So begins phase three. Captain America: Civil War is the first of ten (yes, ten) superhero films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be released in the next three years. With each new release I wonder: Will this be the one I love? Will I finally get on board? Believe me, I want to love Marvel. Most of the big summer blockbusters are Marvel films. As a cinephile, not loving the MCU is very frustrating. Will Civil War change that?
Civil War depicts a time when many people blame the Avengers – who have so far acted without any oversight – for the calamitous events of the previous films. The UN introduces the “Sokovia Accords” – a set of rules that the Avengers must agree to follow. While Captain America believes such restrictions are dangerous, Iron Man understands the need for them. As our heroes take conflicting stances, the Avengers divide while other dangers loom.
My biggest issue with the Marvel films is that there hasn’t yet been a good villain in any of them. (Note I’m excluding the TV shows here – Kilgrave was excellent). My biggest praise has always been the characterisation of its central heroes. Civil War finally gives us an interesting conflict and does a great job of establishing the motivations of both Cap and Iron Man. No villain is really needed because we understand the points of view of two heroes we love and care about.
Unfortunately the motivations of the secondary characters are lacking. I’m still not sure I know who Falcon is or what he stands for, but he’s on Cap’s team for some reason. This was very bothersome when new characters are introduced and given one key trait, yet the side they choose totally contradicts that. But, I guess the film demands that when the battle starts it’s an even six-versus-six.
Speaking of that battle, it’s legitimately great fun. You’ve seen the trailer so you know what I’m talking about – that airport scene where all the heroes throw down. It’s excellent and actually does a very impressive job of incorporating not only the powers of our heroes into the fight, but their personalities as well. It certainly beats watching the Avengers defeat wave after wave of mindless disposable opponents.
I just wish that such care was taken when filming every action sequence. I was actually gobsmacked at how appalling the majority of the action was. Fine, I’m not a Marvel fan, but I’m rarely bored when I watch them because at the very least there’s some entertaining action and comedy. But the action in Civil War is total shit.
Aside from that airport scene, there actually isn’t a single memorable set piece that feels uniquely “civil war”. Worse still, I hope you like shaky cam and rapid cuts because they’re all over every fight scene and you won’t know what the hell is going on. The CGI versions of the characters are glaring, and it leads to that cartoonish, weightless feel. Everyone is flung around with utterly no risk of injury or death. Yes they’re superheroes but if we have no idea under what circumstances these guys get hurt, how can we invest in the action? I for one never feel any tension during these sequences.
I do admire the effort to make this a character driven story. The conflict was everything Batman v Superman should have been – a clash of ideals. I also found the relationship between Cap and Bucky much more investing here than in Winter Soldier. It’s just a shame that this story barrels through a paper trail, taking us all around the world following a convoluted plot, for no real reason.
But as a character story the film works, and I feel Iron Man and Cap both have meaningful, satisfying arcs. For the most part, anyway. There are several plot threads that are left totally unresolved, and for a film that’s an indulgent 150 minutes long, that’s just careless. Yes, maybe they’ll be addressed in the sequel but Civil War mostly avoids bogging itself down by setting up future instalments. Don’t mistake that for a compliment though. It also avoided casting Jesse Eisenberg as its intimidating villain but I can’t give it props for every shitty thing it didn’t do.
However, not every character really belongs here. You can literally see the moment in the script when they acquired the rights to the Spiderman character and realised they had to shoehorn him into the story. I don’t care if he’s the “best Spiderman yet”, the truth is that he’s a character who just turns up and has no bearing at all on the story. And it’s obvious Ant-Man was only included later to balance the teams. He isn’t even in that first trailer:
In the end Civil War falls victim to Marvel’s most infuriating weakness. The studio has no bottle. It’s once again a story with very little consequences. It reminded me of Age of Ultron, when Stark invented a machine that almost destroyed the whole world. The consequences? He drives away in his sports car, the end. One might argue that Civil War is the consequence but then I’d argue that Age of Ultron fails as an episode in a greater story.
With Civil War, they might have given themselves the opportunity to explore deeper themes like government control or the morality of vigilantism, but it never really delves into them. I’m not even sure it entirely succeeds as a film you can just turn your brain off and enjoy given the atrocious action and some of the underdeveloped characters.
I know I’m going against the popular view here, but that isn’t what bothers me. What I’m most afraid of hearing is: “It’s just a Marvel film.” I heard many similar defences of Spectre. “It’s just a Bond film.” Well, no, because Skyfall and Casino Royale are examples of great films in their own right. As soon as we allow ourselves to justify a film’s flaws in this way, all legitimate criticism becomes futile. If you’re a fan of the MCU, I have no doubt you’ll love Civil War but I cannot in good conscience give it a positive grade.
(GRADES: Both are from 0 to 10. The left is an objective score based on artistic merit, the right is my personal enjoyment.)
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