involving the Avengers puts the U.S. government under pressure to find a political solution, that's where former general and now Secretary of State Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt, reprising his role from "The Incredible Hulk") comes in.

He comes to Avengers headquarters to inform that the U.N. is preparing to pass legislation known as the Sokovia Accords, this will give governments from around the world the right to oversee and control the Avengers. This issue heavily divides the Avengers, while Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) still believes his own judgment in doing the right thing, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) surprisingly supports the legislation because he feels responsible for creating Ultron and for the destruction of Sokovia.

Suddenly, a bomb explodes at a U.N. conference in Vienna killing King T'Chaka of Wakanda, the man who was overseeing the Sokovia Accords. Security footage reveals that the Winter Soldier, a.k.a. Steve Rogers' former friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was responsible for the attack and T'Chaka's son, T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) vows to take him down. With his friend now on the run, Captain America has to make a difficult choice, turn over Bucky to the authorities or help him in eluding capture.

While Bucky returns to his normal self, he is now a internationally wanted man and he and Steve must go to a Siberian Hydra facility where more brainwashed Winter Soldiers like him are being kept in large cryogenic stasis.

That's the place where they'll find Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), a former Sokovian colonel now turned terrorist who is obsessed with tearing the Avengers apart because his family were among those killed in the destruction of Sokovia. Unwilling to wait for authorization to go after Zemo, Captain America goes rogue by recruiting his team, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). To stop Captain America from making a bad situation to an even worse one, Stark assembles his team as well by recruiting James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine (Don Cheadle), Black Panther, Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Vision (Paul Bettany) and Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man (Tom Holland).

By having thought-provoking themes such as accountably for so much destruction and many innocent lives lost, "Captain America: Civil War" is the most mature installment yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It may lag behind "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" in terms of being overstuffed and overlong but nevertheless it's still an entertainingly smart summer blockbuster. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are at the heart of this story because their friendship and teamwork helps the Avengers stay united, if they are divided the team gets crippled. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo (who both did "Captain America: The Winter Soldier") do a complex job of holding a great story and compelling drama together while having a dozen comic book superheroes in the same movie.

Chadwick Boseman who in the past few years has played Jackie Robinson and James Brown tremendously well on the big screen is just outstanding as the Black Panther. I really enjoyed Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man, his gleeful tone in "Civil War" is just perfect for the webslinger. His terrific appearance makes you can't wait for the upcoming "Spider-Man: Homecoming" which is due out next year.

Action-packed and exciting, "Captain America: Civil War" proves that you can make a movie about superheroes fighting each other smashingly well as long as you strike all the right notes.