Captain America: Civil War SPOILER REVIEW

Captain America: Civil War is finally out in the UK, so here's a review.




Captain America: Civil War is fantastic, and deals with superhero conflict in the best possible way. While I think it's unfortunate to compare it to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, I also think that it's necessary as superhero films, no matter which franchise, learn from each other. Civil War sets the stage for a better Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also second-handedly sets the stage for a better DC Extended Universe. Civil War is funny, political and the perfect superhero movie. Highlights of Civil War are Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man (who is finally the Peter Parker we've been waiting for) and Black Panther.
CA:CW deals with the ongoing critique of 'too many superheroes in one movie' extremely well, giving each character a time to shine, with the exception of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) who essentially join the team a few moments before the battle. That, however, is understandable given the nature of the airport scene and the sense of urgency.
We start the film with Captain America (Chris Evans), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) on a mission in Wakanda to stop Crossbones (Frank Grillo). Black Widow's fight choreography is amazing in this scene, reminiscent of her iconic fight scene in Iron Man 2.

And then Scarlet Witch happens; as Crossbones ignites some kind of bio-chemical bomb (it was midnight when I watched this so excuse me if I'm wrong), Scarlet Witch contains the explosion and lifts it into the sky. She loses control and it detonates by a building causing mass destruction...

... this kickstarts the Civil War, although slightly more metaphorical than in the comics. The previously mentioned airport scene is the Civil War. It's immense and wonderfully shot, perhaps one of the best fight scenes in a comic book movie I've seen. From the offset, when the two teams started to fight I was gripped. This is even before they line up against each other in their separate teams as seen in the trailer, but it is that scene where I genuinely gasped. Seeing Ant-Man VS Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye VS Iron Man, Spider-Man VS Captain America was truly awe-inspiring. I was particularly mesmerised by Ant-Man's transformation into Giant Man in the airport scene. The CGI felt very comic-bookish which works in it's favour, especially with the addition of Spider-Man who was just as fantastic in both the airport scene and his appearances throughout the entire movie. Highlights of the airport scene were, of course, Ant-Man/Giant-Man, who even finds himself in Iron Man's suit at one point, Spider-Man, Black Widow (who, as I predicted, ends up helping Captain America and Bucky Barnes) and the immensely cool Black Panther. I do feel Scarlet Witch was perhaps slightly underused in the airport scene however that's understandable considering how powerful she is, by far the most powerful hero in the MCU so far.

Personally, the only issue I have with Civil War is that there were no deaths, seemingly no consequence of the civil war, which felt slightly underwhelming. Presumably, Crossbones dies in the beginning, however, that's a consequence of his own actions and not a result of the civil war. I must admit, when Vision gets distracted and 'shoots' (?) War Machine I had anticipated his death so I was slightly underwhelmed and disappointed when he survived, which is slightly morbid. I felt that either War Machine or Hawkeye (although Hawkeye is one of my favourite MCU characters) could have died to show consequence, they're fairly expendable.

The villain, played by Daniel Bruhl, was intriguing, slightly unsure on his villainy. His motif was curious, he and his family having been in Sokovia so he decides to take revenge on the Avengers by causing a terrorist attack on the UN with somebody in disguise as the Winter Soldier, which inadvertedly causes the Civil War; the villain seems unnecessary throughout the film until the very end where we finally learn what he's been doing. Having shown Iron Man and Cap that Stark's parents were killed by the Winter Soldier (who takes centre stage in CA:CW, along with 6 other Winter Soldiers who end up dead before actually doing anything cool), Zemo strolls away with Iron Man fighting both Captain America and Bucky Barnes behind him. Zemo attempts to kill himself, only to be stopped by T'Challa, aka Black Panther. I do feel that if Zemo were cut out of the movie, the events would have stayed the same, but nevertheless, an intriguing villain if not falling short of the typical MCU villain.

Brief points here...

I felt Agent 13 was slightly underused, having seen her on Team Cap promotional material early on I had anticipated a much larger role, however her scenes were tremendously good. Sharon Carter (Agent 13) and Captain America's 'relationship', although a very minor part of the film, felt slightly unecessary and the kiss felt forced although the reaction from Falcon and Bucky was very funny. Martin Freeman's Everett Ross was a nice inclusion in the film if not slightly small, clearly being set up for a larger role later on in the MCU.

Hints at a relationship between Scarlet Witch/Wanda and Vision felt like an easter egg for fans of the comic, which was utilised better than Agent 13/Cap's relationship (Scarlet Witch was what distracted Vision and caused War Machine to be paralysed).

Constant references to Hulk and Thor were pleasing and a good 'hint' towards Thor: Ragnarok. The Pepper Potts references were also good, happy to hear Potts hasn't been forgotten about, however having read that Gwyneth Paltrow had indeed shot scenes for Civil War it would have been nice to have seen her, even if for a brief cameo.

The post-credit scenes were decent, the Spider-Man post-credits scene was marvelous, Tom Holland is the perfect Spider-Man but more about that later. The first post-credits scene (mid credits?) had T'Challa/Black Panther, Cap and Bucky in Wakanda where Bucky decides to be 'frozen' again until he sorts himself out. I was expecting a Doctor Strange post-credits scene but I was perfectly happy with the two we got.
Scarlet Witch is the most powerful hero so far, and I. LOVE. IT. She's fantastic, and her particular story arc in Civil War is magnificent. Elizabeth Olsen is brilliant in the role, and I look forward to seeing Scarlet Witch's role expand in the MCU, especially with her confirmed for Avengers: Infinity War. Additionally, Black Panther is A M A Z I N G. Chadwick Boseman plays the role really well, and I was glad to see him retain an African accent. Black Panther's costume is awe-inspiring, his retractable claws were great and I'm beyond excited for his solo movie.

Spider-Man. Oh. My. God. Spider-Man! Tom Holland is BRILLIANT as Peter Parker, he's the Spider-Man we've all been waiting for. Young and funny, he's perfect! His introduction is genius, and his chemistry with Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark was one of the best parts of the film (and Aunt May's meatloaf). I'm so pleased with this Spider-Man, straight out of the comics and genuinely fun and entertaining. Tom Holland is fantastic and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will actually costar Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, which means more Peter Parker and Tony Stark banter!

The ending of Civil War left me slightly perplexed, obviously continuing with the whole 'to be continued' ethos of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I'm curious as to what's happened to the heroes now the Avengers have disbanded. I'm also curious as to when we'll see the heroes again, with the upcoming phase three schedule not seeming to fit the heroes in until Infinity War (besides post-credit scenes, cameos or perhaps with starring roles in Spider-Man: Homecoming).
Captain America: Civil War was a fantastic depiction of superhero conflict that paves the way for a larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, with comedy, action and drama at its forefront with excellent storytelling and a killer cast. While unsure on when we'll see the heroes again, I'm certain that we will and Civil War allows each character to go off on their own and venture into the MCU, only for them all to come together for Infinity War. Civil War cannot be missed, it's a must-watch for any comic book-movie fan. It's the perfect introduction to Phase Three.
Captain America: Civil War? 9/10. Brilliant, compelling and a whole lot of fun.