Captain America: Civil War is Another Marvel Masterpiece

I have to admit that I was skeptical at first at how Captain America: Civil War would play out with about a dozen superheroes. Would it be too busy? Would things feel rushed and muddled together? But it wasn't. Marvel pulled it off. Marvel went big. And they continue to show how far Time Warner and DC have to come if they want to match them both commercially and critically.

There is a lot to like about Civil War. And I mean A LOT. Yes, of course there are plenty of action sequences and incredibly choreographed fighting scenes, but there's so much more than that.

After seeing the destruction and collateral damage (loss of innocent life) in the previous Avengers and Captain America movies, the Avengers face a decision. Do they continue to be "vigilantes" with no borders or limitations in order to keep the world safe, or do they decide to operate under government regulations? How far are we willing to go, and how much are we willing to give up to guarantee safety? Clearly, the question broached is the crucial crux between the Avengers. But in reality, it's Captain America's loyalty to Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) that pushes the movie plot forward.

Who ya got? Team Ironman or Team Captain America

It's two-and-a-half hours long. That's a long fucking time for any movie, but it seems even longer for a superhero movie that that drags for the first hour or so. It's somewhat of a sluggish beginning that shows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) mourning the death of his parents, Captain America (Chris Evans) being the pallbearer at a funeral and The Vision (Paul Bettany) trying to cook Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) comfort food despite never having tasted food in his life.

For the first time really, we see Stark in an incredibly different light. The smart-ass, narcissistic billionaire that we all became huge fans of in the previous Ironman and Avengers movies is not seen throughout Civil War. In fact, we see an almost broken individual, coming to grips with not only the death of his parents, but those who died "because" of him. You can tell it's eating him up inside, and the Avengers are the only family he has left. He can't lose them, and he knows it. He does everything in his power to keep them together, but in turn, he drives Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, etc. away. He's alone, and he spends the movie fighting Captain America and Bucky in order to keep the team together (if that makes any sense to you).

But this is what makes Civil War so much different than previous superhero movies. It's not just about a supervillian trying to destroy the world and a group of superheros preventing a global catastrophe. There is a human element here that forces each hero to reexamine himself/herself to determine what's most important. And in turn, it forces the moviegoer to examine his/her feelings on the matter as well. Hell, even the the villian, Baron Zemo, played by the outstanding Daniel Bruhl, elicits empathy as his past lets the audience into why he broke bad. With superhero movies becoming almost identical in their plots and structure with seemingly every new release, it's was a breath of fresh air that was vital to the future of the superhero genre.

But enough of this deep shit. Time to get to the fun stuff because that's why everyone went to see it, right? Well, not only is Civil War heavy on the emotional elements we face on a daily basis, but its action scenes are second to none. The one thing Marvel has over DC is that it knows how to create a fan experience. Moviegoers are there to have fun, so it's not only necessary to have fantastic action sequences, but these films also need well-placed, sometimes ironic one-liners to that break the tension. Why do you think Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool were so wildly successful? And once we get passed the broody, sometimes depressing reality of the first hour of the movie, we are treated to probably the best fighting sequence that Marvel has ever produced. I'm serious. I don't think that's an exaggeration.

At an evacuated airport, the 12 superheroes, including Black Panther, Spiderman (Tom Holland) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), relative newcomers to the Captain America/Avengers universe, just beat the piss out of each other for 30 minutes. It's truly a cinematic experience to behold. But that's not all. There's an incredible chase scene between Bucky, Captain America and Black Panther that'll leave you speechless when it finally comes to its conclusion.

But while Bucky, Captain America, Ironman and Black Widow are the main focus of the film, each of the secondary characters, especially the additions mentioned above serve their purpose all too well. Every time Ant-Man speaks, you will laugh. It's just contagious. When we first meet Spiderman at his home in Queens, he reminds us why he's one of the most beloved superheros in the Marvel franchise. He's funny, charming and awkward. You know, just how a teenager should be. But I cannot emphasize enough how much of a badass Black Panther his. Played by Chadwick Bozeman, T'Challa is the vengeful king of Wakanda, and he steals nearly every scene he is in. The intensity that Bozeman expresses without ever raising his voice is quite the achievement.

Personally, I cannot wait to see the standalone films for both Black Panther and Spiderman. I mean, they can't possibly mess Spiderman up again, right?

Regardless, is Captain America: Civil War the best Marvel movie released thus far? I wouldn't say so. It's not better than Captain America: Winter Soldier. But Civil War is still an incredible achievement, and it's another homerun for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it continues to set the standard for superhero movies.

Ruby Rating: 4.5/5