After years and years of constant controversy over their extreme efforts to stop evildoers in the world, the Avengers are now facing public scrutiny. So much so that now, the government wants to find a way to intervene with their ways in how they go about stopping the evil, while also making sure that no innocent citizens get killed in the process. This new rule sets the group apart; while Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is all about it for the sake of still being able to stop villains from taking over the world, Captain America (Chris Evans), doesn’t feel the same way. Of course, there are others in the group who feel the same as either side, but they’re coming to a point now where they don’t know if they can stay together as a single unit without someone getting hurt. And now, with Bucky (Sebastian Stan) back in the picture, Cap wants to protect him in any way he can, even if that means having to take down fellow friends and confidantes that he could once trust.
Which means, yes, they all brawl.
A few months ago, there was a huge backlash against “Batman V. Superman.” Most of the reasons had to do with the fact that it basically just sucked and that was about it. Of course, none of these people were ever wrong, but for me at least, I was a tad bit kinder on it because it set out to make a superhero movie that, yes, was ultimately messy, but asked certain questions and toggled certain ideas that we don’t typically see in superhero movies. Should there be superheroes in the world in which we live in? And if we can’t help the fact that there are, what can we do to stop them, or better yet, decrease their power and danger to our society? Get rid of them altogether? Or put little rules and guidelines for them to follow, so that they don’t go around killing thousands and thousands of citizens as if it was, yes, 9/11 all over again.
Obviously, these are the same kinds of questions and ideas that “Civil War” plays with in its own mind, but where BVS screwed-up with, they actually deliver on. Not only do they ask the questions, but they also seem interested in solving them, even if the only way to do so is basically through fist fights and banter-battles. For once, we see characters and superheroes who, for the past few years or so, have been nearly untouchable and almost too close to being perfect, but somehow, “Civil War” finds a way to have them all shine in different lights. Even though this is supposed to be his movie, Captain America actually comes off more like an unlikable child here who doesn’t get his way, so therefore, has to resort to punches, kicks and throwing his shield.
Then again, nobody else is perfect here. And well, that’s sort of the point of this story.
What the Russo Brothers do the best job of here is that they allow for the story to do its usual checklist of things we see in these kinds of superhero movies, but does them way better than those movies. While new characters and subplots are being brought to our attention, the Russo Brothers never allow for it to get too jammed-up to where we have no idea what the conflict is with which character, for what reasons, and when we can expect it all to get resolved. In “Age of Ultron,” the movie was admittedly way too overstuffed and overlong to really make sense of its mayhem and therefore, it suffered. The action itself may have been fun and well-done, but because there was so much going on, with so many damn people, it was hard to really care for any of it, especially when you’re still trying to pinpoint who matters and why.
The Russo’s, thankfully, don’t have that problem. Even though they’re working with a wide array of characters and stories, they somehow manage to keep it cohesive enough that when the action does eventually come around, you care. Not only do these characters get their opportunities to shine and show why they’re genuine ass-kickers, but they give us a little background on who they are and their personalities. Even characters like Hawkeye and the Vision, who you may feel have overstayed their welcome, still come around to show us that they’re around and actually matter to a story as overcooked as this.
Does this make “Civil War” perfect? Nope, but it definitely makes it the best Avengers movie since the first Avengers.
Which is saying something, because all of the Marvel movies have been fine and done their jobs well. That isn’t to say that they haven’t all felt like they were doing the same thing as the one that came before it, but it still doesn’t matter, because “Civil War” gets Marvel right back on-track. Though a lot more is left up in the air this time, the feeling that everything has changed and has gotten a whole lot more serious with this universe and these characters is still around, and it’s what makes me genuinely excited for what’s to come.
‘Cause yes, obviously, we’re going to get more of these movies, whether you like it or not.
Consensus: Exciting, tense, smart and believe it or not, interesting, “Civil War” does everything that “Batman V Superman” tried to do, but hits every nail on the head and reminds us why this universe can be so great to be apart of when they’re firing on all cylinders.
9 / 10Dan O’Neill is currently a journalism student at Temple University. He can be reached at tuf73940@temple.edu.
