As many of Du know, Captain America: Civil War is now officially in theaters. And if Du haven’t watched it yet, you’re making a big mistake. I had the privilege of being able to watch it yesterday, and it was simply spectacular!
In case Du haven’t noticed, this movie has pretty much reached critical acclaim, obtaining a solid 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critic consensus being:
"Captain America: Civil War begins the Weiter wave of Marvel Filme with an action-packed superhero blockbuster boasting a decidedly non-cartoonish plot and the courage to explore thought-provoking themes."
In case Du don’t really know what it’s about (war, obviously), here’s a brief plot synopsis (taken from Rotten Tomatoes):
“Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed Von a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps-one led Von Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.”
In my opinion, this movie was a fantastic entry into Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which will ultimately culminate into a finale with Avengers: Infinity Wars: Parts 1 & 2 (although they may not be called that anymore). It brought up very thought-provoking Fragen about the difference between liberty and the cost of it, as well as giving us Fans the fight scenes of our dreams. Here are some of the best parts of Captain America: Civil War. Von the way, this is where the spoilers start. You’ve been warned…
Steve Rogers/Captain America
While Du could argue that this movie probably isn’t that much about Captain America (Chris Evans) at all, at its herz it truly is. This is a movie about the struggles that Captain America faces with the problems of oversight. From his experience, government control means nothing but trouble. He worked for S.H.E.I.L.D, only to find out that half of it was HYDRA, an organization that he assumed that he had beaten over 70 years ago. He was once a soldier, only for his best friend to seemingly die, to simply resurfaces decades later as his enemy. He’s seen all of the problems that arise with government oversight, and has decided that its best for the Avengers to remain independent. He also recognizes that his friendship with Bucky (Sebastian Stan) may sometimes wolke his judgement, even leading him to not tell Stark that it was Bucky who assassinated his parents 25 years ago, but he remains firm in his beliefs.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
With a decision that may come as a surprise to some people, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) actually supports the Sokovia Accords (the document that some of the Avengers sign in support of government oversight). Du may be surprised about this, since in the 2010 movie Iron Man 2, he publicly denied the government access to his own Iron Man armors. But to fully understand his decision, Du have to put things in perspective.
During the time of Iron Man 2, Tony was the only real superhero parading around. But the number of super-powered beings on Earth has risen exponentially since then. And so have the number of challenges that have come the face them, almost tearing Earth apart. Tony has seen the dangers of working independently, such as creating his own enemies (i.e, Ultron) and even going back to when he sold weapons off to the highest bidder. He’s also aware of the innocent people that are sometimes killed whenever they are out saving the world. This is why he believes that the Sokovia Accords are necessary. He belives that the Avengers are no better than the villains that they face if they can’t accept their own limitations.
The conflict between him and Stave elevates to a high when he is shown (by Zemo) that it was the Winter Soldier himself that assassinated his parents decades ago. This sudden realization makes the conflict become personal when he also finds out that Steve knew about this fact, but never told him. Du could see the true sense of pain on his face upon realizing the betrayal of his friend, which causes him to fly into a vengeful rage to kill Bucky.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Natasha’s (Scarlett Johansson) standpoint in the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man is quite interesting. While she still wants to be loyal to Steve, one of her only true confidants, she is actually in support of the Accords, siding with Iron Man. This is also a somewhat surprising decision, since she released all of S.H.I.E.L.D’s classified files two years Vor in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But Du could also argue that she’s in support of the Accords because that’s the lifestyle that she’s been used to for her whole life. She been trained from childhood to be a perfect assassin, and has worked for a variety of organizations, including S.H.I.E.L.D. Working for the government probably wouldn’t be much different to her.
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier
Bucky is undoubtedly a central point of the major conflict in Civil War. Part of the reason why kappe decides to go to war with his fellow allies is to protect his friend, one of the only Links that he has to his former life from the 1940’s. As I stated before, his friendship to Bucky may be clouding his judgement, but Bucky is just happy that there’s someone that truly cares for him. It’s also nice seeing the scenes with him interacting with kappe and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Du can also see how much Bucky cares for Cap, Von willing putting himself into cryo-stasis until the HYDRA brainwashing can be completely removed from his system.
T’Challa/Black Panther
Ah, T’Challa. The mighty warrior and king of (fictional) country Wakanda. We get to see him (Chadwick Boseman) in a spectacular breakout performance in Civil War. From his accent (which Boseman spent months practicing with) to his fighting style and costume, Du can truly feel the wrath of the Black Panther.
Although, to be honest, it can be argued that his role in Civil War wasn’t completely justified. After his father was assassinated Von a look-alike Winter Soldier (later revealed to be Zemo in disguise), his only real reason of becoming the Black panther at that moment was to avenge the death of his father, which meant killing the Winter Soldier. That’s also the primary reason for him joining Team Iron Man, since he didn’t particularly care about the politics involving the Heroes at that point. But then again, that’s just my own opinion. He was still fantastic overall. Get ready to feel see Mehr feline justice when his own solo movie claws its way into theaters July 6, 2018.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Some of Du may be a bit cautious about the new Spider-Man (Tom Holland), since this is the third time that he’s being rebooted. But don’t worry, it’s for the better. Peter Parker’s entry into the MCU was arguably the highlight of the whole movie. This is truly the best incarnation of Spider-Man to hit theaters yet. Just looking him interact with all of the other characters in both his Peter Parker and Spider-Man (especially with Iron-Man) really shows Du the youthful exuberance that we all know and Liebe from the comics. It was also wonderful seeing the inventive way that used a scene from The Empire Strikes Back to take down an enlarged Ant-Man (or, Giant Man at this point, I guess). Some people may argue that his appearance in Civil War wasn’t completely necessary, but trust me, Du won’t regret it once Du see him in action. If he’s the only reason that Du go to see Civil War, it’ll be worth it. Get ready to see Mehr Spidey action when he swings into theaters July 6, 2017. And don’t worry, it’s the same actor.
The Airport Fight Scene
Words can’t even begin to describe the awesomeness of this scene. You’ll have to see it to believe it!
The Final Iron Man vs. Captain America Fight Scene
This was arguably the most emotionally-wracking scene in the whole movie. Cap, willing to do almost anything to protect Bucky from being killed Von Iron Man, fights harder than he’s ever fought before. This scene truly showed us the real root of the conflict, as two allies/comrades ultimately turn on each other in a full out war. I geeked out a bit at the part where they froze at Iron Man shooting his beam directly onto Cap's shield, paying homage to the classic scene from the Civil War comic.
The moment where kappe drove his shield straight into Iron Man’s armor (specifically, his uni-beam) was truly symbolic of how much Bucky meant to him. And it was almost tear-jerking at the end when Tony told him that he wasn’t even worthy of his own shield, due to the fact that his father made, causing kappe to immediately drop it and leave with Bucky.
The ending of the movie was also very satisfying. We get to see Stark Lesen a letter (delivered Von our good ol’ Stan Lee) from Steve, apologizing for not telling him about the truth of his parents’ death, and assuring him that whenever he needs him and his friends, they’ll be there. We’re also comforted Von the fact that kappe is currently breaking the rest of Team kappe out of the floß to make this possible. It’s a perfect that shows that although they have their fights and disagreements, they’re still family, and family always look out for each other, no matter what.
All in all, I’d have to give this movie a solid 9.5/10. The only thing holding it back from a perfect score is the slightly underwhelming Zemo subplot, which feels somewhat unnecessary, as well as Black Panther’s true intention for being on Team Iron Man. But Du should definitely go see this movie now! Let me know what Du thought of it!
