Posted on 05/10/2016 2:28:10 PM PDT by LS
After some unintended delays, I finally got to see "Captain America: Civil War" today. It did not disappoint.
Marvel continues to roll out highly entertaining, funny, and engaging movies that nevertheless address serious issues, and not in a typical liberal-pap way. "Captain America: Civil War," is no different.
To understand the film, though, one really has to have watched the previous Captain America, Iron Man, and Avengers movies. The plots are deeply interwoven and the characters introduced over a period of some seven or eight films. In the previous Captain America film, "The Winter Soldier," Steve Rogers, who has been turned into a super soldier in WW II to fight the Nazis, then who fell into Arctic waters and was left for dead, reunites with his childhood friend and fellow soldier, James "Bucky" Barnes. Only the old Bucky ain't the new Bucky. It seems ol' Buck has been captured by Hydra, given the same treatment Cap has received (plus a metal bionic arm), and had his brain scrambled through some adept Hydra programming.
Just think Keith Olbermann tapes.
Anyway, on command the Winter Soldier turns into a chaos machine---except he was framed for an explosion at a UN meeting that was seeking to impose "oversight" on the Avengers. [SIDEBAR TO THE PLOT: In "The Avengers" and "The Age of Ultron," the Avengers---in attempting to save the world---did more than a little collateral damage. You can't have a Hulk smashing up buildings, have glass and cars flying everywhere, and not have people die. But it was for a good cause.) The UN is gravely concerned that the Avengers are now out of control and want them (read, want to force them) to sign a protocol putting them under a globalist UN supervisory board. Iron Man/Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.), having previously in the "Age of Ultron" come down on the other side of this (namely that the Avengers had to save humanity whether humanity liked it or not) now decides perhaps limitations are good.]
Making a version of the gun control argument, he asks if it isn't better to accept some measure of control before they are completely shackled. His metal counterpart, War Machine (Don Cheadle, a former Air Force pilot), agrees as does the newcomer from the "Age of Ultron," the Vision.
On the other side of the ledger---even before this involves Bucky---is Captain America (played by Chris Evans), his partner the Falcon (Anthony Mackie---rumored to be a Trump supporter), and the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson, in pure hotness). Rogers argues that there would be times that the Avengers would be needed and not authorized to act (think: UN in Rwanda) or times when it was told to act, but shouldn't (for example, American servicemen ordered to seize privately held guns from civilians). Stark insists that their powers have gotten too large, with too much associated destruction, and the Vision even argues that there might be a correlation between the power of the Avengers and the rise of baddies internationally.
One can almost hear in the Vision's comments the Haughty John Kerry insisting that the rise of ISIS is because the US is too powerful, or something like that.
Barnes, meanwhile, is tracked down and, after a terrific chase scene and fight with Cap and the Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman (TIME OUT: ok, his father, the king of Wakanda where the metal for Cap's amazing shield is found, was killed in the explosion for which Bucky is framed, and Black Lives Matter to T'Challa, so he is after Bucky, too) the Winter Soldier is captured and, supposedly, secured.
Of course, we all know that no super hero is "ever" truly secure and while the team debates signing the protocol, a planted Hydra agent speaks the magic code words that activate Barnes again and he breaks free.
The "civil war" occurs when Cap gets information revealing that Barnes was framed, but Stark doesn't want to hear it. Cap, in an effort to protect his friend, plans to get to the bottom of it while freeing Winter Soldier, while Iron Man, feeling short handed, enlists Spider-Man, War Machine, and the Vision (but he also has on his side the Black Widow---played by Scarlett Johansson, and the Black Panther, er, more or less). Cap's "army" consists of Hawkeye---pulled out of retirement, the Falcon, Bucky, the Scarlet Witch, and Ant Man. Once the battle unfolds, the matchups are delicious, with Spider-Man slugging it out with Bucky, the Falcon and Vision scrapping in a one-sided fight, and then, revealing a new power, Ant Man grows himself to Giant Man, holding off the Stark team until Bucky can escape.
The action doesn't come any better than this, and recalls the incredible final "Age of Ultron" scene where the Avengers hold off an army of robots.
What easily could have been a let down in the final confrontation between Cap, Iron Man, and Bucky in pure special effects nevertheless takes on added depth due to the revelations about Bucky's (programmed) murder of Tony Stark's family in 1991.
In the end, a final conclusion as to the necessity of having a society of laws and of individuals, when demanded by their conscience, breaking those laws is left unresolved. Indeed, safe now in Wakanda---minus his mechanical arm, which Iron Man shot off---the Winter Soldier submits himself to the freeze-dried process until they can figure out a way to unscramble his mind. It was, in fact, the perfect Ayn Randian ending: the individual made the choice to subordinate himself to save others.
A vengeful Iron Man discusses the recent events with War Machine, who, in the battle had lost the use of his legs, and is reassured that no man is above the law. But Stark doesn't seem quite as sure, even more so when he receives a letter (with a cell phone) from Captain America trying to bury the hatchet and promising that if the Avengers ever need him, he will assemble with the rest.
Taking the last four Marvel movies together---"Guardians of the Galaxy," "Ant Man," "Age of Ultron," and "Civil War"---these form a terrific quartet of fast-paced, entertaining, and clever films. Based on much of what comes out of Hollywood, these are refreshing and provocative. The non-super hero movies might want to take a lesson.
Loved the movie. Have especially loved all of the Captain America movies.
This one was more like an overall Avengers movie too.
Thye di an outstanding job.
Excellent movie. Watched is Saturday with my son. Very politically timely movie and glad to see Capt. America lived up to his name in wanting America to be “special” and not beholden to the UN. A little surprised in Tony Stark’s stance since he’s traditionally a rebel and an outsider, but I guess somebody had to be on the other side. All in all a very good movie.
I’m sure Hillary appreciates everything you did by paying good money to see a movie put out by her supporters, so they can turn around and give Hillary a cut.
It’s never really elaborated on extensively in the movie, but the main reason Stark does a 180 and decides to support the accord is largely due to his guilt for having created Ultron. As was said, Stark has been reckless and anti-authority up till Age of Ultron, then his decision to ignore warnings led to Ultron’s creation and all the destruction and death he caused.
“A little surprised in Tony Stark’s stance since he’s traditionally a rebel and an outsider, but I guess somebody had to be on the other side.”
Well, even in the comics this choice was a real role reversal, since Cap would normally back the government up without question, and Stark would always question the government. I think they did it that way because otherwise the story would be more boring and predictable.
In the comics, you also had the Green Goblin working for the government leading a team of “heroes”, so there were even more role reversals going on to spice things up.
Believe me, I have absolutely no problem with anyone who enjoys fantasy. It has a long and important tradition in literature and art. Its just that I don’t get it..made up characters doing made up impossible things with eye-catching visuals, load music scores etc. I’d rather a good book or walk in the park. To each his own, I suppose.
Part of Tony’s turn around was guilt, Ultron was his fault, he’s the one who brought the Hulk to Wakovia and that situation went out of hand. But also part of it is that Tony is an engineer even more than a rebel, and engineers fix things. He saw the problems that come when he (and the rest of the Avengers) get to do whatever they want without supervision and saw the obvious fix of supervision. Notice he even kept that engineer thinking when Cap was asking him what would happen if the oversight committee got corrupted or was just slow and his answer was they can fix the accord.
Not me. Picked up a pirate copy at the flea market for 2 bucks BEFORE USA release. BTW, I thought it was mediocre. (Wife did too).
To All except Renegade, Hillary sends her warm thanks for the Financial Support you provided by Seeing this movie put out by her Supporters!
Yep, you don’t get it.
My wife just doesn’t get Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or the Avengers.
Thank God I do :)
you don’t have to fix the hardware... we can patch it with software...
Besides the first Iron Man film Disney has churned out an endless stream of bland soulless blockbusters.
Afraid your right about much of Hollyweird.
Baby boomer comic Hero movie fans have not only enabled Hillary and liberals to destroy our country.
X-men fans have helped destroy dozens of boys “groomed” to satisfy the X-men director’s appetite for young male flesh.
Keep feeding Hollyweird...
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Last 4 Marvel movies and you didn’t include Deadpool? It was biggest grossing opening for a R rated movie ever.
Hmmmm. Political messaging? I'm wondering if there's a lot more there.
It’s too bad the writers of Captain America the comic books are a bunch of flaming libs that make the Tea Party Cap’s enemy now.
Read Captain America Ground Zero @ blogspot. for a real American Cap story.
I believe Fox, not Disney, owns Deadpool along with all the rest of the X-Men movie universe. (Which is why Scarlet Witch of the Avengers is not considered a mutant in the Disney movies.) Even though Marvel developed these superheroes — Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, they only own the Avengers movie rights which Disney was able to obtain when they bought Marvel.
Sony even owns Spider-Man. Disney owned Marvel and Sony have worked out an agreement for Spider-Man to appear in the Avenger movies. They are supposedly trying to work out something with Fox concerning the X-men.
There are so many Marval movies out that I cannot keep track. I just saw old The Dark World movie that came out 3 years ago..... did not know it existed.
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