Captain America Civil War Pretty Much Worth Fighting About

by | May 6, 2016


I just came from seeing Civil War.  Being in Japan, I'm 13 hours ahead of the U.S. east coast, so it was a late showing here and still probably before most folks in the States could see it.  In fact, I could have gone to a midnight showing last night, which would have been Thursday morning/afternoon back home.  But only getting a few hours of sleep before a training course Friday morning didn't sound like a good idea.

So how was it?  Well... It was good.  I hesitate to say very good, but it WAS very good.  Just not great. Not quite as great as I'd hoped it would be.  I actually liked Winter Soldier better. There was more of a cool conspiracy plot to movie #2.  The main pay off of #3 is the volume of characters and seeing them all together, even if they are fighting each other.  But it was very well done, no one was eager to slug it out.  Very well done, and you could even draw some political overtones from it all if you were so inclined.  It just wasn't GREAT.  I didn't leave as jazzed as I had arrived.  

I hate spoilers.  I'd much rather enjoy the surprises in the theatre than get them ruined by someone on the internet, so I'll leave none here.  I will say that one of the aspects I had the most doubts about going in--Spider-man--was all very pleasantly surprising.  Really, really nice the way it all turned out, and way more screen time than expected. 

The movie blended both the original comic series (which I have stashed somewhere, probably stored away with most of my other possessions) and the new Cinematic Universe very well.  And the movie left off in a similar way: with irrevocable changes to the Marvel Universe. They broke it, but that's good!  

Certainly a worthy, emotional, fan-satisfying superhero flick, but it didn't quite the meet the hype for me. But I guess they rarely do.

So go see for yourself!

SECOND TAKE: Now I've seen it twice, took the wife to see it this time.  I enjoyed it more the second time and appreciated the plotting and characterization more.  I mean, I saw it the first time too, but maybe with my high expectations out of the way I was able to appreciate it more.  The writing and acting were all excellent, but I maintain that there was just a lack of energy to it.  I said before I wasn't as excited coming out as I had been going in, and that remains.  (The Jungle Book is the best movie I've seen this year, with more energetic and emotional payoff.)

Obviously the best of Civil War was the battle between twelve mighty Marvel characters, with humor interjected and the best Spider-Man take yet.  And what I really like about it was how it wove superheroes into the really real world of international politics and spycraft.  (Something I want to do with my own work.)