“Captain America: Civil War” Is The Best Film In “The Captain America Trilogy”; Best “Spider-Man” Ever!

“Captain America: Civil War” continues in the tradition of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” where it is not only a great superhero movie it is a great action/thriller with a nice blend of humor. So far there have been 13 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the ones that have stood out for me were “The Avengers” (2012), “Guardians Of The Galaxy” (2014), “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) and the one that started it all, “Iron Man” (2008). I can add one more to the list because “Captain America: Civil War” really delivers the goods.

When last we saw the Avengers, Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) had assembled a new team consisting of Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheeadle), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) and Vision (Paul Bettany).

In this movie, we see Cap’s new team working together to take down a group of terrorists in Lagos. Unfortunately, the mission doesn’t go down as planned and there are now many who wonder if the Avengers are doing more harm than good.

Leading the charge against the world’s superheroes is Secretary Of State, Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt). Ross believes that after the collateral damage that occurred during “The Avengers”, “The Winter Soldier” and “Age Of Ultron,” all superheroes must be kept in check and under a short leash. Ross wants The Avengers to sign the Sakovia Accords, which puts the Avengers under Government control. Captain America leads the anti registration group with several of the Avengers but is at odds with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) who leads a group that is pro registration.

But the main conflict occurs when the Government wants to bring in The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) for terrorist activity. Iron Man and his team want to bring The Winter Soldier in to answer for his crimes but Team Cap is not going to allow that to happen and what follows is a superhero battle royal that will be long remembered.

It’s hard not to compare “Civil War” with “Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice”. Both films tackle similar themes such as the public’s fear and distrust of superheroes. If you think about it, this was originally addressed in “The Incredibles” too. What “Civil War” gets right is that the story is well written, it flows and it is a fun movie. In “Batman V Superman”, EVERYONE is miserable and the motives for why they want to destroy each other make no sense. In “Civil War”, you can see both sides and there will be times where you yourself will flip between your alliance with Team Cap and Team Iron Man.

Another reason why this movie works is because we have had time to watch these characters develop and grow in their own movies and also in two Avengers movies. We have seen them as friends, teammates and now we see them as enemies. That carries a lot of weight because we have grown to care about the characters and you know that it is difficult for them to be at odds because in some ways they are like family. Watching Captain America battle with Iron Man is like watching two brothers you know fight.

What I also enjoyed about this movie is everyone did an excellent job portraying their characters. I didn’t like Elizabeth Olson as The Scarlet Witch in “Age Of Ultron” but she won me over in this movie. At times you feel the most sympathy for her character and she does an excellent job of being conflicted by some of her actions. Scarlett Johansson also does a much better job in this movie than she did in “Age Of Ultron” and it makes you forget the horrible Black Widow/Hulk love story.

The big question that everyone wants answered is, “How is the MCU version of Spider-Man?” My biggest fear was that Spider-Man would be shoehorned into this movie since Marvel and Sony had just reached a deal to bring Spider-Man to the MCU only weeks before the movie was to begin filming.

I’m glad to say that not only is Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man great, it’s perfect. I think what brings this home is Holland’s portrayal of Peter Parker, which was never really right in Sony’s movies. He comes across as a teenager that is interested in science and technology more than being a stud with the ladies. Holland’s on screen chemistry with Downey’s works so well. I can’t wait to see them reunite for “Spider-Man: Homecoming”.  You’ll be glad that you saw so little of Spider-Man in the trailers when you finally see him in the movie for yourself.

Another great addition to the MCU is Chadwick Boseman, who’s portrayal of The Black Panther/T’Challa is nothing less than fantastic. You may actually walk away from this movie having a difficult time deciding as to whether Spider-Man or The Black Panther stole the movie. I’m actually looking more forward to seeing “The Black Panther” movie now more than “Spider-Man: Homecoming”.

Third contender for the superhero that steals the movie is “Ant-Man”. Paul Rudd reprises his role as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and he is definitely a welcome addition to The Avengers. Most of the comic relief comes from Ant-Man and Spider-Man but they also have some of the best battle scenes in the movie. Don’t want to spoil the surprise but lets just say he has a bigger role in this movie than you would expect.

OK, here comes some of the negative stuff, but not too much and not too major.

• The “Shaky” Cam – The worst thing in this movie is The Russo Brothers use of the dreaded “shaky” cam. First introduced in “The Bourne Identity”, it puts the camera way too close with an effect that makes you feel you are in the middle of the action. It can be nauseating for some but for me it is just disorienting and distracting. Fortunately, it’s not too bad during the airport battle.
• Lackluster Villain – Baron Zemo is a horrible and boring villain. Unfortunately, the MCU has never really had a good track record with their villains, other than Loki, and this movie continues the trend. What helps is that most of the battles consist of Team Cap vs Team Iron Man.
• The Musical Score – The score is completely forgettable and just filler for the action scenes. I really wish Marvel would hire Hans Zimmer who did great work scoring both “The Dark Knight” series and “Man Of Steel”.
• Giant Lettered Fonts For Cities – You’ll understand when you see it.

Overall this is another fantastic film in the MCU. I cant wait to see “Civil War” again….and again.

I give “Captain America: Civil War” 4 out of 5 stars.

Joe Hogarty