Captain America: Civil Dispute

Captain America: Civil War was the most anticipated release to date in the Marvel’s cinematic universe following the overwhelming success of Deadpool. Now it’s out in theaters and all I can say is film had various similarities with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but this film was just better. Fans have been looking forward to his since it was announced it was going to incorporate one of Marvel’s beloved storylines. Civil War is based off the graphic novel about a time where the United States could no longer deal with meta-humans living among regular people without their knowledge after certain events. The creation of a registration act leads to a division among notable superheroes and factions like the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Avengers which leads to war.

The two bombshells that Marvel dropped were that Spiderman played by Tom Holland (In the Heart of the Sea) would be in the film after striking a deal with Sony entertainment. This was a bold move considering the several attempts Sony has tried to make a successful Spiderman but finally worked a deal with Marvel Studios after the bombing of their last try with Andrew Garfield. It’s clear after seeing this film that Marvel is taking the classic approach with their most famous superhero. While fans were excited about the arrival of Spiderman to the cinematic universe, the next bombshell would raise eyebrows.

The other being the introduction of the Black Panther. Black Panther is played by Chadwick Boseman (Draft Day) and this was a significant announcement because the character has only made appearances in the cartoons and video games. The other reason is because this character didn’t appear in the graphic novel because his sole priority is the protection of his home, Wakanda. Wakanda is an African nation known in the Marvel Universe for being an isolated region that prefers to be cut off from the rest of the world. So the obvious question is how would this work with the film? The answer is one of the main reasons Marvel has done well with its movies while DC hasn’t and the answer is, the film was well written.

Picking up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America is the leader of the new avengers in a new world but the problem is the world doesn’t trust them anymore. A similar ultimatum is given to the captain and the avengers with the choices are either comply or retire from the group. Things only get worse after a disaster that draws the attention of the Black Panther with the Winter Soldier being the accused. Captain America is convinced of his innocence and tries to help solve who is behind the frame up while Iron Man attempts to bring them in. The conflict between the two forces the avengers to take sides which leads to a showdown fans have wanted to see since the graphic novel.

The film does an exceptional job at staying neutral and not showing any favoritism to either superhero and their views. The main problem with the film is the antagonist is virtually non-existent which hurts considering it’s a known villain to comic fans but if you know nothing then it won’t bother you. The main fight delivered plenty of action and comedy but I wouldn’t say this was a war, more like a 15-minute gang fight. Tom Holland delivers what many fans wanted to see from Spiderman from the suit to the characteristics of the beloved figurehead of Marvel. Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of King T’Challa was spot on and the theater I attended erupted with applause when he appeared as the Black Panther.

Civil War may not have been the best title for this film but this was fantastic and I will be going again as soon as the crowds stop going. I give it a nine out of ten because this may not have lived up to what the Civil War storyline was about but it was a film the fans will love and want to see again. If you go see it then I’ll let you know now there’s something during the credits and after to promote different upcoming Marvel films. This film will no doubt beat Deadpool financially but I wouldn’t say that this film overtops it by much but we’ll have to wait and see. X-Men: Apocalypse is the next Marvel film coming up and will no doubt give Captain America a run for its money.