MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War

As has been chronicled elsewhere quite extensively, the original Captain America: Civil War storyline, taken from a special run of Marvel comics back in 2006, was only mildly effective.

The idea of the original contretemps between formerly friendly heroes was similar: a multi-government registration act for beings of extraordinary powers which would make them subject to international laws and regulations (and, essentially, employees of the state). But the comics series felt the need to turn Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, into a conniving, backstabbing neo-supervillain in order to justify the carnage that ultimately took place (which, it must be noted, concluded with Captain America being assassinated as he walked up the steps of the courthouse to turn himself in).

But given time, feedback and scads of money, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, working from a hard-wrought screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have created a far better crafted and more satisfying battle royale.

What the series lacked in scope and coherency has been replaced by a far more consistent and believable storyline, even if the frame remains so filled with characters and side scenes, it hardly feels like the good Captain is the star in his own film. If we don't have something quite as fun and thrilling as The Avengers, we're still a hell of a long way from Zack Snyder's regrettable, murky Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fiasco.

And now we can understand why DC Comics/Warner Bros. was so quick to get their superheroes-at-war film out on screens before Captain America: Civil War hit. The contrast between the two -- Batman v Superman, a joyless, morally dubious, mostly incoherent mess of bleak cityscapes, angry heroes and a convoluted evil plan hatched by a simpering genius; Civil War, a cavalcade of well-presented action, witty asides, emotionally viable heroes wrestling with difficult choices and, well, a convoluted evil plan hatched by a former Russian military commander -- would certainly further doom the former film to even greater humiliation. It's not that Marvel films are without their cliches and poorly conceived narrative arcs; it's just that they at least understand the basis of most superhero comics' enjoyment is fun -- not gloomy foreboding and brutal, mostly senseless murder.

Take, for example, Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), a strong support to Captain America, and one of his most reliable friends. As strong and resourceful as he is, he's still not in the same weight class of a hero as Captain America, Iron Man and some other genuinely superpowered types, a point thrust home shortly after he and the Captain (Chris Evans) are arrested, and their uniforms and weapons confiscated. Reading from the list of their impounded possessions, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent refers to the Falcon's winged body armor dismissively as a "bird suit," which causes Wilson to groan in frustration. Or take Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), an amusingly self-effacing type, who takes Captain's side against a litany of other heroes and asks for orange slices after he has finally been brought down.

Or better yet, take Spider-Man (Tom Holland), a character Marvel only recently managed to reacquire the rights to from Columbia Pictures -- and only after Columbia finally realized their most recent forced reboot didn't really take with audiences. It turns out Marvel knows precisely how to proceed with their single most popular character: Take him back to being a kid, an actual high-school student who has to worry about homework, even as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is recruiting him to fly to Germany for a showdown with Captain America and his rock-steady crew.

Marvel's version of the character is young, callow (he says he has only had his powers for six months), funny and so anxious to please Stark he pleads with the two heroes under his charge to behave themselves so he can make a good impression.

The airport showdown comes after a fairly long setup: When Captain America refuses to sign the registration act, he and Falcon depart the Avengers building to try and track down the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Captain's longtime best friend Bucky, having been turned into an obedient super-assassin for Hydra for the past couple of decades and then gone into reclusion.

After a terrorist bomb blast wipes out a massive United Nations meeting, killing the King of Wakanda (John Kani) in the process and setting his son, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), on vengeance, the Winter Soldier is blamed for the assault, a frame job by the aforementioned Russian, Commander Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). The Winter Soldier becomes the subject of a massive, shoot-to-kill manhunt that Captain America has to try to stop, saving Bucky and going on the lam with him until they can piece together what happened.

Seemingly, on the wrong side of the registration act and protecting a fugitive, Captain and his crew, including Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Ant-Man, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Falcon and Bucky, are forced to face off against Iron Man, War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Panther, nominally Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Spider-Man, in a brutal back and forth that definitely leaves a mark.

The story continues on (and on; this is yet another superhero film that doesn't feel the need to confine itself to any puny 120-minute time barrier) and more revelations are made, some of which leave the heroes with more than a cursory sort of dispute, but the film takes pains to justify the emotional calibrations of its characters. Even Zemo, in the end, is given something of a purpose for his actions beyond simply wanting evil world domination.

Naturally, with so much going on and so many characters in play, not everything can work seamlessly and despite a great number of winning cameos, there are far too many elements left in fractured bits and pieces. A suggestion of deeper feelings between Vision and Scarlet Witch (actually married in the comics) feels kind of short-shrifted, as does Bucky's character, who vacillates between goofy, quippy sidekick and cold-eyed, unstoppable killer without a lot of friction.

Other Marvel movies with a bit less of a hurried pace and overstuffed agenda -- oh, let's say Guardians of the Galaxy, for one -- actually are a good deal more satisfying, but you also have to grant points for degree of difficulty to Captain America: Civil War. On that count, the film succeeds far more than it probably should.

Unlike other Marvel films, Captain America: Civil War leaves itself very open-ended. There is a sense of more to come, of course, but not the kind of automatic mandate that pushed some of the earlier Marvel films to stuff too much into their closing credits.

It's also true that some of the Marvel standbys, including Evans and Downey Jr., seem a bit washed out by the continual grind and pace of these films (Downey has appeared as Stark/Iron Man in six movies). But with intriguing new heroes on the horizon, including the new Spider-Man, Black Panther and Ant-Man, it seems the screens will safely be filled with Marvel heroes for at least another generation or two.

Ironic that the same comics industry that was hemorrhaging money and threatening to shut down as recently as two decades ago, has now become the financial mainstay and lifeblood of the major studio system. Like the fictional world in which these heroes inhabit, they might wield entirely too much unchecked power, but there is little sign of anyone or anything standing in their way.

MovieStyle on 05/06/2016