Captain America: Civil War

Today I got a chance to see “Captain America: Civil War,” which was released yesterday. In 2014’s “Captain America: The Winder Soldier,” directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, gave a first-rate political thriller in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The same directing/writing team is back to start Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Captain America: Civil War,” and they don’t disappoint.

The film takes place one year after what happened in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and opens with a split of the Avengers – Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) – on a mission in Africa to stop a group of terrorists, and it doesn’t end well. On the side, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) has a guilt trip (not underserved!) put on him by the grieving mother of an American (Alfre Woodard) caught in the battle during “Avengers: Age of the Ultron’s” climactic Battle of Sokovia.

Stark brings in the man who wants the Hulk, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by William Hurt, now the US Secretary of State, to the Avengers headquarters’ to tell his soldiers about the threatening “Sokovia Accords,” which will turn over regulation and control of “enhanced” individuals to a United Nations committee. Allan Bourdius said in his review, “As if the United Nations (in our own real world knowledge) has ever shown itself capable of anything productive.”

The sides quickly head up with the most uncontrolled, Stark, leading the case to have the Avengers put under international control. He immediately has his friend James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and the Vision (Paul Bettany), who’s basically a Stark creation as well.

How many times can you recall hearing Stark’s argument when it comes to expanding government in our lifetime? Acquiesce a little, so you don’t give up a lot – except the acquiescing never is so miniscule. Captain America is firm that he won’t sign on, and The Falcon and Scarlet Witch are on his side, the latter ending up on effective house arrest in the Avengers’ headquarters.

As the Sokovia Accords are about to be approved during the UN session in Vienna, Austria, a bomb goes off killing a handful at the conference including King T’Chaka of Wakanda, played by John Kani, who was the main international shot of the Accords (Bourdius mentioned, “Wakanda is the nation which is the sole source of the fictional “vibranium”, of which Cap’s shield is made”). The attack is blamed on the Winter Soldier, better known as Cap’s friend James “Bucky” Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan. Cap decides to kidnap Bucky, which starts some issues between Team Iron Man and Team Captain America.

As the between the Avengers starts, we also get introduced to Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), as well as seeing once again Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).

Bourdius admitted, “Unfortunately, I can’t really give much more detail without spoilers. Suffice to say that the story arcs presupposed from watching the trailers aren’t exactly correct, so there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep everyone interested. Civil War is the longest MCU film to date (2:26), but it never drags.”

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s” themes of absolute power damaging absolutely and some distrust of power can be fine are continued by “Captain America: Civil War,” and adds in the rights of the individual to make choices for themselves being higher to the needs of authority to control those choices. One character says, “Compromise where you can, but where you can’t: don’t.”

That’s a feeling many of us will be thinking about in our politics as we are getting closer to November’s election. I agree with Bourdius when he says, “Civil War earns its place among libertarian-leaning cultural offerings that “our side” would be well to use in bringing people towards a limited government/limited authority viewpoint. A government with the power to protect you absolutely is also powerful enough to deprive you of everything that makes life worth living.”

Bourdius goes on to say, “And it’s a film like CA:CW which shows how conservatives and libertarians regularly fail cultural tests. I can envision conservatives of several different stripes discarding the film simply because it has a character named “Black Panther” (“Oh! This must be a racial justice effort!”), and that’s a total shame. As in our own lives, politics, and cultural interactions, lines do get blurred in the movie, but in the end, inalienable truths on life and liberty turn out to be, well, inalienable.” There will be people who don’t like the message the film delivers, particularly those who think picking the side that isn’t as evil is a continued path to success.

In the end, all of us have choices to make, and we can break down this year’s election to, “Are you ‘Team Captain America,’ or are you ‘Team Iron Man’?” Are you for everyone as individuals, or for authority? I know for sure that I will always be Team Captain America.

Spoiler Alert: in the post-credits scene, Parker is recovering from injuries, with his Aunt May, played by Marisa Tomei, giving him an ice-pack, when his web-shooters project a Spider-Man symbol on his ceiling.

You have to go see this movie in the theater, if you are Marvel fan, an Avengers fan, and/or a Captain America or Iron Man fan. As a sequel to “Winter Soldier” and “Age of Ultron,” this movie succeeded on every level. This is the best of the “Captain America” movies, and is by far, the best superhero movie this year. I consider this another one of my favorites. Phase 3 is off to an excellent start and I’m looking forward to the other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hope Davis and John Slattery are in here playing Iron Man's parents and Emily VanCamp reprises her role as Sharon Carter.

Stay tuned next Friday when I continue “The Matrix Month.”