Review of Captain America: Civil War (2016) by Amart — 05 Aug 2016

Marvel need to evolve sooner or later. The formula is running dry, and whereas I bet it's great for kids and lower-intelligence individuals to have a franchise which specialises in the by-the-numbers narrative structure ALL MCU films follow (where story/action foreplay with no meaningful consequences add up to a blown out, OTT finale where nothing really meaningful happens, and then, a cliffhanger of sorts in the form of an open ending OR post-credits teaser) I, for one, am sick of it.

Second of all, the characters, which have become so watered down and 'Disneyfied' I barely see them as their comic book counterparts. Only, truthfully, Stark + T'Challa come close, whereas others are just simplified, dumbed down instances of rushed studio output. Scarlet Witch is definitely interesting, but looks more like a member of the Runaways than that of Magneto's daughter (oh wait, wrong film franchise....) and is WAY underpowered considering her actual abilities.

If I had to commend the film, I suppose the action is well co-ordinated. However, it does more than switch your brain off after a certain extent. Plus there is NO real tension when the two sides collide. Hell, they're not going to KILL each other are they? This is Disney after all!! No, we'll just get a few bruises and snide remarks between them, yeah, that'll do it. And no, Cap/Bucky vs Iron Man was nowhere as good as it should/could have been, an unwanted fallout from the previous no-stakes battle just witnessed.

All in all, I feel like Marvel found a formula with Avengers Assemble and have elected to stick with it, considering the film's success. I don't think, to echo another reviewer, that we will see Marvel get any better than this, because frankly, are they trying to be?

I only anticipate GOTG Vol.2 from the upcoming slate, but I expect, that they too will stick with the paydirt they struck first time around unfortunately.