"Captain America: Civil War" Review

This is it. The superhero film you've been waiting for is finally here.... for the most part.

Captain America: Civil War lacks the cohesiveness of its direct predecessor but still manages to be one of Marvel's better films to date. Now overseers of the franchise, writers Chris Markus and Stephen McFeely (along with sibling directors Anthony & Joe Russo) weave a yarn that proves they understand how to make all these characters work inside of the same 2.5-hour run time. Joss Whedon proved it could be done in the first Avengers movie, and now that he's moved on, the Russos have crafted a more urgent Avengers sequel than Age of Ultron.

At the end of the last movie, the Avengers lineup looked a bit different. As such, Cap (Chris Evans) appears to have led these "New Avengers" on several missions between the end of Age of Ultron and the start of Civil War. It appears the core lineup is now Cap, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the Vision (Paul Bettany), and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) with Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) joining in occasionally.

We pick up with the team in Lagos where they appear hot on the trail of Crossbones (Frank Grillo), one of Cap's classic nemeses from the comic books who was teased towards the end of Winter Soldier. During the operation, Scarlet Witch makes a foolhardy move that accidentally claims the lives of several innocent civilians (although, to this reviewer, the Avengers have appeared to do far worse damage before). This act proves to be the final straw to the United States government who feel some type of way about having their team of super-powered operatives making a mess of the entire world (see just about every "phase two" MCU film). The "Sokovia Accords" are passed as legislation requiring all super-humans to register with the United Nations or face retirement. This divides the Avengers in two, with #TeamIronMan in favor of the new law and #TeamCap looking to continue operating without oversight in order to eradicate evil wherever it may lurk rather than where the UN says it does. The greatest superhero clash in the history of movies ensues.

Although this reviewer is part of the minority which enjoyed the hell out of Batman v Superman, Marvel's superhero battle is every bit as satisfying as one could hope. Those disappointed in the marquee fight in DC's movie should be pleased with Civil War. Although it'd be great if the MCU films took a cue from their Netflix counterparts and gave the stunt choreography more room to breathe, a few sequences here aren't entirely masked by quick cuts and camera movement. The "money" fight scenes look incredible and contain some of the hardest-hitting action of the franchise. That said, it never gets quite as brutal as Daredevil or Jessica Jones.

By now, fans are eagerly anticipating the arrivals of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Rest assured, they are both perfect. Civil War left me wanting to watch Ryan Coogler's Black Panther solo movie immediately, while our now-third cinematic Spider-Man proves to be the most comics-accurate of the bunch. If you originally balked at the idea of yet another rebooted Spider-Man, wait until you see Civil War. This is the breath of fresh air we never knew the franchise needed.

So, what's wrong with all of this? Well, Civil War just has so many important characters to stuff into each scenario that it just ends up feeling like a more bloated version of Winter Soldier. This is, by and large, a Captain America movie in which the real emotional conflict can be nailed down to Cap's ongoing struggle to bring his pal Bucky / the "Winter Soldier" (Sebastian Stan) "back to the land of the living," as they say. Enter Iron Man on the other side of the aisle, and you have an interesting exploration of the costs of friendship and brotherhood. Basically, this is what you get when you explore indie-film themes with a $200 million budget.

In the end, Civil War doesn't quite shake things up for the MCU like Winter Soldier did. For that, the film comes off as a bit of a disappointment. It's a worthwhile journey despite feeling fundamentally like another stepping stone. Still, these characters are great, the performances are stellar, and the action is as satisfying as billed. Though it may not be the perfect "savior" for the genre that some are saying, Captain America: Civil War demands your attention. Not to be missed.

B+