Captain America: Civil War (2016) directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo – A Film Review

In terms of their film projects, Marvel has created a vast universe filled with smaller stand-alone super hero ventures that connect with one another in their larger Avengers spectacles. Whereas the previous films had their own definitive identities, this one seems to sit somewhere in-between the two arc types: with some fans jokingly referring to it as the Avengers 2.5.

Based primarily on the Marvel Comics “Civil War” storyline, we see the Avengers split in two (one team led by Captain America and the other by Iron Man) following an accident on assignment. Iron Man believes the Avenger should be subject to governmental restraints after an accident causes a number of civilian deaths. Captain America however believes they shouldn’t be subject to these regulations, as he sees the Avengers as the last line of defence against chaos and destruction.

Overall the story’s an intriguing one. Each of the heroes has a good reason for siding the way they do, which really adds to the tension and drama. Throughout the film there are a number of moments of potential reconciliation, yet in each instance, we see how small actions can break down the lines of communication.  

That’s not to say the film is by any means perfect. At over two hours long and with so much material compressed into the story, the movie can’t avoid feeling bloated at times. Whilst the film overall is very enjoyable, you do get the impression that you are watching two or three movies that have been merged into one. In fact, there is a point at about the three quarter mark where it felt as though the film was coming to a natural conclusion; to be followed on later in another film, continuing on with this main story: yet this wasn’t the case.

At the same time though I wouldn’t like to give the impression that this is a bad film, far from it. The acting is top notch throughout; the overall story is fun and intriguing, whilst the action set pieces are also well handled.

All together, Captain America: Civil War is a well-crafted action movie, and for those interested in this genre it certainly won’t disappoint. However I do feel that the material that they had here was often rushed through. So much of what was happening was passed over quickly and could easily have been expanded upon over a much longer period of time.