CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

captain america: civil war (2016) movie

Genre               |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   147 minutes

Released         |   28 April 2016

cast

Chris Evans ... Steve Rogers
​Robert Downey Jr. ... Tony Stark
​Scarlett Johansson ...
Natasha Romanoff 
Sebastian Stan ... Bucky Barnes
Anthony Mackie ... ​Sam Wilson

director

Anthony & Joe Russo

writer

​Christopher Markus ... (screenplay by) &
Stephen McFeely ... (screenplay by)
 
Joe Simon ... (based on the Marvel comics by) and
Jack Kirby ... (based on the Marvel comics by)
 
Mark Millar ... (comic book: "Civil War") (uncredited)
Steven McNiven ... (comic book: "Civil War") (uncredited)

cinematographer

Trent Opaloch

music

​Henry Jackman

film editor

Jeffrey Ford
Matthew Schmidt ​

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box office result

Worldwide             $​​1,153,304,495

Australia                 $​​​​25,200,229

North America        $​408,084,349 ​

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the best dialogue

Captain America: [about Bucky] He's my friend.
Iron Man: So was I.

Hawkeye: I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Clint.
Black Panther: I don't care.

Black Widow: Are we still friends?
Hawkeye: That depends on how hard you hit me.

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) IMAGES

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) STORY SYNOPSIS

​With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spider-Man) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 27 April 2016
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

There’s something amiss in the Marvel movie universe and the third film about all-round good guy Steve Rogers is symptomatic of a movie franchise that seems afraid to take risks at the expense of alienating its fan base. Much like Captain America himself throughout this latest adventure, CIVIL WAR seems to be at odds with itself.

On one hand, it uses the highly regarded "Civil War" comic book storyline, that saw the demise of the Captain, as the basis for its plot, with all the inherent drama the title suggests.

On the other hand, it lets the audience know that there’s really not that much jeopardy in what’s going on, as the byplay between the two opposed superhero factions is laced with dialogue that guarantees the audience that no one is really playing for keeps.

It’s a problem that continues right the way through CIVIL WAR, up to its closing frame, and it is a problem that needs to be addressed in upcoming Phase Three movies if the franchise is to remain creatively vibrant and commercially appealing.

CIVIL WAR opens with a prologue featuring Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), but quickly moves to Africa, where the new Avengers roster are on a mission to stop Crossbones (Frank Grillo) from stealing a deadly bio-hazard to unleash upon an unsuspecting population. Things turn bad when Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) inadvertently kills a number of innocent people when she is forced to use her powers to prevent Crossbones from causing even greater carnage.

The fall-out from the African mission prompts Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) to side with Secretary of State Ross (William Hurt) and insist the Avengers sign-off the Sokovia Accords that will allow the United Nations to determine whether superhero support is required in any given crisis.

Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) is not so certain that signing on to the Accords will make matters any better. Cap’s growing distrust of powerful institutions (in the aftermath of events from CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER) is obvious and it brings him into direct conflict with Stark, Ross, as well as other prominent Avengers such as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The intrigue of the premise is quickly lost as the screenplay by Marvel veterans Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely plays out as an extended police procedural where the bad guys seem to be always one step ahead of the good guys.

CIVIL WAR is also diminished by its over-stuffed roster of characters...

The film runs for 147 minutes and it feels long. There’s an extremely long set-piece pay-off between Cap’s and Tony’s teams, but the film has all of its drama and suspense sucked right out of it with the introduction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Sadly, fans had already knew of his inclusion in the film; a gratuitous spoiler that came when film’s second trailer dropped.

What’s even worse is that CIVIL WAR’s entire momentum comes shuddering to a halt when Tony Stark ventures off to Queens in New York to draft the young superhero into the fight against Captain America and his rogue team. The use of Spider-Man in CIVIL WAR is a clear case of commerce winning out over creativity. The tie-up between Marvel and Sony, who own the feature film rights for Spider-Man, is designed to boost the box office potential of the upcoming SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING reboot due in mid-2017.

Poor old Chris Evans must have been scratching his head at points during the film’s production wondering whether or not CIVIL WAR was, in fact, a Captain America movie.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is not a bad piece of entertainment, but it feels as though there’s very little progression for any of the main Avengers.

There’s a lot of action, but there’s very little change despite the film’s vast array of characters and settings. The introduction of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is a good creative choice and the character commands real presence on the screen. Anthony Mackie as Falcon, and to a lesser extent Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, bring some welcome humour and a dose of humanity to proceedings in support of Captain America.

​Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark/Iron Man is a real achilles heel, as he suffers through his third existential crisis in as many films. The writers have just about drained him of all the fun and irreverence that made him such a popular character in the first place. Stark is slowly becoming a “tragic” figure in more ways than the one the writers intended. Having written him into a corner, Marvel’s story team either can’t or don’t want to find a way to rekindle the character’s energy.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is worth  a cinema viewing, but even casual viewers will question just how many times these people can do the same thing without any real consequence. Ironically, this key plot point from the film is the very same challenge that currently confronts the Marvel creative team. Perhaps their own version of the Sokovia Accords is required...

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