Ever since Tony Stark and Steve Rogers first met in The Avengers, there was tension between both men. While they both believe in saving people, their worldviews couldn't be more dissimilar. In that span of time since their first encounter, their ideologies began to switch. After the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve lost faith in the institutions that he once fought for. After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony realized that the Avengers were out of control. Thus, the stage was set for their biggest battle yet: against each other.
Captain America: Civil War is an extremely loose adaptation of the Civil War storyline which pitted Captain America and Iron Man against each other, with numerous heroes picking one side or another. The sweeping epic left a profound impact on Marvel, culminating in the death of Steve Rogers. However, the story was criticized for poor character work. And with only maybe a tenth of what the comics had to work with, how could Marvel Studios pull off this task?
Bring in the team that made Captain America's last film so great. Anthony and Joe Russo returned to directing duties, with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely once again contributing the screenplay. However, the story could have been much different if things didn't work out. For example, Robert Downey Jr. wasn't a guarantee to return; his contract had just expired. There were also other heroes in the film that almost didn't make the cut, including one kinda popular web-slinger.
However, after Ike Perlmutter was basically kicked out of Marvel Studios with Feige reporting directly to Disney instead, and after a breakthrough deal with Sony Pictures, the team was able to get everything they wanted. And somehow, even though this film had more heroes than Avengers: Age of Ultron, it works much better on many different levels. Civil War could be Avengers 2.5, but what makes it so strong is that it hones in on the center conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, with Cap as the central figure. So, unlike the Avengers films, this is not an ensemble piece. And because it doesn't try to stretch itself too thin, it is one of the best crossover films made to date.
I like to say yes and no. As we see later in the film, the U.N. kept the imprisonment clause a secret, forcing the rebellious heroes onto a floating prison called the Raft. Also, they have a point that not only does this take their rights away, but they would now be under control by people with political agendas, deciding where and when the Avengers could strike no matter how desperately they're needed or not. Still, we see time and again (including the beginning of this film) that their actions usually make things worse, including the total destruction of Sokovia and an accidental bombing that killed several outreach workers from Wakanda. Besides, the real reason Steve rebels is because his friend, Bucky, returns and is hunted down for his crimes which leads to Steve becoming his accomplice. So it's personal for him, not really a good look for a hero.
Okay, so maybe the pro-Accords side can be rooted on instead. This group consists of Iron Man, War Machine, Black Widow, Vision, Black Panther (!), and Spider-Man (!!). After getting guilt-tripped by the mother of a victim of the battle in Sokovia and exacerbated by a break-up with Pepper over his inability to quit being Iron Man, Tony's once anti-government stance on regulating Iron Man switches to a sense of wanting greater accountability. His compelling argument sways both Vision, War Machine, and Black Widow, but the other two team members are in it for other reasons. T'Challa/Black Panther seeks to avenge the death of his father by killing Bucky, the man who may be responsible. Meanwhile, Tony recruits Peter Parker/Spider-Man because he sees a younger version of himself in him, and wants to do some good by overseeing the promising superhero.
So once again, multiple motivations to drive our team to this side. Are they in the right? Well, again, yes and no. As previously discussed, the U.N. snuck in some stipulations that were less than agreeable that ripped away the rights of the Avengers and people with superpowers. Meanwhile, Tony does some extremely hypocritical things like protecting Spider-Man's identity and protecting him from government surveillance, not to mention how dangerous it is for him to recruit a teenager in the first place. T'Challa's drive for vengeance is completely personal and unfounded. And Black Widow doesn't feel committed to the cause, leading to her double-crossing her team.
That's why I love this movie so much. Despite the catchy "Pick a side" tagline, it's kinda hard to do just that. Both sides have valid and invalid reasons for facing off against each other. It's a war where there is no clear good guy or bad guy. And in the end, there is no big battle with the fate of the world on the line. It's a two-on-one match between Iron Man vs. Captain America and Winter Soldier, with Helmut Zemo pulling the strings. This battle, and the epic airport face-off, marks the death of the Avengers as we know them. Trust is betrayed, and friendships are broken, perhaps irreparably. But as Steve tells Tony in his note at the end, they were only fighting for what they believed in, even when things got deeply personal.
Thankfully, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. are up to the game, delivering some of their best performances of this franchise, no doubt thanks to an excellent, complex screenplay. Downey especially knocks it out of the park, conveying emotions we hardly ever see out of Tony Stark like deep betrayal. It's hard not to root on him after finding out the grisly truth of his parents' deaths. "I don't care. He killed my mom" is heartbreaking dialogue, made all the more impacting by the deep hurt Downey conveys. He also frequently gets pushed to the edge in the film; there's definitely some regret going on when he faces his former comrades (and Scott Lang) on the Raft, even if he puts up his usual tough-guy front. So yeah, it's perhaps the deepest performance we've seen out of Downey since the original Iron Man.
Let's go ahead and talk a bit about Zemo since we've already brought him up. Personally, I think he's one of the MCU's strongest villains because his only "superpower" is patience. After the death of his family in Sokovia, he plotted meticulously to destroy the Avengers from the inside-out using the leaked data from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The best part about Zemo's plan was that the events in the film; bombing the signing of the Accords, breaking Bucky out of prison, and the airport fight, were all a back-up plan. The plan all culminates in revealing the truth of the death of Tony's parents, knowing that this would undoubtedly break their bond. Yeah, there are some stretches in his plot here and there (the EMP device in general), but they're easy to ignore when you're in the moment.
How about those new heroes though? One of the most impressive feats about this film is that it introduced not one but two new heroes into the MCU fold, including one with lots of cinematic baggage. But first, let's bring up T'Challa: the Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman makes his MCU debut as the Wakandan warrior, setting the stage for a big expansion of the universe. Here, we get a taste of his charisma and versatility as an actor: he grieves over the death of his father, King T'Chaka, and displays the rage that consumes him on his quest to hunt down the man he believes to be responsible. Still, he's a far more serious character than the average MCU hero. During the airport fight, as Hawkeye quips about introducing himself, Black Panther responds with a simple "I don't care". He means business when he's in combat (he is a warrior after all), even though he does have a fun side as we see in the brief encounter between Natasha and the Dora Milaje warrior. He also shows far more dignity than the Avengers, ultimately showing mercy to Zemo at the end. He's a fantastic character in what time we spend with him, and it's amazing the Russos were able to pull off his arc in a movie that could've buried it. Definitely makes one excited for his solo adventures.
Now, we have to talk about our friendly neighborhood high school nerd. Tom Holland is the third version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in live action films, and shocker, he may very well be the best one yet. He gets less screentime than any other superhero besides maybe Ant-Man, but he makes a big impact in the time he has. In the very first scene he appears, we immediately get this is going to be a Peter Parker grounded in his comic book roots without going over his origin yet again (though it is hinted at). He's a colossal nerd who's worried about homework and his aunt May (played by the stunning Marisa Tomei). There is a natural energy to his performance that makes him instantly likable, and any 19 year old who can hold his own against Robert Downey Jr. is worth keeping an eye out for. Holland also has an uncanny ability to nail Spider-Man's famous quips much better than Tobey Maguire ever could (though the Sam Raimi trilogy will always hold a special place in my heart). Basically, another hero that the Russos and the Markus/McFeely team were somehow able to introduce flawlessly.
Other highlights worth mentioning:
-Paul Rudd may have been great in Ant-Man but he absolutely steals the show in his brief role here. His enthusiasm in working with the Avengers is infectious, and he nails some of the stand-out moments in the airport battle.
-The bond between Bucky and Steve continues to be a strong linchpin in the Captain America trilogy. Seeing Bucky slowly returning to his former self is solid character growth, and making this the primary reason for Cap to defect from the Avengers makes sense, even if it is selfish.
-The gradual growth in the romance between Scarlet Witch and Vision and their shared bond with the Mind Stone, the only tie-in to the Infinity Stones in this whole movie (thankfully).
-The airport fight as a whole is a knock-out. The quips may be too much at times, but it is the single most entertaining fight of the entire MCU, dripping with fanservice and A+ character interactions.
All the positives aside, Civil War does have its issues. The score is a massive disappointment, especially since The Winter Soldier's Henry Jackman returned. For some reason, he chose not to incorporate most of his score for the previous film, namely his awesome Captain America theme, and he only briefly reprises the Winter Soldier theme. Instead, it's drab and forgettable with no real stand-out themes. Also, the cinematography is lacking this time around too. Aside from cool money-shots, the whole thing feels far less cinematic than it should, with the intensity of the fight scenes from the previous film only popping in a couple times. The colors are drained, and much of the framing is uninspired. So while the film excels in writing, acting, and effects, it falls way short in some key technical areas.
And with that, phase 3, our current phase of the MCU, began with a bang. The Avengers are scattered, and the world is turning colder against them. Still, new heroes have emerged and made their presences known, changing the landscape of the MCU for years to come. Captain America: Civil War is what Avengers: Age of Ultron should have been; a true escalation of the team-up that truly tested the loyalties of our heroes. This film does make Age of Ultron better in hindsight by acknowledging the catastrophic toll the battle with Ultron had, and doing far more with the fallout of this incident to many of the characters than Whedon ever could without resorting to quips.
So it's no surprise that Marvel Studios turned to this team to bring us the next Avengers film, and without a doubt the biggest one yet. With Civil War, the Russos and McFeely/Markus proved they could juggle an enormous cast. So what's just a few more characters and a potentially world-ending event to make things more interesting for these four men?
We're heading back to Netflix in the next installment of our trip down Marvel memory lane. Daredevil was about faith and the duality of justice, and Jessica Jones was about trauma and abuse. Our next series tackles two more noteworthy social issues: gang violence and racial disparity. All told from the perspective of a black bulletproof superhero, in a time where that's more relevant than ever.
Next time: Luke Cage
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