Release date:
|
May 6, 2016
|
Director:
|
Anthony and Jo Russo
|
Cast:
Language:
|
Chris Evans, Robert
Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany,
Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Jeremy Renner, Sebastian
Stan, Emily VanCamp, William Hurt
English
|
Captain America: Civil War is a fun though
somewhat forgettable film, but for one completely memorable, hugely entertaining,
utterly paisa vasool element. The
name’s Parker, Peter Parker.
You have to wonder
whether this is the result Marvel Studios was looking for when they decided to
introduce a teenaged Spiderman into the ongoing series of money-spinning films
from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Civil
War’s hero is supposedly that great-looking, sexy, “enhanced” individual, Steve
Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, played by that great-looking, impossibly sexy
actor Chris Evans. Yet it is obvious that writers Christopher Markus and
Stephen McFeely ran out of ideas to sustain a third solo venture for Cap.
The result is a
film that should more appropriately have been titled Captain America Vs Iron Man (with a very special appearance by Spidey).
The richness of
2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger
is missing here despite the presence of a multitude of superpeople. The film’s
themes of power, control and accountability are interesting, but they are not
explored with much depth. The special effects are top notch though.
Captain America: Civil War travels to Lagos with some members of Marvel’s
Avengers team: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sam Wilson /
Falcon and Wanda Maximoff / Scarlett Witch. There they prevent the theft of a
biological weapon but in the bargain end up killing innocents when Wanda uses
her telekinetic powers to divert a bomb blast into the sky but accidentally
destroys a nearby building.
When they get back
home, the US Secretary of State informs them that 117 member countries of the
UN have joined hands over the Sokovia Accords that will set up a body to
oversee their work as Avengers. Tony Stark / Iron Man is willing to submit to
supervision, since he still blames himself for the destruction caused by the
robot Ultron in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. Steve, on the other hand, is suspicious of governments.
The group splits
over this disagreement. Tony recruits a hitherto unknown Peter / Spidey on his
team, while Clint Barton / Hawkeye returns to help Steve’s group.
The film is about
the result of this rift.
From the word go it
is clear that in Captain America: Civil
War, MCU is keen to counter the well-justified charge that it is a
predominantly male white universe. Sadly, nothing much changes, despite the
presence of three blacks (all men) and two women (both white) in the film’s population
of nearly a dozen superpeople. This is what happens when you approach the issue
of representation as an obligation in response to criticism rather than out of
conviction. And so in Civil War, as
with all the other MCU films, white men continue to run the world while blacks
and women are charitably permitted to play their sidekicks.
That being said,
the half-hearted attempt at representation leads to an over-crowded film with
short shrift being given to most characters. Natasha, who is played by the
incredibly charismatic Scarlett Johansson, is still on the margins. Her purring
voice lingers on long after each of her fleeting appearances, which is a
reminder that she – the character and the actress – deserves so much more than
to be a satellite player in someone else’s world.
Wanda (Elizabeth
Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) have some interesting moments together. It’s
nice to see Wanda’s character developing because she has such Hulk-like
potential in the way she struggles with the consequences of her abilities. Sam
Wilson / Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and War Machine / James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) are
dull though. And Black Panther / T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) remains a shadowy
figure on the sidelines throughout, which is criminal considering how iconic
the Panther is in American superheroverse.
The stand-out
supporting character backed by solid writing in this film is Spiderman (or
should we call him Spiderman-boy) with his exasperating youthfulness, garrulous
charm and hilarious fascination with the superpowers he is just beginning to
understand. He is an absolute hoot. So is the rest of the Avengers’ bemused reaction
to him. It helps that actor Tom Holland is a find.
Spidey is one of Civil War’s two highlights. The other is
the account of Tony’s childhood, given through two well-executed flashbacks
that are perfectly placed in the film.
Oddly enough,
Captain America as the central character gets a lot of screen space but little
heft. At the end of the day, the sharpest memory of him in this film remains a visually
spectacular fight between him and Iron Man towards the end, and an earlier
scene in which he physically prevents a chopper from taking off with the
strength of his bare arms. Oh man, what arms! No doubt Chris Evans is gorgeous,
and when Tony Stark says he is tempted to punch in Cap’s “perfect teeth”, you
know there are few stars better suited to that description. But he is also a
fine actor and it seems such a waste that his own story does not lift off in
this film.
Take Tony and
Spidey out of Captain America: Civil War,
and what you get is a series of well-paced, well-choreographed fights with a
sliver of a story. A pity because it has so many elements that, if tapped,
could have made it way more than just an enjoyable but generic superhero film.
Rating
(out of five): **3/4
CBFC Rating (India):
|
U/A
|
Running time:
MPAA Rating (US):
|
147 minutes
PG-13 (for
extended sequences of violence, action & mayhem)
|
Release date in US:
|
May 6, 2016
|
Related
article by Anna MM Vetticad: “Boys will
be boys and girls will be afterthoughts: The hyper-masculine world of superhero
films”
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