The time has come for summer blockbusters to hit theaters. Whether it’s summer or not is irrelevant, because Captain America: Civil War fits the bill no matter the time of year.
As far as superhero movies go, Civil War doesn’t stray too far from the established formula. Readers of this column will remember my thoughts on Deadpool and how much praise I gave it for breaking the superhero mold. While Civil War stays within the safety of the Marvel formula, that isn’t particularly a bad thing. The formula Marvel Studios has created does its job perfectly fine, although it would be refreshing to get a bit of variety from the studio.
The main plot line in Civil War is, of course, the disagreement between Captain America and Iron Man. While the trailers would lead the audience to believe that the conflict may be shoe-horned in to get the plot moving forward, the conflict between the heroes is played out in a very natural way.
That being said, the conflict that provokes the fighting between the cast is a bit weak. Sides are formed in a matter of moments, and some of the greatest and most independent heroes are reduced to puppets of the government. It feels very out of place for some of the characters to choose the sides that they do.
Another issue with the film is how rushed the fight scenes are. It’s natural for a superhero movie to have plenty of fight scenes in it, and it would be foolish to criticize any superhero film for having too much fighting in it. However, each fight should have a logical and well thought out reason for being there. In most cases, the film does a good job of fleshing out the reasoning behind the fights. There is one in particular, though, that I found to be on the edge of unbelievable.
Since I strive to keep my reviews spoiler-free, I will be as vague as possible in describing the scene I take issue with. At the very end of the film, a plot twist is revealed that is one of the most ridiculous I’ve seen in a while. In a fashion that borders on a Saturday morning cartoon, the villain of the film reveals his true reasoning for being the villain all along. This, along with an extremely convenient second plot twist, results in a fight among three of the main characters. The fight is well choreographed and enjoyable to watch, but leaves a film snob to really think about how convenient it is that the reasons why the three are fighting in the first place lined up so perfectly.
While I do have some complaints about Civil War, I did enjoy the film. It would have been more impressive if Marvel Studios would break from the mold ever so often to keep things from getting stale, but the film does its job. It’s a fun superhero movie that anyone can enjoy, and it won’t leave you with a bad taste in your mouth after leaving the theater.
Captain America: Civil War gets three and half out of five reels.
