By Brett Blake CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is very close to being a masterpiece of its genre. From this writer’s perspective, that is not hyperbole. The movie is at times both resonant and rousing, both funny and gut-wrenching, and it showcases perhaps the ultimate summation of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about. It is nothing less than grand and thrilling popcorn cinema. Following a collateral damage-laden confrontation, the Avengers - led by Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) - find themselves under intense scrutiny from the global community, which results in the Sokovia Accords, governing documents designed to bring the Avengers under the sway of an oversight body. When Cap refuses to play along - both for reasons of conscience and because he’s hot on the trail of his old brainwashed friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), AKA the Winter Soldier - a divide grows with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). It quickly escalates into a full-on conflict which ensnares not just the Avengers themselves, but also a few new players, such as Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and a young lad named Peter Parker (Tom Holland), a budding crime fighter who goes by the alias... Spider-Man. The movie’s greatest achievement is the way it balances and “does right by” the huge number of characters. Yes, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON had a giant cast list, and mostly made it work, but CIVIL WAR takes it to a whole other level. Look at this roster: Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Falcon, Black Widow, Vision, War Machine, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier... these are monumental, iconic heroes, fully capable of headlining their own standalone films, and yet they are woven together here with total dexterity and effortless ease by the filmmakers. Each gets BIG, amazing moments to shine and contribute, and they each serve a function in the narrative; they’re not just tossed in for the sake of it, they’re involved for a reason, and fans of the characters will not feel short-changed by how they are utilized. And those are just the primary heroes! There are still even more key characters, like Thunderbolt Ross, Crossbones, Sharon Carter, Everett Ross, and the sinister Zemo, who seems to be pulling some strings from the shadows and whose ultimate motivations are genuinely compelling. It could have been easy for the movie to feel overstuffed in the extreme, but it never even comes close to that. The balance of characters is organic, never forced, and actually serves to underline the important position that Captain America serves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; this isn’t just another AVENGERS movie with a different title, it’s Cap’s story all the way (well, most of the way, as the movie also gives Tony Stark his most compelling arc thus far, too), and everything is - in one way or another - filtered through him. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR represents nothing less than an extraordinary payoff to eight years of storytelling that began with IRON MAN back in 2008; the film is emotionally resonant because it respects its characters, respects their points of view, and wants us - the audience - to feel the weight of their conflict and its repercussions. If you look at where Tony Stark was when we first met him, or where Steve Rogers was, you will see a pair of amazing character arcs that have led them to where we find them in this film. The reasons for their conflict make sense, the compositions of their respective “teams” make sense, and the movie goes to great lengths to justify - at every turn - everybody’s actions on both philosophical and personal/emotional levels. The movie also dares to suggest the possibility that Steve Rogers - until now the paragon of virtue and judgment - might not necessarily be as obviously in the right. He was surrounded by grey area in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, but this time, he’s in that grey area, making choices that are fully understandable, but not necessarily ones that are immune to criticism. The film is balanced by Tony Stark’s position, and the beauty of the thing is that both men are, basically, right in what they believe. Just because the movie has the words “Captain America” in the title doesn’t mean that, by default, they’ve turned Tony into the antagonist, which is refreshing. These are two characters who are grappling with the concept of responsibility, and though they’re coming at it from different angles, none of the characters are vilified or shown to be anything less than the heroes we know they are. Heading into the third act, the movie had me in an amazing place where I was rooting for both Steve and Tony, but for different reasons, which is a testament to the strength of the writing. Not only does the film payoff everything that’s been established about the characters of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, but it also delivers the spectacle you’d expect from this genre... it also sets up Black Panther and the new Spider-Man as compelling and exciting heroes going forward... and it also continues the process of building towards the upcoming INFINITY WAR films (which will likely bring together literally all the characters in the MCU) and does so in ways that feel significantly less forced than in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, for example. A quick word about the action - there is a setpiece in here (the big battle between all the heroes at an airport, which has been teased a bit in the trailers) that is absolutely stunning. It’s a legitimately astonishing sequence, crammed full of both humor and intense drama, and it is perhaps the purest expression of the promise of cinematic superhero action we’ve seen so far. Not only is the choreography and staging of the action exemplary, but it all lands with such impact because we’re invested in the characters on a deep level by this point. Chris Evans continues to find new and complex layers to explore with Cap, and his performance here is marked by the sense that he’s carrying an enormous burden at almost all times. Evans is excellent, but it is Robert Downey Jr. who gets the story’s real dramatic meat on which to chew, and it represents his best work to date as Tony Stark; he still brings the snark, but - particularly towards the second half - there’s a real wounded sensitivity that starts to creep in, and when the movie’s most emotionally wrenching scene arrives, Downey absolutely kills it. And everybody else is great, too! There are literally too many characters to just go down the line and list off all the actors, but it can certainly be said that nobody comes anywhere close to phoning it in, they all balance the sense of fun with the weight of the stakes. The major newcomers Boseman and Holland are instant home runs with their respective characters, and I suspect most audiences will be excited at the prospect of their upcoming solo adventures. If a person wanted to nitpick stuff in the movie, there are things that could be found, but I’m not inclined to indulge that. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is spectacularly entertaining, top to bottom, and it is the best Marvel movie made to date.
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