Thursday, May 12, 2016

Movie: Captain America - Civil War

Last night, I went out with some friends and my sister to see the latest Avengers movie. I'm not a huge movie-goer... not even a big movie fan LOL, but now that curling is over, I need some activities to keep me busy. Plus, I've been wanting to catch up with friends :)

Anyway, I thought Captain America - Civil War would be the perfect topic for today's post :)


For those interested, here is the synopsis:
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. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes superheroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side.

I'm not a die-hard fan of the Avengers. I've enjoyed the movies I've seen, but I've also missed quite a few such as the two first Captain America movies, the last Iron Man and Thor, Ant Man, etc. ^_^;  So for Captain America - Civil War, I pretty much went into it blind. I don't think I even saw the trailer LOL.

In my opinion, fans of the Marvel franchise will be satisfied. Captain America - Civil War was an enjoyable movie. Supposedly, it's a Captain America movie which is why he's the prominent character, but... this was really an Avengers movie. There were so many superheroes in this one and with big roles too, not simply cameo appearances, and that worked for me. I thought the dilemma was interesting. Perhaps not the way it was handled by everyone, but it definitively added depth to the movie. It was more than simply going after a villain and saving the planet. Then again, the scriptwriters have done an awesome job at adding twists and turns, coming up with good plots and staying away from stereotypes.

I thought it was interesting the positions that Captain America and Iron Man took, choice/freedom and UN respectively. Perhaps it stems from their background... Captain America used to be part of the military and look how it turned out for him. He knows first-hands that higher-ups have agendas and people are not always the priority. As for Iron Man, he grew up wild - did what he wanted, when he wanted, etc. So for once, he's looking for supervision. Of course, neither position is absolutely right or wrong... Wished they could have come to a consensus - perhaps if they had more time? I also felt Captain America was quite rash and a bit condescending, but I don't really know the character well enough to judge.

Between, there was a ton of action in the movie! And good action to boot! I watched it in 3D and at times, I thought it was quite dizzying ^_^; It was great fun to see the superheroes fighting each other - as they know their weaknesses... One of my complaints though is that great, the superheroes want to reduce the deaths their fights cause - awesome! They're being made more aware, yay! But what about material collateral damage? Also, there was one scene where the Winter Soldier and Captain America fought against a SWAT team and cops... You might not kill them, but the injuries you're causing? Those are going to be life-changing and not in a positive way. Just saying...

My last comment will be that the movie had a more serious tone than most Avengers movie. Yes, there were moments where I smiled/laughed out loud... but not that many. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but humor is something I expect in these movies.

Okay, I lied. Here's my last comment - I appreciate that they kept the baiting at a minimum. They introduced some new characters that apparently will have movies... but they weren't pushy or heavy-handed and that was nice.

Want to know a funny thing? The whole movie, I kept expecting to see the actress Olivia Munn... I thought I saw her in the trailer, so I kept waiting and waiting... Turns out she's in X-Men. Oups ^_^; In my defense, costumed people with powers!