by Holley Gibson

Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: Civil War was the latest Marvel production to hit our screens this April, adding once again to the rapid expansion of a long running and well loved franchise who seem to have audiences constantly eager for more. This time, the fictional world brings together a plethora of our favourite characters to question the ethical complications, which accompany a growing army of superheroes protecting and avenging the world, which we all call home. The epic feature is the third installment of the Captain America series and has viewers picking sides in a comprehensive narrative, which ties up many of the loose ends that have plagued dedicated fans for years.

Loosely based on the 2006/2007 Marvel comics, the film follows Captain Rogers and his avenger team as they travel the globe and eradicate any trouble on their path, but after a difficult mission in Africa has devastating consequences on the local community, the team are asked to sign the Sokovia Accord which would effectively put their careers and freedom in the hands of 117 nations. As to be expected, not everybody agrees that this is a reasonable solution to the recent difficulties, and after an attack at the United Nations Conference sparks a heated argument, the Captain decides to defend his accused friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to the dismay of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr).

When considering the multitude of characters and strong personalities which are present within the narrative, the movie successfully maintains an intimate atmosphere as friendship and family take centre stage and instigate the introduction of one of the most recent avengers recruits, Black Panther. Here Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up) plays his part well with the fiery intensity that is expected of the character as he not only helps to reinforce the complications of responsibility and power but has the audience questioning themselves and their own morals at every turn. In many ways however, the success of this film ultimately lies in its ability to counteract a heavy storyline with the witty humour, which is cleverly incorporated by Downey Jr and Tom Holland (In the Heart of the Sea) who portrays the long awaited return of Spider Man. Despite the undoubted pressure of a difficult role, Holland’s performance did not let the Marvel audiences down and only added a well constructed and refreshing comic relief for what was already a thoroughly enjoyable watch. So despite an overly lengthy final sequence and a relatively insignificant musical soundtrack, Captain America: Civil War offered an enjoyable balance between action and narrative and enabled the production to stand as a successful film on its own merit.

[imdb id=tt3498820]

Holley Gibson
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2 Comments

  1. Big nerd here! Love to read local movie reviews from around Scotland! Although this one has missed the mark! Somewhat superficial, no comparison to previous titles, The Avengers and Winter Soldier which are Marvel high points, but none the less this movie struggles to stand amongst them. Surely some reference has to be made towards the increasing numbers of superheros/movie? Compared to The Avengers where 6 hero’s where pulled together in style by Whedon, joe and anthony seemed to be trying to squeeze every inch of hero into the movie run time as possible! No reference to the mega-battle? By Markus and McFreely! The battle is a well choreographed battle, of titanic proportions, the 6-on-6 action portrays effectively the personalities and the individuals within the scene. Overall this review has left me feeling if you’ve watched the same movie as me? And why are the key talking points missing!!!

  2. Hi there, thanks for YOUR opinion. We (the reviewsphere) however, appreciate brief film reviews. Stay tuned!

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