'Captain America: Civil War' review: Enthralling, yet predictable

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Joe Russo and Anthony Russo

Language: English

Ratings: ***1/2

A fitting title for Captain America: Civil War would be either Captain America vs Iron Man or Avengers: Civil War. Captain (Evans) is the protagonist here, but the story has other important players too. The story of how the Avengers need to be answerable and yet are internally divided (think Age of Ultron) isn’t original.


Image: Captain America Facebook

However, the addition of new characters, like the boy from Queens who can spin a web aka Spider-Man or the African Prince turned crime-fighter aka Black Panther, keep Civil War engaging. In the film, the Avengers are now answerable to a UN body, a request that takes on a more demanding note after the number of collateral deaths mount.

Captain America, while defending the sovereignty of the Avengers and explaining this to a convinced Iron Man (Downey Jr) and Black Widow, also needs to save his pal Bucky, who is a conspiracy target. This results in a divide within the Avengers, with each picking sides and players. In a showdown fight sequence, you’ll be hard-pressed to take your eyes off the screen for even a second.

Stunts and sequences in the film, like Bucky Barnes’s (Sebastian Stan) ef fortless mounting of a spinning motorcycle in a chase sequence, will enthrall even those who have seen it all and are weary of the repetitive screenplay-format of this genre. The dialogues, in the most Marvel-esque way, are witty and will elicit chuckles. Captain America himself is still wonderful and Tony Stark still cocky, but both exhibit vulnerability. All the old, but especially the new characters have a winsome arc in the story.

Superhero movies are often not about the story, but its treatment. The ‘save the world’ story is a predictable goal that most tend to meet. Where Civil War succeeds, is in making this journey fun.