"Captain America: Civil War" brought forth an idea that even superheroes disagree on the politics behind how far superheroes can go to protect or save the world.
As a comic book fan who has read the Civil War comics, the announcement of Civil War brought joy, but sitting there watching an epic storyline be brought down to a mediocre story made no sense.
This isn't a rant about diverting from the original story because that can be done and done in such a manner that it adds to a story, like "The Walking Dead" does or "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" did.
Here's the reasons why Civil War was disappointing:
Iron Man (Batman) V Captain America (Superman)
Yes this felt like a more amped up version of the superhero versus superhero movie. This wasn't an issue that seems to affect the entire superhero community. This seemed like two personal issues that were trying to be displayed as major issues. It seemed like a disagreement between the tactics of two heroes. The difference between the movie and the comic beginning of Civil War is what breaks this movie.
In the movie, Tony Stark is affected by being accused of being a murderer by a mother who lost her child as a casualty of the Avengers saving the world.
In the comic, the realization that some people with powers are exploiting them for self-gain — fame, fortune or both — and the resulting casualties because of the selfish behavior brings way to the Superheroes registration act.
The difference makes a big difference. It goes from being a singular story to encompassing a broad range of not just superheroes but everyone entrusted as protectors of civilians as well.
The missed opportunity to make a grand statement with Spider-Man
Rather than make Spider-Man/Peter Parker an icon to prove why superheroes need secret identities, he becomes a walking puppet for Tony Stark with no real purpose.
In the movie, Spider-Man is just another number against the fight with Captain America and his troop. There was no real purpose other than that. As spectacular as the appearance was, it could have actually meant something.
In the comic, Spider-Man as the hero which fought diligently to keep his identity secret, because of the fear of getting his family in the crosshairs of any villain, unmasks on TV for the whole world to see and in doing so strengthens the argument presented by Stark that any logical superhero would see the need for registration.
Once again, the comic book develops a purpose to Spider-Man which is derived from what every comic book and movie fan of Spider-Man know. The powerful statement that is made when Spider-Man unmasks and even J Jonah Jameson is in disbelief. Sure, Spider-Man starts off as a pawn in Stark's plans, but with the return to his origins makes the mistake of siding with Stark more obvious.
The villains
What's a superhero story with no villain or a grander statement to be made.
In the movie, there's a villain tacked on which in a sense makes the already divided Avengers worse, but that even becomes obnoxious after a while.
In the comic, the villain isn't as obvious, but it's a big statement over the way people expect the government to protect them. There's a point in the comic where the utopian society becomes undeniably dystopian and the villains become the heroes and there's no real line to divide either.
The villains of this story play a large role in the division of an entire group and not just question the purpose of the heroes in the group but the views which keep the superheroes together and the world supporting them. This is lost because the movie sets its sights on dividing the Avengers over quarrels of personal guys instead of fundamental issues which, throughout the story, blur the line between good and evil.
Key roles
There are some essential players in Civil War which intensify the battles and make an impact on how serious the issue really is.
In the movie, the division of Captain America and Black Widow tries to represent this, but with the romance story which was developing between Bruce Banner and Black Widow it isn't efficiently put out there. Then the "friendship" element tries to do this and still the adversarial friendship Captain America and Iron Man had isn't powerful enough to emphasize this point. Then there's no way to have a neutral point because it's not a fundamental issue, it's an issue or preference.
In the comic, in the comic families are divided and friendships are put through the test and destruction is apparent. There's those in favor, those opposed and those who are neutral, but what's most powerful is that there is not only a difference of opinion one way or another, even when there are the same opinions there can be a discussion over that opinion which conflicts. Just a brilliant story arc.
While Spider-Man, Ant-Man and Black Panther are great addition to Civil War, their purpose lacks. Black Panther is used as a way to being a third obstacle to the movie, but that really just loses focus to the major issues involved in such a personal battle. The neutrality of Black Panther at the start of the comic for Civil War helps to put the frustration of superheroes, but that is lost in the movie.Spider-Man in the comic is still on the fence on the issue, there's still a struggle there as there should be with such a monumental act. There's a complexity to Spider-Man that helps make the Civil War story human. And Ant-man just gets used in the film for the numbers game while in the comic it's a pivotal role.
Conclusions and progression
In war, or any big story, the finally brings about some sort of big change or realization which changes the way the audience perceives the story. If a movie doesn't get you angry, make you sad, scare you or cause some sort of reaction it really must not be that good of a movie.
In the movie, there is really no resolution. The big conclusion gets taken over by a very anger filled fight which leads to a puzzling end.
In the comic, the ending to the 7 main comic series has a huge change which makes readers wonder about what's to come.
Once again there's a giant disconnect. The movie prefers a visually stunning moment instead of a impactful, thought provoking or genuine end. The comic has a beautiful finale which hits the conscious of the reader. The licensing of the characters can cause problems for the movies, but the main characters needed are all in the film, with the exception of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.
Through these major 5 reasons the Civil War story arc seems wasted. It could have mirrored a cynical view on the world as is, it could have been a story which brought some metaphysical view on the self or it could have been an all out non-apologetic story which showed a dismal future full of totalitarian rulers and governmental superpowers, instead we are to settle for a visually stunning action film which has no real plot which gets resolved.
With all that being said, the acting from the entire cast is spectacular. All comedic aspects of the movies hit well, the fight/battle scenes are marvelous and the CG isn't cheesy.
Each main Avenger, that is included in the film, gets a fantastic chance to shine.
This felt like another big studio film that is too big to fail.
I give this superhero movie a 3 out of 5 Popcorns. The story was average, the acting was great, the visuals were great, but the use of all the spectacular things that Marvel brought to one film fell short. The story felt weak and small for such a huge movie.
Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" is in theaters now.
