If you ask me, at least as the year has started, 2016 has NOT been a good year for films. Aside from the surprisingly effective Zootopia and the hilariously dark Deadpool, I have been disappointed by literally every single other film to I have seen this year, prior to last night. The Jungle Book was messy, Ratchet and Clank was a serious stinker, Kung Fu Panda 3 was very disappointing, London has Fallen was a predictably bad sequel, and I don't have the energy to get into Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice right now. So, what optimism I had going to see this film last night was very low, especially seeing as how it seemed like so long ago that I got a movie that blew me away in theaters (Frozen or The Winter Soldier comes to mind). To put it bluntly, Captain America: Civil War, in terms of quality of story, character, themes, suspense, and excitement, can rival The Dark Knight and The Avengers as the single greatest comic book movie ever made. I'm not joking. This film is gripping, compelling, tragic, dark, literally everything I loved about my all time favorite film, minus Heath Ledger as the Joker. I was astonished by how amazing this film was, and it certainly washed the bad taste out of my mouth from the sludge I have had to trudge through all year so far.
Plot: The "B-Squad" Avengers (which is what I like to call them), are off on a mission to capture Crossbones (one of the defected S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from The Winter Soldier) and stop him from launching a chemical weapon bomb on the people of the village. The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) manages to keep the bomb from killing Captain America (Chris Evans), but it explodes in the air, killing a crap ton of people in a nearby building.
The resulting disaster prompts the United Nations to demand the Avengers sign the Sokovia Accords (named for the successful yet catastrophic mission to destroy Ultron in the last film). Motivated by a confrontation with a woman while giving a commencement speech and his own shame over the Ultron affair, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) agrees wholeheartedly and expects the team to do so as well. But Rogers argues that giving up to the government is unacceptable, arguing that the government always has it's own agenda and will exercise their own beliefs in all affairs (both positive and negative). The team finds itself split on the matter, as Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Wanda Maximoff choose to ally with Rogers, while the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and the Vision (Paul Bettany), agree that they need regulation.
But the plot gets shifted into hyperdrive when the UN Meeting is attacked by a rogue assassin believed to be the Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who murders the respected king of Wakanda, causing his son to vow vengeance. As Rogers and his allies begin to despise the very thing they swore to protect in an effort to protect a framed Bucky Barnes, Stark and his allies go off to pursue them, with each team picking up new members in preparation for an epic battle that could perhaps all be a small piece in a grander scheme to divide and conquer the Avengers once and for all.
What's Bad?: Like most films, Civil War is not without flaw. The biggest for me was the sheer hostility from certain members of the Avengers towards others. While some of it is explained in the film (Stark-Rogers, Stark-Barnes, Vision-Maximoff), some of the sheer hatred Cap's team had for Tony at a certain point in the film is startling. I mean, weren't these guys all friends at some point? Did that comedic hammer lifting scene not happen in Age of Ultron?
What's Good?: Downey Jr. and Evans provide the film with some chillingly good performances. While you know the two of them did not always see eye to eye, you could tell that the more they interacted, the better friends they became throughout the series. Which is actually makes the final fight between the two all the more painful. You can tell these two seriously wish they didn't have to fight each other and that final fight is probably the best choreographed and written fight scene in the entire MCU. Downey in particular gives off an incredible performance, delving deeper into the psyche of Tony Stark in ways I never thought they'd ever do. He really does define the sympathetic antagonist.
The action in this film is also incredible. The set piece of course being the epic showdown at the Berlin Airport, where Cap's team (Captain America, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Falcon, and Ant Man) battle Tony's Team (Iron Man, Black Widow, Vision, War Machine, Black Panther, and an epic cameo from Spider-Man). The one liners are hilarious and awesome and some of the action scenes rival the best in any action films made to that date. My favorite action scene is of course when Ant Man becomes Giant Man and squares off with Spider Man.
The best part about this film is that it doesn't really matter who's side you are on, because both sides are actually correct in their analysis's of the situation. Rogers believes he cannot compromise his own beliefs because of his experiences in the past with government flexing it's muscles over the masses. He also believes in protecting those who deserve protection and fears that the government always has it's own agenda. Stark, conversely, who was directly involved in creation of Ultron and for the formation of the Avengers, believes that they're kind of power and intellect needs to be controlled should something like Ultron happen again. Vision also had a strong point to make on the subject and I will try to paraphrase it here:
"Since Mr. Stark revealed himself to be Iron Man eight years ago, the number of known superheroes has increased dramatically. At the same time, the number of potential world ending catastrophes has also dramatically increased. There must be a correlation..."
You can clearly tell that both sides are indeed correct and that a middle ground is almost impossible to reach. You know neither Rogers nor Stark would give up an inch in the other direction yet you can also see the pain in their eyes when they see how damaging the related conflict between their two ideologies can be.
Overall: Civil War is without a doubt the best film in the MCU to date. Whenever a film can make you question the very fabric of two completely opposite perspectives and give you two well thought out reasons as to why things should be changed in this way, you know you have a great film in your hands. Not every film has to be a popcorn film like Age of Ultron or an Oscar bait film like The Artist. Some films can be one and the same and blend both intense drama and intense action, giving two audiences what they want to see. I know it's early and I know the Academy tends to avoid blockbusters for the major awards (with a few glaring exceptions), but I think they should seriously consider this film for at least one of the major academy awards for either Best Picture or Best Actor/Supporting Actor for RDJ or Evans. This film was a masterpiece in every meaning of the word.
Final Grade: 98 or A+
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