It has been eight years since the inaugural Iron Man movie kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe and installed the second largest film franchise in history. However, today many moviegoers feel superhero movies have become something far too familiar, exhausting the same story with carbon copy plot points that result in a lack of unique films. “Captain America: Civil War” breaks all previous notions of what a superhero movie can be and sets a new standard for a comic book adaptation.
Stellar performances
As a self-proclaimed Marvel aficionado I try to attend the premiere screenings of every movie. Captain America was no different, and if you live in Los Angeles there is only one place to see movies: the TCL Chinese Theatre.
This last visit left me with an unforgettable memory. The audience and I were treated to a surprise visit by the president of Marvel studios, Kevin Feige, in addition to brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of the film. Above all the stellar performances given in the film, this pair of directors deserve the majority of the praise.
The film revolves around the United Nations campaign against the newly recruited Avengers as they try to put them under regulation. This sparks conflict between the team’s two leaders Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, and Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr. The film plays out the ensuing conflict as Captain America refuses to submit to government control. What makes this movie so revolutionary for this genre is the fact it addressed something fans have anticipated for years — the chaos super-powered beings bring to the world. It does this well, unlike DC’s “Batman v Superman” released a month earlier and currently holds a 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the name of justice
“Captain America: Civil War” shows the audience all the destruction dealt in the name of “justice” in the Marvel universe over the past eight films, making you question the validity of super heroes operating with uncontrolled power. It is almost as if Marvel found the formula to produce unique superhero films yearly, but in a positive way like making “Ant-Man” a heist movie, rather than having drunk Ben Kingsley ruin a memorable villain.
The most incredible thing about this movie though is Russo brothers flawlessly balancing a cast of over a dozen characters while still keeping the focus on Captain America. Every minor character has the appropriate amount of screen time to believably express their viewpoints. Not only that, but the Russo brothers had to introduce two significant characters.
The introduction of Spider-Man and Black Panther is great. Peter Parker is given a familiar emotional backstory in mere lines of dialogue rather than another drawn out origin story, but the real show stealer is Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of Black Panther. This hero’s importance to the storyline comes from his representation of the audience’s perspective. King of the fictional nation of Wakanda, T’Challa is a prominent character in the comic books, which is surprising as this is his first appearance on the big screen.
“Captain America: Civil War” is extremely encouraging for the future of Marvel. It provided introductions to exciting new heroes set to star in their own films. It also gave the audience one of the most abstract films to date and proved the Russo brothers can handle a large ensemble, which is fundamental as they will have to bring the entire thing together for Marvel’s 2018 “Infinity Wars” story.
