Review of Captain America: Civil War (2016) by Njchrispatrick — 29 May 2016

7/10, if that. Maybe 6.5/10. Not BAD per say, but this movie made a lot of the same flaws that Age of Ultron did, mostly due, I suspect, to a time crunch; such as hurried plot progression and failing motivation for both villain and character. Adding in Spiderman was just Marvel wanting to show off the character they'd bought but it really detracted from some of the gravitas. He was very good but he didn't seem to fit in with the overall story. And the side-plot involving him was one of the elements that had been a worry for the movie; that it wouldn't be a true Captain America movie as it wouldn't be about him as much as it should've.

The movie was built up around the Accords but they pretty much were forgotten for the entire second half and it just became about Iron Man wanting to prove himself right over Captain America. They were the motivation, yes, but that became very hard to see by the time of the airport fight scene. And of course there was a lot of time given to the other Winter Soldiers but then it cut off when he killed them. A twist, yes, but one which wasted massive amount of film time. The fight scenes were decent but some of the employed elements, such as Ant-Man's surprise, were rather surprising--and not in the good way. It was the sort of thing that really didn't belong in a group hero movie.

When it comes to movies about conflicting ideals, especially when, as in this case, both sides make solid and understandable points, it is usually important to give both sides their due so, even if one wins, both are understood. And it had that covered quite well early on with Tony's guilt and Steve's hero complex, but that theme was lost somewhere along the lines. Eventually Tony's team (minus Natasha) seemed composed of people seeking revenge (T'Challa), gratification (Tony), or just following blindly (Spiderman+Rhodey). There wasn't even any pressing NEED for them to fight, and that was what made the movie as a whole rather hard to swallow.

Characterization, as with the plot, began well before taking a nosedive about halfway. There was a nice base, each character given their due and specific reasons to support their side, but as the difference in opinions arose it was lost by the wayside. Some of the most important elements were forgotten in place of cheap drama; Tony became a hothead with no care for Steve (a feature which was the entire point of Ultron), Peter became a fanboy without the ability to think for himself, and T'Challa sought revenge with no other thought through his head. (Or, for the record, explanation for his own abilities and suit beyond a passing comment of it being an heirloom.).

All-in-all the movie gave the feeling that they were heading in one direction beforehand but a last-minute change forced them to scrounge for an alternative ending. Not quite bad, but shall we say... lacking.