One thing about the movies being made from Marvel Comics:
they know how to do them right. Almost all of the films based on DC Comics have
done well at the box office but the Marvel films are leaps and bounds ahead of
them. The biggest reason is that Marvel embraces the fact that these films are
based on comics rather than toss them aside as if they don’t matter. Fans
recognize this. Marvel has taken the written word, the images from their comics
and translated them to the screen without abandoning everything that made them
special. Their newest release on DVD/Blu-ray, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR,
proves that.
Based on the series that enveloped all of their comics a few
years back, the story focuses on a fearful world that wants to keep these super
powered individuals in check. As the film opens a mission for the Avengers to
prevent a deadly virus from being unleashed upon the world goes sideways, the
end result being an explosion that collapses a building and results in
casualties. Rather than note the number of lives that were saved by these
heroes blame is laid at their doorstep rather than at that of the criminals
they stopped.
After the mass amount of destruction that has happened
during different battles in various other Marvel films involving the
characters, the world has come together with the Sokovia Accords. This would
require all heroes to sign off on supervision by the UN, an agreement that they
would be the ones to decide where and when they would go and what missions they
would become involved in.
This sets the heroes against one another. Tony Stark aka
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) believes in the Accords. He is overwhelmed with
guilt at the wake of destruction left in the paths of battles past. Captain
America (Chris Evans) on the other hand recognizes that decisions need to be
made by those involved in the battles, those who know firsthand what evil looks
like, rather than in the hands of politicians whose motives change with the
wind.
As the Accords are about to be signed the delegate from the
African nations of Wakanda is speaking when a bomb explodes, killing him.
Framed for the murder is Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan),
Cap’s friend. The UN sends in team to capture Bucky but Cap gets there first to
find out what is really going on. He helps him escape but a chase follows with
not just the UN troops in pursuit but the new King of Wakanda, T’Challa aka The
Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). All are eventually caught and it is while
imprisoned that the real culprit reveals himself setting the stage for a battle
royal between two teams of super heroes.
Iron Man has recruited those who feel the Accords must be
followed: Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision
(Paul Bettany) and new recruit Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Cap has his own team
in place with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch
(Elizabeth Olsen), Winter Soldier and new recruit Ant Man (Paul Rudd). This
result in a free for all that will have comic fans jumping with joy and action
film fans watching in delight. And yet it is not the final battle and comes
almost a full 30 minutes before the end of the film, a confrontation and
revelation of why the whole thing has taken place.
It would be easy to discuss the effects here but be honest,
you already knew they’d be mind boggling. With as huge a cast as is on display
to pick out one performance above the rest isn’t quite fair, but both Evans and
Downey bring depth and emotion to both sides of the issue at hand. The real
discussion about the film lies in the whole concept of the reason this “civil
war” takes place.
One would think that after discovering the infiltration of
top government officials in the previous Captain America film that all of the
Avengers would hesitate signing off on the Accords. The guilt that Stark feels
because of the deaths that result from the battles with bad guys develops into
something that clouds his judgement and brings him to agree in them. Cap’s
wisdom based on past experiences in both his current and past life know that
you can’t always trust in the people placed in power but you can trust the team
members in whose hands you have placed your life.
In addition to that there are so many threads from most of
the past films that are brought together here that to count them all would take
too much time. That’s one of the most amazing things about the Marvel films. A
single example is the rise of Gen. Ross (William Hurt) to Secretary of State,
something that has happened in the course of 8 years from the release of THE
INCREDIBLE HULK to this film. It means that all of the films combine together
to make one huge story…just like comic books do.
I’ve loved all of the Marvel movies to date. The combination
of old and new characters, of plotlines that are based in the actual comics and
the superb direction, writing, editing and every other aspect of movie making
that is on display here means that this is one movie that will receive multiple
viewings at my house. My guess is they will do the same at yours and if not,
they should.
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