MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Anthony & Joe Russo

This weekend the thirteenth Marvel Cinematic Universe film hits theaters, you read that right, their THIRTEENTH film. What started back in 2008 with Iron Man has quickly become one of the most successful movie franchises of all-time and by now they are just a well oiled machine that keeps churning out gold. What separates Marvel from most of its competition however is how they run that machine, bringing in all sorts of unique filmmakers to shape each film into its own unique story. At the head of that pack is Anthony & Joe Russo, the pair responsible for bringing us one of the best Marvel films to date, The Winter Soldier. As some of the only directors to do so in the MCU, The Russo brothers have returned to bring us the third installment in the Captain America story, Civil War.

Although it's not specifically in the title, the words "civil war" say it all, this is Marvel's "vs." movie. Unlike with all of their other stories this isn't just the struggle of good vs. evil, this is the story of what happens when the lines between good and evil become blurred. The Avengers have been operating without any oversight since their inception, and in that time multiple cities and towns have been leveled, leaving countless dead. The governments of the world have decided enough is enough and call on the super team to give up a piece of their freedom of choice in order to ease the minds of the people.

As you can imagine this immediately forms a divide within the team, despite his patriotic name Captain America has no intentions of giving the government the power of telling them where and when they are allowed to help. On the flip side of it Tony Stark has been battling the PTSD of everything that has happened since N.Y. and believes it is time for them to be put in check. It is this philosophical dilemma that allows Civil War operate as one of the most intelligent and thought provoking stories the MCU has produced.

I am sure by now plenty of you have heard critics and film nerds calling this movie "Avengers 3" and while that is fair in some respects, I hardly agree with this statement. With it being a "vs." movie the story is shared by two parties, Captain America and Iron Man. This is their movie, despite only Caps name being in the title. They share the bulk of the story and it is their decisions that drive the rest of the team to pick sides, the only reason they are all there is because the two have disagreed. They are clearly the parental figures of the team and their divide is like a divorce with all of the little kiddies scrambling to pick a side.

Being this far along in the franchise all of the major characters have been clearly defined by the actors playing them, so its no surprise that all of the big name characters are as good as ever. What is exciting about this film though is the introduction of a few new heroes that will be huge players in the near future. The first is Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman, who I believe steals the show. The handful of scenes he has in this film are spectacular and I cannot wait to see more from this hero I know so little about. Then there is Spidey played by Tom Holland, that's pretty much all I will say as his scenes speak for them self and are sure to have you psyched for next summer.

This film isn't just a platform for introducing new characters though, far from it actually as this to me is one of the best written and best executed film they have made to date. This is in large part due to the fact that the action sequences put forth in this movie are the best we have seen from the MCU yet. With the help of stunt geniuses Chad Stahelski and David Leitch (John Wick, The Matrix) they crafted some of the most memorable and unique fights we have seen in super hero cinema. From the opening sequence to the airport fight you are all hearing about there is so much to feast your eyes upon.

This is the second film in the MCU the Russo's have directed and statistically speaking that hasn't been the best for directors in this universe. Both John Favreau and Joss Whedon came back for a second movie that failed to reach the greatness of their first ultimately leading to them exiting the franchise. The Russo's seem to have cracked the code however as, after just one viewing, I think they have brought forth one of the best comic book movies ever made and knowing they are heading up the final two Avengers movies I couldn't be more excited.

With this already being the third superhero movie released just this year, and with another handful or so to come before the year is out, there are sure to be those crying "superhero fatigue!", don't listen to those people. When two of the three comic book movies released this year have already made their way to the tops of everyone's "best superhero movies ever" list, you can hardly make that claim. Captain America: Civil War is everything we as fans want out of these movies, it has a phenomenal story, the acting is great, and the action even better. Be ready to have some of the most fun you'll have in a theater all year.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!