Movie of the Week: Captain America - Civil War

[jacey]

I read a review that called this movie: the single most complex, thematically and ideologically chewy movie Marvel have produced to date, and that's pretty much on the nose. Despite being a Captain America title this is really an Avengers movie featuring an ideological split between those Avengers who agree that the UN should have oversight and those who believe that the Avengers themselves are in the best position to decide when superhero action is required. Leading the opposing forces are Captain America and Iron Man, friends who find themselves on opposite sides.

When the team tries to take down a villain there are civilian deaths, collateral damage. On top of the massive death-toll in Age of Ultron - which Stark still feels responsible for (in that he created Ultron, albeit unwittingly) - Iron Man, seemingly against type, agrees to the Sokovia Accords, accepting oversight. Steve Rogers, seemingly against type, because as an ex military man you would expect him to accept the chain of command, refuses to sign. Possibly he would have done it anyway, but when his friend Bucky's life is on the line he barely hesitates.

Each one of them takes superheroes with them, for and against the accord. Black Widow, War Machine, Vision and (introducing) Spiderman are with Iron Man while Cap has not only Bucky, but Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant Man and the Scarlet Witch. The Black Panther (also newly introduced) is on his own side for much of the action.

The action sequences are suitably... err... active - though there is some annoying 'shaky-cam'. I'm glad I didn't see it in 3D. Where this film wins out is in its characterisation. It's not really a Captain America and Iron Man movie, it's a Steve Rogers and Tony Stark movie. Each is affected by the past, from their childhood to the recent movie adventures.