Film Review: Captain America - Civil War (2016).

Hi everyone, hope you're good. I finally saw Captain America: Civil War today.

I've been so excited to see it so let's get straight into the review! (There may be some spoilers)

The Background

Civil War is about a political system that pressurises the Avengers to take accountability for their actions that have caused collateral damage and the death of innocent civilians. The Accords Act splits up the team with Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) believing that superheroes should remain free to defend the world without government involvement whereas Iron Man/Tony Stark massively disagrees and supports the Act. The debate escalates into an all-out free-for-all between the superheroes, making the likes of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) pick a side between their friends.

My Thoughts

I liked this film ALOT, I had no doubt that I would. It was a little different and hard to see the superheroes fight each other rather than come together to take down an evil force. I really liked the fact that all the way through the film, you are never 100% what side you are on. For most of it, I was on Cap's side but then there were moments, particularly towards the end, that made me sway towards Stark's side. There was a few cameos that were great such as Martin Freeman turning up as Everett Ross and with the almighty Stan Lee as always.

The two new characters: Black Panther and Spiderman made a hell of an impact.

Spiderman's introduction was great. At first, I wasn't too sure about the casting choice but Tom Holland proved what a fab, new addition he is. He brought something different to the film and also integrated some comedy proving how young and nerdy he is which works a treat for the Spiderman fans. I haven't watched any other Spiderman films, Tobey Maguire was Spiderman for me but it was refreshing to see a new take on the superhero.  

Black Panther was a force to be reckoned with in this film. His introduction was absolutely fantastic and he was silent, lethal and unbelievable to watch. Chadwick Boseman did a fabulous job bringing the character to life and his storyline. The chase scene between him, Bucky, Captain America and Sam Wilson/Falcon was pretty thrilling!

The two major fight scenes between the teams were great and different for various reasons. The first big face-off, a mass battle in a German airport, was pretty cool. Steve Rogers had Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Wanda, Sam Wilson, Bucky and Tony had War Machine, Vision, Black Widow, Black Panther and of course, Spiderman. This fight was pretty great and hilarious. Alongside the punches and kicks, there were some great one-liners which toned down the seriousness of the fight. It became more of an Avengers film rather than a Captain America one, although Hulk and Thor (I'm assuming he's fighting his own battles which we will see in Thor 3!) were nowhere to be seen and were only mentioned briefly. 

Spiderman really came into his own here and excelled his fighting skills but also showed how naive and innocent he really is as he doesn't stop to listen to Cap's side. Ant-Man was still great to see after his own solo movie went down a treat with me. I felt like he could've been used more in this film, there was so much potential for him and I don't think they used him as much as they could have. 

The second fight was between Stark, Rogers and Bucky which was much more intimate and genuinely more painful to watch. It was hard to see your favourite characters go head to head with each other and really throw some hits that make you wince. There was no comedy here, just pure raw emotion and pain. It was an emotional climax to the entire film and you find out and see some things that really shock you. 

However, I felt like the ending was a bit anti-climatic after such emotional scenes and it felt a little rushed but it was a cliffhanger which makes you think what state are the Avengers in now? The film could have been wrapped up a little better and the entire film did not seem like a civil war really, it was more of a squabble between superhero friends which turns more serious and emotional later but not into an all-out war. Perhaps I am the only one who feels this way but I still loved the film.

I left the cinema feeling like I was on Team Cap and so did my brother. It was a great film but Steve did make me wonder about how far he would go for Bucky which was scary at times but I also understood his position more than Stark's. It was a great film and the actors, who are now so in tune with their characters, each played their scenes so well. Even when they were being overshadowed by Cap or Stark, the supporting cast such as Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Falcon etc. each did well and added their own humour to the scenes.

Also the two post-credits scenes were great to watch, so stay for them!

Have you seen this? What did you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

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