Whether team Cap or team Stark, ‘Captain America-Civil War’ is definitely a conversation starter for viewers. Knowing this movie was a set-up for the remainder of phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all in all, directors Anthony and Joe Russos took a movie that was technically a hot mess, and made it absolutely entertaining to watch.
Watching the heroes’ epic battle is exciting and has the prerequisite comedic banter expected between the now-divided members of the Avengers. Still, the addition of the newest Spiderman and Antman to the movie is distracting and comes across as superfluous, intended to simply remind viewers that they have their own movies coming in the near future.
Conversely, the introduction of the Black Panther is unequivocally one of the top reasons to watch this movie. He is absolutely engaging. The Black Panther is one of the most stage-stealing new characters the Avengers franchise has produced.
The edge-of-your-seat fight scenes are intense enough to sell the “big split” between the two segments of the remaining Avengers and they’re everything viewers have come to expect from these movies; in particular, the fight that takes place between Stark, Captain America and his best friend Bucky, the former Winter Soldier.
Tony Stark gets in your head, cementing him as a true empathetic hero behind the Avengers, without losing one iota of his egotistical charm. The decisions of Captain America are less enticing. It’s great to see Cap’s Best friend Bucky, rescued from his chosen life in exile. But, it’s difficult to swallow the idea of Captain America irresolutely abandoning his watch and dividing the Avengers without any personal conflict.
Overall, ‘Captain America- Civil War’ is another sound success for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite multiple storylines crossing paths, and the sensation that a hundred things are happening at once, the relationships between the existing members of the team are emotional and gripping, with unexpected divisions of loyalty that leave the viewer in anticipation of a much hoped-for resolution in the two-part ‘Avengers- Infinity War’.
