Saturday 7 May 2016

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR MOVIE REVIEW

Bottom line: Possibly one of the best Marvel films to have come out recently, Captain America:Civil War rides on the back of script that entertains through and through. It is smart, coherent, funny and more importantly a genuine game changer for the movies to follow.

Review: I must admit I'm not a big Marvel fan. Not to say I don't enjoy their films but I'm not as crazy a fan who gathers any small piece of news related to a film in the run-up to its release. But sitting in those reclining seats, watching Civil War was that rare and satisfying experience that's so hard to find in cinemas nowadays. Having earned their spurs with an equally terrific The Winter Soldier, director-duo Anthony and Joe Russo deliver yet another solid film which is special in many ways. With superhero films releasing every month, filmmakers face the twin challenge of raising the bar each time in terms of scale and offering to the audience something different from what they've seen before. In Civil War, the makers drift away from the established norm by creating a less menacing and formidable villain whose primary intention is not just mass destruction and genocide, but to sow the seeds of an ideological divide that would rip the Avengers apart and give each one of them a cause to fight the other. It is no surprise, then, that the confrontation scene where the divided Avengers take on each other at a deserted airport is exhilarating, laugh-out-loud hilarious and a complete treat for the senses. Each character gets at least a moment to shine, particularly Spider-Man (or Spider-boy, rather) and Ant-Man, whose extended cameos provide for many laughs. Convincingly pulling-off a scene swamped with so many superheroes was always going to be an uphill task, but the makers never make the mistake of taking themselves too seriously and stick to the basic principle of giving us a good time.

Fighting internal compunction for having killed innocent people and torn between the need for government intervention and loyalty towards best buddies, Robert Downey Jr. aka Iron Man is in very good form and though he doesn't have his share of cheeky one-liners this time around, I was pleasantly surprised to see his darker side as he takes umbrage to Captain America's actions. The film, then, belongs to Chris Evans who seems to have internalised the role of Captain America. Never letting his good ol' fashioned nature slip into a caricature, he delivers an honest performance that makes his character immensely likeable.

I'm going with 4/5 for Civil War. Gear up for two and a half hours of extravaganza that delivers enough bang for your buck. This is the stuff blockbusters are made of.