Sometimes “less is more,” and sometimes “three’s a crowd.” When you’re talking Captain America: Civil War, the phrase you’re looking for is, “the more the merrier.”

The first Avengers movie shocked us with a team-up film that worked in ways we hadn’t thought possible before. It just hadn’t really been done, and we were all surprised that it worked as well as it did. In Captain America: Civil War, The Russo Brothers trump The Avengers without even trying. They aren’t telling a team-up story, they are telling us a story about friends that don’t agree. It just so happens that their disagreement gives us one of the best Marvel movies to date. Without even trying, they raise the bar the Avengers set in more ways than one, presenting us with not one team, but two.

Like any film, Captain America: Civil War has its weaknesses. No movie is perfect, even if this one does seem damn close. Our Civil War review dives into all of it.

Strengths

First Impressions

Prior to the film opening, one of the fandom’s biggest concerns regarding Captain America: Civil War was the never-ending list of characters that would be making appearances in this movie. Not only is the crazy number of superheroes present for this civil war not a hindrance, it’s one of the movie’s greatest strengths. Seeing Ant-Man and Spider-Man battling alongside Avengers we’ve loved from the beginning is one of the highlights of the film, not to mention the insane joy you feel watching the quippiest fight scene in the history of cinema. Listening to our brand new Peter Parker (Tom Holland) deliver line after snarky line while handling whatever is thrown his way is better than any moment in any previous Spider-Man movie.

Civil War delivers on every promise made in the dozen or so previews we’ve anxiously watched over the last year. The stakes were high, expectations were even higher, but Captain America: Civil War exceeds both.

A Few Fresh Faces

In addition to handling the sheer force of this gaggle of superheroes, Captain America: Civil War introduces us to two new characters that we’ll be seeing solo films from in the near future. Introducing them in a film as large and unwieldy as this one is a definite risk, but it pays off in spades. We couldn’t be more excited to see where their individual films will take these two new shining stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man was beginning to feel like the third rail of comic book heroes. Despite being a thoroughly entertaining and engaging character, Peter Parker’s story was starting to feel dull and lifeless on screen. Maybe it was because we had been treated to his origins in two different incarnations a mere 10 years apart, but his introduction in Captain America: Civil War is anything but dull. His quirky sense of humor plays nicely off Tony’s snarky wit, and we were instantly charmed by his innocent and silly nature. Next year’s Spiderman: Homecoming will be a welcome addition to the MCU now that we’ve met and fallen for the newest incarnation of the wily webslinger.

Black Panther

If you walk away from Captain America: Civil War without any Black Panther feelings, we’re not sure we want to know you. All the marketing regarding this character set him up to be a worthy Team Tony member, sporting a suit made of the most durable substance on the planet. We didn’t intend to find out that behind his badass black armor was a man dedicated to his people as well as his family. Seeing the birth of this character within the confines of Civil War allows even the most casual of comic book fans to fall in love with this powerhouse. The Black Panther movie will be released in 2018.

A touch of comedy

Putting aside the team-up aspects of this film, some of the most deliciously entertaining moments are when Falcon and Bucky are forced to share space. Seeing Cap’s two greatest allies bicker like school children is both delightfully unexpected and unexpectedly delightful. We can’t wait to see what the Russos have brewing for the next time we see Cap’s squad in action.

Also, the subtle flair and dry wit of Scott Lang is a perfect fit for the role that Ant-Man played in this movie. The character brought so much to the story as well as the entertainment factor. We would happily sign a petition to keep him involved in all things Marvel and Avengers from here on out.

Weaknesses

Let there be a villain

While Captain America: Civil War has so much going for it, there are a few things that don’t work as well as we would have liked. First and foremost would be the villain, Zemo. Yes, that’s right, the feuding inside the Avengers ranks may pit one side against the other, but no one is truly right or wrong. This movie needed an external villain to focus on after all the infighting was done. The story couldn’t be over until some threat was vanquished, or at least put away with no hope of escape. Zemo is played well by Daniel Brühl, but the character himself is lacking.

Zemo’s story just isn’t the main player in this one. He masters the art of distraction, and uses it to keep all the heroes busy while he furthers his own agenda. Zemo is a fine foil for the ultimate showdown, but he just isn’t as dynamic or interesting as Marvel villains have been of late.

A few missing players

The roster for this movie is massive, and they didn’t really need to add anyone, but it is a little sad to see this group minus two of its biggest personalities. Thor and Hulk do not make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War, and while their absences are easy to explain, it would have been fascinating to see where they stood on the battle lines. Hopefully we will learn all about their thoughts on the Sokovia Accords when they’re back for Infinity War, but until then, we’ll just keep theorizing and postulating endlessly, as any good fan does.

Too many subplots

The only true criticism we have regarding the inclusion of so many characters is that it forces the film to spend time giving each and every one of them motivation and time to share their thoughts on the matter. We had subplots for Wanda and Vision, Sharon Carter, Spider-Man, and Black Panther, to name a few. Those subplots always course-correct back to the central theme, but taking the time to develop all those characters detracts from time they could have spent on the film’s focus: Cap and Tony.

Ultimately…

Everything we wanted it to be

Civil War does not disappoint. We wanted it to be a Captain America movie, and we got that. We wanted it to show both sides of the accountability debate, and we got that. We wanted to be able to see things from Cap’s perspective, but not be completely alienated from Tony Stark, the man whose movie started this whole amazing journey into the MCU — and we got that.

Captain America: Civil War tells the story that we needed to see. We needed to see that Cap and his friends are not wrong for wanting to continue to live and fight freely as they have been from the start. We needed to know that Tony saw Cap’s perspective while vehemently disagreeing and needing the accountability that the Accords provide for himself. While the Civil War raged, we knew that this wasn’t about either side winning.

Captain America: Civil War is about both sides seeing heroism in their own way and realizing that disagreeing isn’t the be-all and end-all.

It’s also important to note that while nobody loses this Civil War, nobody wins either. Neither side comes through completely unscathed, and some scars are more than just superficial. There’s a lot left unsaid, and more than a few non-physical wounds that’ll need time to heal. Both sides have a long road to travel before our heroes can walk the same path again, and hopefully the films we will see between now and Avengers: Infinity War – Part I will show progress toward that cause.

A few stray thoughts

What did you think of ‘Captain America: Civil War’?

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