*****
After a mission in Lagos goes wrong, the Avengers are faced with political intervention from the UN, who want to put restraints on their actions. The Anti-Hero Registration Act drives a rift between Captain America and Iron Man, meaning the other Avengers are forced to pick sides...
After the damp squib that was Captain America: The First Avenger, it was a massive surprise when the successor, The Winter Soldier turned out not only to be a great Marvel film, but a great addition to the spy-thriller genre as a whole. Whilst The Avengers: Age of Ultron failed to live up to hype, it is with great pleasure that I can say that Civil War takes us back to the quality writing and filmmaking of The Winter Soldier and Iron Man 3. Indeed, this is something of a masterclass in how to write such a multi-strand script. With so many characters now vying for screen time, you would imagine that some would become sidelined and made almost irrelevant, and yet that doesn't happen - each Avenger has their own part to play, and their development isn't compromised by their being so many of them. Alongside that, four new characters are introduced, including Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider Man (Tom Holland, who is utterly charming as a younger incarnation of the web-slinging hero), and, aside from the Martin Freeman character, it's safe to say we become properly acquainted.
Like the best of the Marvel films, it packs an emotional punch that some dramas could only wish to sustain. Admittedly, we have been with this characters for some films now, but we aren't bored of them in the slightest - they remain multifaceted beings with their own agendas, and conflict will undoubtedly arise from that. At the centre of the drama is the difficult three-way relationship between Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and tortured Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), with the taut final act offering a gruelling showdown between our heroes. It's not all angst and anger however - there are genuine moments of laugh-out-loud humour and the playful jibes of the older films, although toned down, are still there. Ant Man (Paul Rudd) turns up for some much-needed comic relief, and Downey Jr. is once again gifted with his character's dry wit and sarcasm. It's a difficult balance to accomplish, and yet the screenwriters have done it flawlessly.
Packed with tightly edited action sequences, impressive showdowns and an emotional punch that will leave you feeling a little empty afterwards, Civil War is an impressively grown-up comic book film. Yes, there are the quips, the slightly silly moments and the costumes will always be somewhat ridiculous, but at the heart of the film is something very mature indeed: the frailty of human relationships.
Comments
Post a Comment