1st Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (NO SPOILERS)

The third Captain America movie is titled Captain America: Civil War and it puts the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters to the test of standing behind their beliefs, testing everyone to defend what they believe is the right thing to do, all the while, they continue to question if what they are doing and believing is right.

To be honest, whatever you spend to see this movie is going to be well worth it, as this feels like the smartest Marvel film to date.

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A quickie film synopsis reads, "Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team."

This is no Batman V Superman, where Zack Snyder was compelled to tackle three primary stories in one. No, this is Civil War and the story sticks to that focus, period. You have the situation and the bad guy(s).

I have always felt that among all the MCU movies, the Captain America stories tend to address the backbone of the MCU movie realm that includes The Avengers, SHIELD, the government and the civilians of Earth. It's our story, the human story and the ever-sweeping impact that super-powered actions have on humanity.

For me, the movie trailers did spoil some things and had me looking for certain events when in reality it would have been just fine to not know and see things.

All in all, the first act of the film opens with an intro of a few different events, one of which I never saw coming and is integral to the entire story.


This film could literally feel like the next Avengers or Iron Man movie, but it is about Captain Rogers and the government so the focus is there. We've seen his attitude about government oversight in previous films so it comes as no surprise when he takes the stand that he does about oversight on the Avengers.

But the issue at hand has each character reflecting on their own responsibilities and how to address them.

For every new Marvel character introduced, the inclusion felt pretty smooth and not forced, while seeing updates on some of our newer Avenger team members was also a nice touch. None of it was overdone.

I love both actors that have been cast as Peter Parker and King T'Chaka and these new characters have just been given some of the best entrances possible. I TOTALLY cannot wait for either upcoming stand-alone film of these characters!

All the while, in acts one and two, we're getting updates on most of our tried and true favorites.

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Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo toned down the quip-filled humor and made this a very serious, adult situation, even with some adult language thrown around, while still leaving the wonderful tone of humor in at all the right times that we've come to love.  (I had to mention this because Age of Ultron almost felt too quippy to me, and that was getting distracting.)

The Russo's really did a wonderful job, having taken notes from Age of Ultron and knowing when to elaborate and when not to draw out certain aspects of the story.

I love how the physical conflicts seemed to be natural extensions of the differences between characters, without blowing it out of proportion.

One of my favorite aspects about this film franchise is how they took the so-so character of Capt America from the comic pages and made him absolutely super-cool in the movies. I mean, that shield does some awesome and unnatural things, doesn't it?

The other thing I like is that I think I just saw one of the best ever, origin stories, when the Russo's took the liberty to abbreviate in the best way possible, the origin of Peter Parker. MAN, more directors must take heed on that one!

I also loved the updates on The Falcon's gear!

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Sure, it takes two hours and twenty-seven minutes to tell the story of Civil War, but the only reason I knew it was going on and on was because my bladder was starting to remind me that I had tanked some water a few hours ago. But damn you, bladder, you will do your job and hold out until the credits are over buddy!!!

And yes, stay through the credits. That's all I'm saying.

One a scale of 1 to 10, normally a film like this would get a popcorn 10 rating, but that's the equivalent of a dramatic 7 in my movie review scale. (I tend to tone down the popcorn fun movies versus real movies.)

But this film has action, story, conflict, relationships and inner discoveries that go way beyond any fantasy story line, thus forcing me to give this movie a dramatic 9 out of 10.  I'd give it a 10, but I'm afraid to step out on that ledge and reserving that score for the 'Gone with the Wind' type films!

Go true believer, go see Captain America: Civil War and be impressed. Be surprised and be satisfied with what you will be seeing. I believe you will come away knowing you did not spend frivolously.

(I call this my 1st review because I'll probably dwell on the film and have more to say later, probably in a spoiler-filled version of this review later on.)

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