Captain America: Civil War

Welcome to week 13 of the 39 week countdown to Avengers: Doomsday. I’m watching the MCU films in order of release, one per week, in the buildup to December 17, when Avengers:Doomsday hits theaters. This countdown will culminate the following day, with my thoughts on that film.

Though this is ostensibly the third Captain America film, in many ways it feels more like Avengers 3 than Captain America 3. It features a larger roster of Avengers than either of the first two films, and even its story is a continuation of the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. True, Captain America is at the center of the story, and we view the majority of the film from his perspective, but this is clearly an Avengers-centric film. Bare minimum it should be called Captain America vs. Iron Man.

The setup to the finale in this film is incredible. It seems like there is no way to maneuver Captain America and Iron Man into a battle with true stakes, but the film takes its time, and the villain, Baron Zemo, orchestrates the conflict brilliantly. And then, when the battle does come, there are real stakes, and actual injuries, but it’s all okay. Or so we think. Only when the film comes to its finale do we realize the civil war we thought was saw was only an overture to the opera to come. Suddenly there are life or death stakes, and Iron Man is out to murder Captain America, and Bucky. It’s unreal how real it gets, and because of all the work the scriptwriters put in to the building phase, nothing feels faked or forced. Truly, it’s a work of genius.

This was the fourth time I’d watched the film, and I noticed a subtle touch this time, that I had not noticed before. The film begins with a fight foreshadowing the later conflict, when Captain America fights another armor-clad foe, who also happens to be a former friend, in Brock Rumlow, now known as Crossbones.

Crossbones is just the appetizer villain. The encounter with him sets the stage for the battle ahead, and paves the way for the real villain. As I said, Zemo's plan is masterful, and the way it all unfolds is gripping. The ending is utterly unexpected, and changes all that came before it. We thought we saw the civil war when the Avengers chose sides, and fought six vs. six at the airport, but the actual war closes the film.

Almost forgotten in all of this is that Spider-Man makes his MCU debut. I don’t want jump ahead in the chronology, so all I say is for the first time, a movie gets the character right. MCU Spider-Man feels like comic book Spider-Man, something that can’t be said about either of the previous adaptations of the hero.

We also get the first look at a much more obscure hero, Black Panther. He was another of the D-Listers Marvel was “stuck with” when launching their superhero franchise, and as we will see in a few weeks, they were able to turn him into a star, just as they did with their other so-called leftovers.

This is a tremendously great movie. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s exciting. It has layers to it, and themes that fold into one another. At the risk of spoiling the plot (stop reading if you haven’t watched yet), one such theme is how revenge can poison those who seek it. Black Panther seeks vengeance against Bucky, who he wrongly believes to have killed his father, and while trying to kill Bucky, encounters Zemo, the man who actually killed him. Zemo, in turn, was doing it to avenge his own father. While Iron Man is trying to kill Captain American and Bucky, for killing his father, Black Panther breaks the cycle of vengeance by sparing Zemo.

There are many such layered nuances in the film, and it’s well worth watching. It’s among the best of all the MCU films.

“I thought it was great! There were a lot of jokes that I didn’t understand at first, but once my dad explained them to me, I thought they were really funny. I liked the two superhero fights, and appreciated that Captain America spared Tony Stark at the end. Even though Iron Man tried to kill him and Bucky, Captain America always does the right thing.”

I watched this on its Thursday night opening, on May 5, 2016. I know I watched it again at least once more between that date and 2024, but I don’t recall when. Letterboxd tells me I watched on on June 22, 2024, and again today.

I own this on a 4k UHD Blu-ray. You can click the image below to buy a copy. (I get nothing if you do, so this isn’t a ploy to make money.)

I’m going with the entire airport fight, but specifically when Iron Man reacts to Giant man’s appearance by exclaiming, “Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they’d like to disclose? I’m open to suggestions,” which happens 48 seconds into the clip below.

Doubtful. This is a self-contained story for the most part. We get to know the heroes better, but the conflicts created within this story have been subsequently resolved.

While contemplating this project my biggest question was whether or not I should rate the films. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m terrible at assigning films a score. I either like ‘em or I don’t. However, I know readers like ratings, so I’ve come up with something close. I’m going to rank the films as I go along. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, and with each week it grows more difficult.

1. The Avengers

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

4. Captain America: Civil War

5. Ant-Man

6. Iron Man 2

7. Iron Man

8. Avengers: Age of Ultron

9. Iron Man 3

10. Thor

11. Captain America: The First Avenger

12. The Incredible Hulk

13. Thor: The Dark World

Next week I’ll write about the 14th installment in the MCU, Doctor Strange.