‘Captain America: Civil War’ Review

Marvel packs the right kind of punch with ‘Civil War,’ reaching perfection by exploiting super-heroic imperfection.

Marvel’s acclaimed ‘Captain America: Civil War’ starts the 2016 summer movie slate off the right way.

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Photo courtesy of Steven Zang

Coming off of DC Entertainment’s big-budget derailing train entitled Batman vs. Superman, Marvel decided to save the day once more by doing the unexpected: releasing a film worthy of collapsing in on itself. In other words, Captain America: Civil War builds such a cathartic tension by tearing its main characters apart. And it’s exactly this kind of juxtaposition that makes it all the better.

Don’t be fooled by measly titles. It might present itself as a full-fledged addition to the Captain America storyline, but Civil War is practically an Avengers’ highlight reel. It starts off where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, with cities in ruin and a death count to prove it. The destruction is enough to bring the Sokovia Accords through the United Nations, forcing the superhero team to comply with federal law. Such outside intervention creates opposing perspectives between Steve Rodgers and Tony Stark, the two “head-honchos” of the entire operation. As time passes on and more terrorism strikes, the unbreakable Avengers finally divide amongst themselves and recruit some new faces along the way.

The concept itself is an interesting direction. Nevertheless, what really sets Civil War apart is how it layers itself with more than just the flash and shine of Rodger’s shield. Under such superficiality is a sense of intuitive flaw, taking each of the Avengers a step back to see how their actions affect the world around them. It gives audiences the wheel as far as a battle of the conscience, yet still makes you recognize that many of these heroes started out like us. It’s the driving force behind Captain America’s unbreakable childhood bond with “the Winter Soldier” and Iron Man’s self-imposed pity towards the death of his parents.

“Captain America: Civil War not only lived up to its potential, but it also exceeded my expectations,” said Hackensack native and long-time Marvel superhero fan Andrew Stahl, 20.  “The movie had the perfect combination of a great plot, action sequences, conflict and resolution and suspense. I would highly recommend this movie for Marvel lovers and movie-goers alike.”

If time and space allowed, one could elaborate for hours about what puts Civil War on a pedestal. Without exaggeration, it has everything. Even newer additions to the team, such as Ant-Man, Spider-Man and the Black Panther, interweave themselves into the head-butting without a single shred of disappointment. Nevertheless, everything can use a subjective structure, and Captain America’s third installment certainly does.

It’s daring. It’s flaw-full. And it’s a superhero film worth marveling over.

 

Captain America: Civil War is now playing in movie theaters nationwide! Some local venues include AMC Clifton Commons 16, AMC Essex Green 9 in West Orange 9 and even Bow Tie Bellevue Cinema 4 in the heart of downtown Montclair! For a list of even more theaters and show times, check fandango.com today.

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