Disgustya Stallone
Man Who Owns 2 Microwaves
Review by
JIM VEJVODA
MOVIE REVIEW / 13 APR 2016
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR REVIEW
Captain America: Civil War is an enjoyable, but flawed follow-up to both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. ItÂ’s not nearly as powerful or gripping as TWS, but it also does a much better job of juggling so many different characters than AoU did.
World leaders demand oversight over Earth’s Mightiest Heroes after the costly and deadly events of the first Avengers, TWS, and AoU. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is for signing onto the Sokovia Accords, while Captain America (Chris Evans) is very much against it. After a deadly attack is attributed to Cap’s old partner, Bucky “The Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Cap goes rogue to locate and protect his oldest friend while Tony Stark and the Avengers who side with him are given a deadline to stop them before less friendly elements are sent after them. Superhero vs. superhero action ensues, as new heroes join the fray and a mysterious nemesis, Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), operates his own shadowy agenda.
This is, as it should be, very much Cap's movie and Evans' Steve Rogers once again proves he's the heart and soul of the MCU. He's a good man who has to make tough calls, who's essentially alone in the world despite the company of his superhero pals. His battle of ideologies with Tony is compelling, but it never quite evolves past the same argument being repeated throughout and both sides doing something to show why the other might be right.
Downey turns in an uncharacteristically morose turn as Tony, even moodier than he was in Age of Ultron and in parts of Iron Man 3. He certainly has his good reasons for being down, although it does sap the movie of some of the charm and fun Iron Man has long been relied on to deliver. His differing ideology from CapÂ’s is the crux of Civil WarÂ’s philosophical and literal battle, but, like 2016's Other Superhero v Superhero Movie, this heady and repetitive debate also grinds down the pacing at times.
Between Civil War and Batman v Superman, hopefully both filmmakers and audiences have fulfilled their need to address the issue of collateral damage and can once again embrace what superhero movies do best, namely pure escapism. ThatÂ’s not at all to say superhero movies canÂ’t or shouldn't address heroes' moral culpability or echo real world concerns, but continually lecturing to and piling the guilt onto the protagonists (and, by extension, the viewer) for superheroes doing what superheroes do is growing rather tedious and, frankly, taking the fun out of the genre.
As much as Cap and Tony's relationship is put to the test here, it's ultimately Cap's bromantic devotion to Bucky that trumps all else. Sebastian Stan once again finds the humanity in his cold warrior killer, and even gets a rival to Cap's affection in Anthony Mackie's Falcon. Their relationship is played mostly for comic relief to help offset the overwhelmingly tense and even gloomy tone of the movie. Know who else brings the chuckles to Civil War? Your friendly neighborhood and highly anticipated new addition to the MCU.
But as this jaw-dropping battle occurs later in Act 2, it leaves the final act -- as emotional as it is -- noticeably sapped of energy. While it's good that this climactic showdown didn't revolve around yet another portal in the sky or falling city, it's also completely dependent on Zemo's machinations and an "a-ha!" moment that feels a bit forced just for additional conflict between Cap and Tony.
Not all of the film's action cinematography works as well as the airport set-piece. If the wildly sped-up earlier sequence between the Avengers and Crossbones (Frank Grillo) was undercranked anymore, the Benny Hill theme song might start playing. There's also a moment between Steve and another character that feels unearned and wildly inappropriate given when it happens in the story. And, lastly, if you're stoked to see Martin Freeman in the MCU, you'd best dial down your expectations as he's not given much of anything to do here.
Finally, I want to address a tweet I sent after seeing the film where I referred to it as a "letdown." Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite MCU movie; it's smart, character-driven, action-packed, emotional, gutsy, intense, and has something important to say. While Civil War certainly checks several of those same boxes, I simply didn't find it as effective as its predecessor. In that sense then it was a "letdown" to me. That was probably phrased poorly as Civil War is by no means bad. It's just a good movie as opposed to the awesome one I had hoped for.
Score: 7.8
lmao a C+
JIM VEJVODA
MOVIE REVIEW / 13 APR 2016
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR REVIEW
Captain America: Civil War is an enjoyable, but flawed follow-up to both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. ItÂ’s not nearly as powerful or gripping as TWS, but it also does a much better job of juggling so many different characters than AoU did.
World leaders demand oversight over Earth’s Mightiest Heroes after the costly and deadly events of the first Avengers, TWS, and AoU. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is for signing onto the Sokovia Accords, while Captain America (Chris Evans) is very much against it. After a deadly attack is attributed to Cap’s old partner, Bucky “The Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Cap goes rogue to locate and protect his oldest friend while Tony Stark and the Avengers who side with him are given a deadline to stop them before less friendly elements are sent after them. Superhero vs. superhero action ensues, as new heroes join the fray and a mysterious nemesis, Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), operates his own shadowy agenda.
This is, as it should be, very much Cap's movie and Evans' Steve Rogers once again proves he's the heart and soul of the MCU. He's a good man who has to make tough calls, who's essentially alone in the world despite the company of his superhero pals. His battle of ideologies with Tony is compelling, but it never quite evolves past the same argument being repeated throughout and both sides doing something to show why the other might be right.
Downey turns in an uncharacteristically morose turn as Tony, even moodier than he was in Age of Ultron and in parts of Iron Man 3. He certainly has his good reasons for being down, although it does sap the movie of some of the charm and fun Iron Man has long been relied on to deliver. His differing ideology from CapÂ’s is the crux of Civil WarÂ’s philosophical and literal battle, but, like 2016's Other Superhero v Superhero Movie, this heady and repetitive debate also grinds down the pacing at times.
Between Civil War and Batman v Superman, hopefully both filmmakers and audiences have fulfilled their need to address the issue of collateral damage and can once again embrace what superhero movies do best, namely pure escapism. ThatÂ’s not at all to say superhero movies canÂ’t or shouldn't address heroes' moral culpability or echo real world concerns, but continually lecturing to and piling the guilt onto the protagonists (and, by extension, the viewer) for superheroes doing what superheroes do is growing rather tedious and, frankly, taking the fun out of the genre.
As much as Cap and Tony's relationship is put to the test here, it's ultimately Cap's bromantic devotion to Bucky that trumps all else. Sebastian Stan once again finds the humanity in his cold warrior killer, and even gets a rival to Cap's affection in Anthony Mackie's Falcon. Their relationship is played mostly for comic relief to help offset the overwhelmingly tense and even gloomy tone of the movie. Know who else brings the chuckles to Civil War? Your friendly neighborhood and highly anticipated new addition to the MCU.
But as this jaw-dropping battle occurs later in Act 2, it leaves the final act -- as emotional as it is -- noticeably sapped of energy. While it's good that this climactic showdown didn't revolve around yet another portal in the sky or falling city, it's also completely dependent on Zemo's machinations and an "a-ha!" moment that feels a bit forced just for additional conflict between Cap and Tony.
Not all of the film's action cinematography works as well as the airport set-piece. If the wildly sped-up earlier sequence between the Avengers and Crossbones (Frank Grillo) was undercranked anymore, the Benny Hill theme song might start playing. There's also a moment between Steve and another character that feels unearned and wildly inappropriate given when it happens in the story. And, lastly, if you're stoked to see Martin Freeman in the MCU, you'd best dial down your expectations as he's not given much of anything to do here.
Finally, I want to address a tweet I sent after seeing the film where I referred to it as a "letdown." Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite MCU movie; it's smart, character-driven, action-packed, emotional, gutsy, intense, and has something important to say. While Civil War certainly checks several of those same boxes, I simply didn't find it as effective as its predecessor. In that sense then it was a "letdown" to me. That was probably phrased poorly as Civil War is by no means bad. It's just a good movie as opposed to the awesome one I had hoped for.
Score: 7.8
lmao a C+
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