I went to see Captain America: Civil War on the weekend, and while overall I really liked it, I will admit it had some flaws. But before I review it, I want to explain something. I’m a bit of a comic book nerd, and the Civil War event in particular holds a special meaning for me, interestingly from two different but related angles.
I’d always been interested in superheroes, pretty much ever since watching the Batman and X-Men movies as a kid, and especially after seeing Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. When the PS3 game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 came out in 2009, I knew it was based on the Civil War event (without knowing any details about the Civil War) and that you’d have to choose between Iron Man’s side and Captain America’s side. I didn’t know anything about Cap at the time, but I knew and liked Iron Man, so I figured I’d side with him. By the time I had to make the choice in game, I couldn’t not stand by Cap, I felt so strongly that he was in the right.
Not long after that, I was given the Civil War collection, and it was the first comics event I ever read, admittedly a few years late, but it’s not like it didn’t leave an impression – as can be attested to by my not insignificantly small comic book collection. I’m rambling on a bit, but the point I’m trying to make is that the original Civil War event was quite significant for me.
Anyway, I’m going to do this review as a spoiler free summary and then a more detailed review, so if you haven’t seen it yet you’ll know where to stop.
SPOILER FREE BIT
As I said at the start, I liked it, but it was incredibly long, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The problem was that you really felt it. The first third of the movie in particular was quite slow. Not only that, but for such a big premise the whole film was quite small in scale. It jumped all across the globe, but everything felt very contained, especially in contrast to the other Avengers films (which is really what this is in all but name). But putting those things aside, and ignoring a few other things that I’ll go into below, the film had some awesome moments and if you like the characters and have a bit of patience, it’s worth it.
HERE THERE BE SPOILERS
Okay, so, let’s start with the elephant in the room, or rather in this case, the panther. And the spider. Or the spider and the panther. I suppose it depends on which you think is more important.
When I first saw the trailer, I was actually quite nervous about how they’d handle Spider-Man. I wasn’t sure if he could gel with the whole MCU. Turns out those fears were completely unfounded. His introduction was handled excellently and meshed into the universe really well, despite the clunky reference to Uncle Ben’s death. Black Panther, on the other hand, was… well, he’s an awesome character, and you see elements of his sheer badassery, but he never seemed to fit quite right. He just seemed sort of added in without really mattering, and unlike Spider-Man, who instantly feels like a rookie member of Iron Man’s team, someone who does belong there, Black Panther felt more like an uninvited guest.
As for the rest of the cast, my only real complaint is that we didn’t get to see more of Hawkeye and Ant-Man (or is he officially Giant-Man now?). Generally the other characters were handled as well as they have been over the last dozen movies.
Now, on to the… disappointing story. For starters, not only did the whole ‘Zemo is manipulating everything’ subplot slow everything down, but it took away from the ideological struggle between Iron Man and Captain America by trivializing it to the point of ‘he killed my mummy’. I’m also getting sick of all the ‘one man against the corrupt/bureaucratic institution’ movies. That plot has become a cliche, and while some movies (like Winter Soldier) have done it and still been excellent, it’s getting old.
However, my biggest issue with the story is that they used it at all. Civil War had such potential that they’ve blown too soon. I mean, they only had a dozen superheroes duking it out. That’s not a Civil War, that’s a Civil Skirmish. Captain America: Civil Skirmish doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?
Imagine for a moment that they had done Civil War instead as an Avengers movie in another few years’ time, when they’ve got a good forty of fifty characters to throw into it, like in the comic. That would be epic, and have the potential for real consequences, since by them some of the actors would be ready to hang up their capes. Imagine a Civil War movie where Iron Man and Captain America both die.
Continuing that theme, I also think the ending should have been different. I’d have loved to see Iron Man’s suit completely out-fight Cap by knowing all his moves, like it should, but then go too far and kill him. Don’t get me wrong, Chris Evans is great as Captain America, but he won’t be around forever and it would have been such an exit. Just picture the ending. Tony Stark is practically shattered by what he’s done and seeks to atone or punish himself or something, Bucky Barnes takes on the mantle of Captain America but because he’s still a wanted man leads the Secret Avengers instead, and the whole superhero dynamic is shifted in such a way that it makes the planet even more vulnerable than it’s ended up being. It’s got just enough elements of the comics to keep the fanboys happy, plus the storytelling potential would be limitless.
Ah, well, what we got is good enough anyway. So yeah, final verdict: quite good, a bit slow, a bit of a missed opportunity, but still a bloody good romp.