Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, everyone and the kitchen sink

Release: April 27, 2016

Review Author: Tony

Rating: 4.5/5 Shots of Jameson

In my last review I said that the The Jungle Book was the best film of 2016 so far, well Captain America: Civil War wasn’t content to leave it with that title for too long. Not only would I consider it the best film of 2016 it’s also the best marvel movie to date which is a massive feat considering the high quality of the majority of their films. Even when titles like Age of Ultron disappointed many inducing myself it’s still a damn entertaining flick with great characters and an abundance of humour. Civil War is the third instalment to the Captain America  series which has gotten better which each film, this can be credited to the Russo brothers taking the directors chair for Winter Soldier which up till now was considered one of Marvels strongest films.

The scale of Civil War has been larger than any of the stand alone films with most of the avengers cast returning besides Thor (Yay no self loathing after seeing how impossibly ripped Hemsworth is), Many feel like its more of an Avengers sequel although I’d argue that it stays more grounded on Captain America and Tony Stark with the rest of the cast taking supporting roles.

The story sees an Avengers mission going sideways and innocent bystanders ending up as casualties, this sends shock waves through the world which has become increasingly indifferent to the team as a result of the aftermath from the events of Age of Ultron. The UN proposes the Sakovia Accords which puts boundaries and sanctions on the team as well as governing them. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark among with various members of the Avengers become split on whether to sign the Accords.The tension that builds among the team and a mysterious third-party escalate the situation till the straw on the camel’s back finally snaps.

The Russo’s continue the more serious tone they established in Winter Soldier asking relevant questions about international security and consequences of actions, you never feel that either side is wrong and they help develop a believable case for each characters motives. The return of the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes is perhaps one of my most favoured aspects of the film as it gives Caps motives a personal touch and explains some of the more reckless courses of action he embarks on, it’s funny as Bucky Barnes was one of my most disliked elements of the first Captain America film yet their relationship then seems to have paid dividends in the sequels.

It’s astonishing how much ground is covered in Civil Wars two and a half hour run time but the pacing of the film moves us from scene to scene leaving you virtually no time to dwell on anything, this both helps and hinders the film at certain points. Secondary characters have little time to be developed so many characters have only a throwaway line which sums up their motivation for picking a side, also the Sakovia Accords plot takes a back seat in the third act of the film which leaves for a rather ambiguous ending which I felt was satisfactory but leaves the viewers in the dark. Strangely enough there’s some shaky CGI which is odd as Marvel have produced some of the best visual effects in recent years especially Guardians of the Galaxy. Right, that’s all the negative things I have to say and no I don’t feel good about it but it is my responsibility to at least show some integrity and unbiased opinion (I say this while I’m wearing my Daredevil t-shirt and polishing off my third discount beer).

There was a moment after the most outrageous superhero royal rumble when I realised that even without this landmark scene that no doubt will have every Marvel fan hyperventilating, that Civil War still would be my favourite film of the year. The fight scenes and cameos all feel like the icing on the cake. We even get a great villain, something recent Marvel films have been lacking sorely, and the reason this villain is great is because he’s not front and centre, for once we have a bad guy who’s end game is shrouded in mystery who manipulates rather than dominate.

Captain America: Civil War is perhaps Marvels best film to date and a great predecessor to both the Captain America story arc and The Avengers. I’m extremely excited to see where the Russo brothers take this franchise to.

Let us know in the comment section what you thought of Civil War and if you think its Marvels best film yet.