I always find it so interesting how much movies reflect the feelings of their time: the Original Star Wars are widely considered far better than the prequels because the prequels were marred in the politics and corruption which gripped America at the time they were made, whereas the original trilogy were influenced by the seventies style of rooting for the little guy, the post-Vietnam era of peace and understanding rather than violence and war and the idea of promoting peace where possible and rising up against tyrannical orders who threaten peaceful ways.
In a way, I find it funny that the prequel trilogy didn't feature so much of that. Created around the rise of terrorism, we see much more of the Bush ideals of forcing democracy on a country in the Clone troopers and the Jedi as generals, something which somehow aptly fitted in with the original trilogy and gave way for that story to be told. Movies are windows into the time they are made, they show us the cultural and political landscape through which they were created and give us a way into the mindset of the people of the time.
With all that said, I suppose I should explain that this isn't just some random article about Star Wars and politics (although you might get something along those lines come Rogue One), but a review on Captain America: Civil War.
See, this reflection is an important point in what drives the conflict of Civil War; Steve and Tony at odds, against each other because one believes that acting alone is no longer the safest option, while the other believes government interference will only slow things down and get more people killed. The question asked for the entire marketing campaign is about to get an answer: are you #TeamCap or are you #TeamIronMan?
And what I have to say first off is: what a question! I love how they built up to the moment of the big split, they gave everyone their reasons for joining whichever team - Stark has his years of battles killing people he's known and loved, all because he was Iron Man. His superhero status has put lives in danger, he's lost people because he put on the suit in the first place. Vision and Rhodey both put forward logical arguments for following him, and Nat? Well she just wants her security. She has first-hand experience of what happens when one organisation has so much power - with the story putting their powers in the hands of over one hundred countries under a UN council, such inside corruption would be limited. Nat sees it simply. I think a lot of people were surprised to see Black Widow on Stark's side after The Winter Soldier but I felt it always made sense; she has no desire to have a repeat of SHIELD, or to be up on Capitol Hill again answering for what people term war crimes - it's time to put the decisions in the hands of others.
So what about Steve's team? Well therein lies my first criticism, because their reasons feel a lot less fleshed-out. Hawkeye's kinda there, apparently it gets him out of having to look after the kids or something (seriously they give a real cop-out reason that makes him sound like a bad dad in the process and that sucks); it feels like Sam only goes along with Steve because they're besties, although some early scenes where he's arguing about it with Rhodes give him some good spiel to go along with that - still, as an ex-military he feels very on-the-fence about the whole thing. Scott Lang seems to be on their side because they're technically fugitives, and he's okay with that - that's it, that's the whole reason we're given - I think out of all of them, Wanda and Bucky are the only ones who are with Steve because they actually agree with him. It's a weird set-up, because obviously we're seeing two teams of superheroes who are fighting over their opposing views, and somehow those views break down into violence because neither side wants to back down.
And Bucky's really the reason for that. He's got his memories back, but events conspire that bring him back into the spotlight and put him in the world government's crosshairs, and it's up to Steve to go against the Sokovia Accords and help him escape the past that is rapidly catching up.
On its own, it's a good story. Cap and Bucky's relationship feels like it's developed, from best friends to enemies and back to friends, only now they've been through so much and neither wants to give up on the other, and now this government intervention is threatening to tear them apart again. Points to the Russos for putting this story out there, because it's one that needs telling to fully round off Steve's arc, but they did make one mistake.
In order to get the story properly going, they threw in a villain. That villain was completely unneccessary, in my opinion, and they felt entirely ineffectual. It pulled the story into ridiculous levels, too, because their plan had to mix in with this Avengers in-fighting and it meant it was hinging on so many chances and unpredictable elements that the finale felt contrived.
So, with the plot synopsis out of the way, what about the good?
Well, Chadwick Boseman. Let's start there, because he was the highlight of this whole film. He was charismatic, complex, he had a fully fleshed-out character in T'Challa from the moment he was introduced and I think the lack of an origin story for Black Panther beyond a ten-second explanation from the man himself worked better to throw him into the deep end of the superhero spectrum and keep up with the others. Black Panther's motivations and story arc were one of the best parts of the movie, my only criticism is how undersold he was in this part. It felt like there was much more to it beyond what they showed, so much felt like it was left on the cutting-room floor which wouldn't surprise me with a movie so jam-packed with characters.
Speaking of, Spiderman is in this one! Shock horror, what a twist! And damn, what a great Spiderman, Tom Holland kinda blew all of my expectations away, we still have no Miles Morales but as a Peter Parker he was great, he was sassy and funny and dorky and he brought some much-needed lightness to some of the scenes.
Because this isn't a happy movie for the most part. It's about a team tearing itself apart, a family breaking up in a sense. It's the division between idealists and realists, Steve Rogers on the staunchly anti-government side because of the corruption he's seen in the past and Tony Stark realising his actions have untold consequences and not being able to handle that, thus handing over culpability to the government that sends them wherever they're needed. It's the argument that The Winter Soldier told, only magnified; government supervision and security over freedom at the cost of a less certain future. Which is better?
Well before we get onto that, we have to talk about Scarlet Witch, Black Widow and Agent 13. Three female characters, where before we only had one in the entire Avengers roster; a little diversion from the bland porridge oats of white male protagonists feels good, doesn't it? Which isn't to say it's perfect, but it's a start Marvel. You're getting there (or you would be, if you hadn't turned Dr Strange into a skimmed-milk whitefest. And that's me saying that).
Anyway, Black Widow and Scarlet Witch get some awesome fight scenes, and they're two of the most fleshed-out and focused-on characters in this movie besides our leads, they're given the most reason for their decisions. Of all the characters in the film, these two probably have the most pivotal influence on the story beside Bucky himself, they change the game when it needs to be changed. As the plot moves forward, they are given the most agency to influence it. Sharon Carter - Agent 13 - is given the shortest shrift in Civil War, getting a couple of scenes with Steve and Tony and little else; I feel like she should've had some more to do in here, or at least another fight. But she gets some good moments and killer lines, and even if she isn't there for long it's good to be reminded that she's a big part of Steve's continuing story.
But like I said, this isn't a happy movie. It has it's problems, and trying to be gives it a weird feeling at times. There are points where jokes shouldn't be made, that jokes are made; people quip when they shouldn't quip, there are lines that just feel out of place just after a serious scene. Spiderman alleviates that, at least; his wisecracking feels natural, it flows with the fights and it feels right coming from him. That opens up the door at points for the other characters to be less serious, and there are those moments within the story where it's allowed to breathe and have some fun with one-liners, but overall the "jokes" feel misplaced because of the gravity of the situation.
And the villain! I didn't get around to talking about them! Look, they're not a great villain in the first place, their plan makes no sense, and the only reason they're in the story is to get characters into other locations so they can film in a few exotic locales instead of just one. They feel entirely superfluous to the story, because it becomes about them when it should be about Steve and Bucky against the world, trying to reason against the UN and trying to get their friends to understand. Throwing that aside to focus on a C-list villain with a washed-out motivation just feels like bad storytelling.
But for all that, it's a good movie. It's got gravitas, it has drama and heartbreak. You really feel for the characters in this, forced to choose between each other so that years-long friendships are shattered, it makes you feel bad for even choosing a side (although I am still staunchly #TeamCap). The cinematography is fantastic aside from some shaky-cam fight scenes, and the story when it concerns Bucky and Steve trying to rebuild themselves and their old lives amid the chaos of the Sokovia Accords is beautiful. The ending is fantastic, aside from a facepalm moment in the mid-credits scene, and it feels like a much more human movie than the big explosionfests of the Avengers movies because of the little aside moments that the Russos drop in there between setpieces which give the heroes a feeling of normality, of humanity, that we don't really get to see anywhere else.
Does it beat The Winter Soldier? Not for me; it tries to do too much, and ends up in the same pot as Iron Man 2 where the original character-driven story is lost amidst the big villain battles and twist betrayals. It maybe doesn't sit so far down in the pot, but it's still in there, maybe lying on top of the whole broth of good-plots-gone-bad like a film of grease. That's a bit harsh, but I'm going to say it once more: Captain America: Civil War did not need a main villain when it had two teams of heroes fighting anyway.
I'll talk more about it in a spoiler review either later tonight or tomorrow. Until then, rest assured that it's a movie you should see because of the character-driven plot, the great action setpieces and the addition of Chadwick Boseman as one of my favourite characters in Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Adieu!
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