With a first half that is little more than an overlong political drama and a second half filled with huge action, Whedon-esque quips from a multitude of super-cameos; capped off with a single (masterful) revelation sequence, the main reason “Captain America: Civil War” only garners 3 ½ stars has to do with a finale where…How do I say this without spoiling things?…“Captain America: Civil War”, a movie which contains the epic Iron Man vs. Captain America confrontation; a confrontation which has been at least four films in the making, settles on a resolution that can only be described as “civil”.
Synopsis: Do the Avengers do more harm than good? NATO thinks so, as they petition to garner control of this super-group, after global outcry from citizens who were a part of the collateral damage seen in the last two Avengers films, request governmental restraint on the independently run team. This diplomatic plot device divides the group; with unresolved results.
Is it me or did that plot seem way too CNN for a superhero movie? Well, that’s because it was. And the deeper into the political well the extremely talkie “Civil War” fell into, the harder it became for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I potentially could be stuck watching an entire superhero film consisting of a series of repetitive moral and ethical round table discussions for 2 ½ hours.
Mid-Second Act, with the emergence of cameos from Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) Ant-Man (Paul Rudd)and the new Spider-Man (Tom Holland) who was shockingly the best part of the film, “Civil War” becomes the action packed superhero movie I’d been promised. During these moments (and only during these moments) do directors Anthony and Joe Russo shine. It just took so long to get there, as the plot did not warrant the pacing displayed within the first hour or so.
And it all seemed to be going well. I was now entertained. During the final Act I had become immersed in a Greek tragedy plot twist which had me leaning forward in my seat (essentially in a bloodlust). And then… Bottom line, the conclusion to this film was surprisingly tame. So much so, that in the end “Civil War” comes off as a set-up 3 ½ star film for an upcoming 5 Star film, rather than the 5 Star film all of its predecessors had been leading up to.
Final Thought: Not only was “Captain America: Winter Soldier” a better movie, but so was “Batman v. Superman”.
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