Captain America: Civil War (2016)

"We need to be put in check. 

Whatever form that takes, I'm game."

'Capman V Iron Man: We do it better than DC'.

After too many public incidents and casualties, The Avengers are given an ultimatum by the rest of the world to either agree to government surveillance and command or retire for good.

The newest edition of the Marvel Universe comes in the form of 'Captain America: Civil War', comedically released not long after DC's dreadful 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice', and shows us all how a battle between heroes should be done. 

Not so much a "war" as a group of friends having a tussle in the playground but it certainly is civil.

After booking a seat for yet another superhero film, I was less than excited to sit down and watch the newest comic book film in the never ending stream that we seem to find ourselves with. However, this feeling was quite short lived as a surprisingly enjoyable film played out in front of me. 

For me, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' was one of the better films in the MCU, it didn't feel like a superhero film and it adapted into a different genre very well. Even though 'Captain America: Civil War' falls more heavily into the traditional comic book film genre, it has some pretty interesting things going on and was, on the whole, entertaining.

Multiple casualties and collateral damage caused by The Avengers "saving the world" has forced the countries of earth to re-evaluate how The Avengers operate. It does a good job of laying that out clearly early on and gives us a new insight into that world. It's relatable and makes sense. Obviously when faced with a proposition of this kind, some agree to be governed by the United Nations but some are clearly against the idea altogether. This is a logical and well thought out story step from Marvel, which is based on the comic book, as it forces our heroes to re-examine their roles and the use of their powers. It was really interesting to watch how each of the different characters rationalised their choices and decided which side of the fence they sat on. You'll constantly hop back and forth as to who is in the right and the characters, much like real people, do the same.

Like most Marvel movies, the comedy is always great. Not that this is a laugh out loud movie as recent marvel films have been, the jokes are few and far between because of the serious subject matter but they still manage to lighten the mood with some well needed comic relief. 

We see a lot of new faces appearing in this film along with the usual cast and some familiar characters from other spin offs. When Ant-Man shows up he's as good as he was in his own film and a brand new addition to the group is a very young Spider-Man, who doesn't have a key role but is fun and adds a new dimension the cast. I won't go into too much detail about the new characters to avoid any accidental spoilers so you can discover that for yourself. On the whole, pretty much all of the performances are of a high standard, especially Robert Downey Jr. who always manages to steal every scene he's in. 

The big throw down between the heroes is what you go to the cinema and pay to see and it's definitely the main spectacle of the film. It actually happens around half way through if I remember correctly so it's not the climax of the film, more of a mid-season finale. The action is top notch and seeing each character utilising their skills in a battle like this is fun and exciting. It's more of a friendly kick about in the park rather than a real match though, no one is really trying to do any damage and you don't expect any real casualties because they're all, mostly, good friends. This did take out some of the tension, a group of this much power smashing head first into each other could have been a lot more tense than it was, there weren't really any stakes involved but it doesn't negate how exciting and action packed the scene is. It's like emptying your entire toy box out onto the floor and making them all fight as a kid.

Despite the impressive visuals and action sequences, when you start to take a look at the plot itself and go deeper than surface level, the film starts to show its very obvious flaws.

The idea and concept of the film is the number one selling point. It's what is interesting and exciting about the film and is the meat on the bones for the viewers. However, the skeleton of the main storyline is thin at best with a totally forgettable villain who wasn't entirely essential to the story. There are a lot of convenient plot devices to get us from A to B with the main storyline being illogical and a little convoluted. The main "villain", if you can call him that, has a grand scheme that just feels somewhat pointless in the end. If you were to take his character out of the film it wouldn't actually affect the plot in a major way. You could change a scene or two at the beginning and the film could almost play out the same way without his input. We go round and round on a wild goose chase only to be unsatisfied by the execution and reasoning behind the ending. 

This long winded plot makes the films pace feel sluggish and a little bland at points. Coming in at nearly two and a half hours, it could have been cut down by about 45 minutes with the right storyline but, unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. A lot of recent blockbusters feel the need to have huge running times and 9 times out of 10 it could have played out in a more bitesized, action packed chunk.

There was a lot that I wanted to happen and a lot that could have happened to shake things up a bit but nothing really comes to fruition or concludes in a satisfying way. Just one long Act 2. 

I always find the same issue with superhero films. It's like eating a McDonalds. 

It seems like a great idea and is totally enjoyable when you're eating it but afterwards you're never fully satisfied and you just end up hungry again in a few hours. These films are designed to make us come back to the cinema time and time again. Every film is promised to be the next best one and, personally, I feel like they're always selling an idea rather than the finished product, the advertising and marketing is manufactured like the click bait that plagues social media. 

They're fun on surface level but they're not challenging or worth a second watch for me. It's a popcorn flick and, until the market changes, I think they'll have to stay that way. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a popcorn flick but when it's making so much money and demanding so much respect, I think it should have a little more quality than quantity in the storytelling. 

The 'Daredevil' Netflix series is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. Marvel and Netflix have the freedom to explore some deeper and more challenging ideas and stories with the TV show and they do it so well. I recently just finished season two of 'Daredevil' and was very impressed, it blew season one out of the water. They manage to elevate it from the superhero genre into something that stands on it's own two feet and I think that's why I liked it more than the films that have been released. 

I think I just have to accept that I'm never going to be a real superhero fan...

Ultimately, 'Captain America: Civil War' is one of the better superhero films in recent memory with some spectacular action sequences. It's entertaining, it's comedic and it's exciting. The plot leaves a lot to be desired and it does lag the film up a bit but on the whole you'll have a good time with it, even if you do pick it apart after the credits have rolled.  

I forgot to mention that eating a McDonalds is improved tenfold by eating it when you're drunk or hungover... Maybe that's the key to truly enjoying Marvel movies?