06 May Nerdy for Thirty # 8: Captain America: Civil War

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVL WAR

dir. The Russo Brothers, starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, et. al

BLUF: Civil War is nearly as good as The Winter Soldier and happens to be a great Avengers movie as well. One of the best MCU films, and pivotal in setting up the climax of The Infinity Saga.

It seems safe to assume that everyone has seen Civil War by now, so I won’t dwell on plot summaries or common observations. I want to point out some alternate aspects of this movie that made rewatching it worthwhile.

This movie was originally supposed to come out the same day as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; DC balked, and in my opinion, set off a chain of events that from the publics’ perspective, sank the DCEU. With Civil War, Marvel kicked off their Infinity Saga endgame (no pun intended) with a level of confidence that overcame some of their earlier experiments. Movie for movie, Phase 3 is the best run of Marvel movies, and Civil War is often overlooked for its critical role in starting off on the right foot and setting up a dynamic between beloved heroes that facilitated the third and fourth Avengers films. Because Marvel was firing on all cylinders and correcting some of the valid criticisms of previous entries, it completely outshone BvS, despite DC delaying their thematically similar film. In addition, DC’s complete and utter lack of confidence was only barely revealed by moving the release date. It later came out that they cut Snyder’s entry for theatrical release and undermined the film’s success and, ultimately, the trajectory of the DCEU. While I might believe that BvS (the director’s edition) reached for and achieved greater thematic and narrative depths, I would not argue that with anyone who loves Civil War, because in reality, I just love good comic book movies, and we have both Civil War and BvS, and that makes life better.

Civil War cemented the Captain America trilogy as the most consistently excellent superhero trilogy to date, with the exception of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. While The Winter Soldier is perhaps better, with a more focused perspective on Captain America himself, Civil War is undeniably excellent. In all ways but title, it is Avengers 2.5, but manages to stay focused on Captain America. The First Avengers is about Steve Rogers acquiring and learning his powers, while challenged with maintaining his core values and beliefs. The Winter Soldier presented Rogers with fully realized superhero powers but challenged his values and beliefs by corrupting both his best friend and the organization he chose to support post-Avengers 1 and forcing him to find a solution that reconciled his character with these corruptions when his support systems are turned against him. Both films challenged him internally.
Civil War takes this conflict externally, as Roger’s values and beliefs define one half of the titular Civil War’s ideology. While Steve is confident in his beliefs, suddenly his friends are split right down the middle by his adherence to them. The core theme of the movie is presented beautifully during Peggy Carter’s funeral:

Compromise where you can. Where you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say, “No, you move”.

The entire film presents a moral conflict with two sides that have valid arguments. And mixed in amongst the group conflict is the personal conflict of Rogers trying to protect one friend who sadly perpetrated a great evil on another friend. Chris Evans gives his best performance as Captain America, as does RDJ as Tony Stark and Sebastian Stan as Bucky. All three play out the conflict on the personal level, while the rest of the characters play out the larger conflict dynamic. The fact that all of this occurs in a genuinely fun and emotionally compelling superhero movie really elevates the entire affair to being a genuinely great film.

The last item I’ll mention is that Marvel really scored by giving directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely the freedom to make this movie. All four had proven themselves with The Winter Soldier, and based on the excellence of Civil War, they moved on to their magnum opus with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Many filmmakers, primarily directors, have entered and exited the MCU without making a single film because they could not find a way to effectively function within the boundaries and limits Kevin Feige, Marvel, and Disney set. It is clearly not a dynamic for every filmmaker. But these four have proven that you can not only succeed but thrive. Their 4-film run is easily top ten MCU (no small feat) and some of them are easily top five. It would have been fascinating to be involved in their work on all four films, because whatever working dynamic, they established THE pattern for filmmaking success, critically and financially. When people say look to the MCU for a recipe for success, what they really need to focus on is these four filmmakers.

Technically, Cap 3 is Avengers 2.5 (minus Thor and Hulk), but also manages to be the crucial connective tissue between the foundation Phases 1 and 2 set up and the magnificent climax of Phase 3. It is rarely given credit for its excellence, but on top of everything else, it also introduced Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, both of which have emerged as highlights of the entire MCU. Everyone involved brought their A-game to Civil War. It shows, and in retrospect, it only gets better with time.

Pros:
An excellent Captain America and Avengers film
Sets up a fun but tragic hero conflict that lets the rest of Phase 3 rise to incredible, probably non-repeatable heights of storytelling and cinematic success
Some great performances and hero introductions, especially Black Panther the MCU Spider-Man
Terrific action, real stakes, and characters you just want to spend more time with, period

Cons:
Not a standalone film: it relies heavily on previous entries, a problem that persists throughout the rest of Phase 3
One moment, when Cap admits to knowing Bucky killed Tony’s parents, is critical to the narrative and thematic story, but comes from nowhere

Rating: 4.5/5
Captain America: Civil War is an often-unappreciated highlight of the MCU, and consistently pleases upon repeat viewings.

Review by Jim Washburn