I rate the film a 9 out of 10, and overall I only have one slight complain, one minor issue and one thing I didn't like.
First thing's first: Is it better than The Force Awakens? Yes. Which brings me to my first point of analysis. If Disney can actually produce a great franchise film from a studio not previously owned by them, that is no excuse for ruining Lucasfilm.
The film is serious, it's a bit dark (only a tiny bit), it sets its plot a bit slowly but securely, and it barely takes liberties to give comical reliefs. It's not like The Force Awakens, where every 5 minutes there was a "smart/dumb" comment or joke thrown in that came out of nowhere, that somehow makes you think whether Star Wars turned into a popcorn comedy. At no time Civil war takes itself as a comical film and stays on track with its adventural genre. Having that said, let's move on.
The performances are top notch. Not one character is sloppy or badley portrayed. It's like the chemistry of these guys keeps improving with every passing film. Robert keeps getting better and better (if that was even possible), portraying a more human and sensible Tony Stark who now stands conflicted between himself, his friends and the law. I think the three-way conflict was extremely well handled and that is something that only Kubrick The Master was able to do to absolute perfection; in Civil War, you see why Robert is easily the best actor of his generation, as he throws in a bit of Chaplin, a bit of Wayne Gayle, a bit of Harry Lockhart, and of course a bit of Robert we hadn't seen before. Chris Evans also aces his role, as the leading man inside the conflict in the Avengers; it's hard to come on top of Robert as leading man, and the main protagonist of the film, and Chris pulls it off nicely, since from minute one I felt the movie centered around Captain America. As for Elizabeth, Paul, Jeremy, Scalett, Sebastian, Anthony, Paul B., Don, Chadwick, they all shine.
I'm always scared when a new director takes over an existing and already successful series, especially taking over from Joss Whedon, however the Russo brothers took off where Joss had left and kept in the same direction. The only slight complain I have -and I wouldn't make too much a deal about it- is that I felt that at times there was a bit too much fighting, specifically the opening scene, but it may just be me. It's just that... well, The Force Awakens, Avengers, Avengers Age of Ultron, they all start with action right away, so I felt it was a bit repetitive to start another action-superhero film with an action scene. But I don't mind it overall. In the end, I'm really ok either way with fighting sequences. I'm also ok with the choreography and the pacing. After all, the film is called "Civil War", right? Other than that, the film is perfectly directed.
Plot-wise speaking, again, a superb job was achieved. Like I said earlier, the film takes its time to build its premise, but once it does, it's quite strong about it. You know what they say about building a good foundation, and that's exactly what the film does with the plot. You may have the usual tiny plothole here and there, but nothing really major. I do have one minor issue and it's the following: when I first watched the trailer, I was blown away when Spiderman made his appearance. It took me by complete surprise and left me speechless. After watching the trailer and having seen the film, I think showing Spiderman in the trailer was a huge mistake. I think it was done because of marketing, in order to build up the hype and attract more viewers, and I completely understand it. But hear me out: you know how in the film we get the surprise of Ant-Man turning into Giant-Man? (well, not only we got it, but also the superheroes got it too!) Well, the way I see it, I think it would have been awesome that just minutes earlier, Spiderman would have shown up unexpectedly -just like he did in the trailer-, appearing out of nowhere, webbing Cap and saying "Hey everyone!" The reason I say this it's because it would have been balanced to have Team Iron Man with an unexpected surprise (an unexpected superhero), and Team Captain America with its unexpected surprise (an unexpected power). Therefore, me, I, would have completely scratched out the whole Tony + Peter Queens scene. I really believe it added nothing to the movie, the plot and in fact, it kind of slowed it down for nothing. Like I said, it would have been way, way more exciting to have Spiderman show up out of nowhere exactly the way he appeared in the trailer. Also, I think he was a bit too young. Don't get me wrong, the Spiderman character was great, his powers awesome and his performance was wonderful... but I feel that he was way too young. I think Spiderman aged 18-19 is the right range for him in movies.
The interaction within our heroes is smooth and contagious. You can definitely feel that despite them being superheroes, they are also humans with emotions and feelings, for and against each other. I also enjoyed their power usage. The scene in witch Scarlett Witch confronts The Vision while being rescued by Hawkeye is the best example of their struggle between their inner and outer powers. The climatic airport scene, in which we basically see a free-for-all, is extremely well handled, with direction concentrated in one battle at a time, while letting us know that they were all happening at the same time. I really enjoyed Scarlett Witch displaying her full powers. She's a force to be reckned with. I also enjoyed Ant-Man both as solo and acting along with Hawkeye. And of course, the final battle of Iron Man vs Captain America was superb.
Finally, the one thing I didn't really like: the post credits-scene. I really feel they didn't make any sense. They didn't add anything to the overall phase 3 environment, other than telling us that Black Panther and Spiderman will get their own films. Really?? Do we really need a post credits scene for THAT?? You know, we have the internet, youtube, IMDb.com, Twitter and hundreds if not thousands of resources to find that on our own. This setup method worked in Deadpool, because IT'S DEADPOOL, but it shouldn't have been used in Civil War. In this era, to waste precious film time to toss in a post-credits scene to let your audience know that there will be a follow up film, is kind of like going on a trip to Europe with your GoPro/iPhone/Samsung S6, but use your old Polaroid Kodak camera. Or... it is like watching The Force Awakens and believe that the entire First Order vs Rebellion conflict ended for good and forever.
With all the stuff that's going on outside the Earth, regarding Thor trying to find out what's the deal with the Infinity Stones, or Hulk dissappearing from the Avengers, or Thanos conspiring to retrieve the stones himself, or even bringing up a new character, like the Celestials or The Living Tribunal, I was really shell shocked that not one but BOTH post-credits scenes aimed to promote Black Panther and Spiderman films. This was completely out of order and unnecessary. The post credits scene should have been something with Thor in another realm, something with Thanos, something with an unseen character, or... you know what? Maybe throw in a plot-twist showing that Zemo's wife was actually alive and he had been talking to her over the phone all along -or something along those lines-. Either way, post credits scenes should keep the trend of setting up what is coming that we haven't forseen, and not set up what's coming that we ALREADY know. Period.
All in all, Captain America is a very tasty film that leaves you satisfied and may even exceed your expectations. It's no doubt the best superhero showdown ever filmed and it's among the top 5 best Marvel films done to date.
9 out of 10.
PS. After seeing the preview for the 2904th time, I have a hunch that X-Men Apocalypse won't be nowhere near as good as Civil War. In fact, I have a strong feeling that X-Men Apocalypse will barely be a 6 out of 10... maybe even a 5 out of 10. I hope it's not as bad as The Force Awakens.
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