After two weeks of eager waiting, I finally saw the third installment of the Captain America series, "Captain America: Civil War," and it was fantastic!
It’s interesting because it doesn’t feel very much like a sequel to "Winter Soldier" as much as it feels like a sequel to "The Avengers: Age of Ultron." I guess the main reasons why it wasn’t an Avengers sequel was because of the missing Hulk and Thor power as well as the focus on the Captain and Bucky storyline.
When "Winter Soldier" came out two years ago, I labelled it my favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was outstanding. The characters were worth investing in and the plot and story were executed extremely well. Its action was extremely believable and the filmmaking was artistic and done well with purpose. The Russo brothers treated "Winter Soldier" like a '70s detective film with mystery, obscure locations and great writing.
Upon seeing "Civil War," I totally believe the Russo brothers have outdone themselves yet again.
Now, I don’t necessarily believe this is a better film than "Winter Soldier." It may very well be, but it’ll take a little bit more time for me to decide that (if it is even necessary). However, what impressed me most was their ability to tackle a film of this size.
Firstly, they were able to bring depth and importance to not only the main characters of the film but all of the members of this ensemble cast.
Scarlett Witch plays a huge role as she continues to discover what her purpose is as a hero. She carries guilt, shame and fear with her just like a normal person would. Vision is a person with development. The characters in the film are not on screen merely just to fill up space. That makes the film so interesting to follow.
The way they introduce Black Panther is great. Every thing this character goes through makes it seem like it should have been an origin story for him, but honestly the MCU doesn’t need too many more origin stories. I believe they played their cards right. His story fits absolutely perfectly into this plot. Bravo.
The action in the film is incredible. I believed every second of it and I was fully engaged and excited during the entire film. The stunt team on this film has done an amazing job! The camerawork is phenomenal and the special effects are top-notch. When Captain America kicks an army truck, you actually believe that he kicks an army truck.
The stakes are extremely high in this film. All of the characters fully believe they are right in their paths and will stop at nothing. I never for one second didn’t believe that Hawkeye wouldn’t put an arrow in Black Panther’s head or that Vision wouldn’t completely destroy Bucky. It’s tense and suspenseful. Especially with all of the plot twists and turns and everything the characters go through, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.
Lastly, this film has the best incarnation of Spider-Man yet. I loved Tobey Maguire and I loved Andrew Garfield. I thought they both brought something special and unique to the screen; but this is Spider-Man.
He’s a kid. He’s a real kid, a dumpster diver and his aunt May is not an 80-year-old woman. I loved that he was fresh and exciting. He didn’t exactly know what he was doing, but everyone knew he was very powerful.
I can’t wait for the next installments in this franchise because things are going to be very different moving forward.
