The third installment of the Captain America trilogy, aptly titled ‘Civil War’, is a film that all die-hard fans of the Marvel Universe (cinematic or otherwise) have been waiting for since the end credits rolled on The Winter Soldier in 2014. Needless to say, it did not disappoint.
As soon as the movie starts, we are thrown right into the lives of Steve Rogers and his fellow Avengers, many of whom are trying to absolve the guilt from missions that have gone askew over their time as a team. As seen in previous films, there have been epic battles, but those battles have also had heaps of collateral damage that were brushed under the rug in the spirit of victory. Owing to this, the United Nations decides to step in and passes a resolution stating that the Avengers would now operate under them. Immediately the group is torn apart, where some, like Tony, believe signing in is the right thing to do, while others, like Steve, refuse, equating the Accords to the Avengers losing their freedom.
Matters are further complicated when an element from Captain Roger’s past is pulled into the mix, the reappearance of Thaddeus Ross and the antics of a hidden puppeteer orchestrating a plot of his own.
Whether you walk into the theatre sure you’re Team Cap, or you may take your seat convinced that even though it is, in fact, a Captain America movie, your loyalties will remain with Team Iron Man, I think it’s safe to assume that as soon as you catch up to the story, all lines are blurred. The entire movie is set in shades of grey, where nothing is just black and white; no one is wrong, but neither team handles it right either.
Even though almost the entire band is back together for the new movie (we do miss you, Banner and Thor) and we are introduced to fantastic new characters (welcome aboard, T’Challa and Spidey) this is very clearly not just the MCU’s attempt to make up for disappointing its audience in the last Avengers feature. One of the best parts of this movie was that every character got its well-deserved importance and attention,but despite that, no one can complain that the Captain himself got lost in the hustle bustle.In the end, it remained true to its franchise and managed to not turn into ‘Avengers Part 3’. In spite of the fact that the movie only bore the most basic of similarities with the comic issue after which it was titled and the number of superheroes in the feature was only a meagre fraction of those on paper, the diverted storyline still held the audience captive, leaving almost no room to complain. That, coupled with beautifully choreographed fight scenes, phenomenal acting, and the entire time that Tom Holland’s Spiderman decided to grace us with his presence, resulted in a spectacular end to the Trilogy of the First Avenger.
- Tisha Virani