The clash of titans can be a stirring subject in cinema, whether the combatants are Godzilla and Rodan or Batman v Superman. And the human emotions aroused when brother raises hand against brother are as ancient and archetypal as Cain and Abel. When the titans are the band of brothers from Captain America: Civil War, the stage is set for conflicting loyalties and contending ideals along with city-leveling, car-hurling drama.
Like several recent superhero movies, the “enhanced individuals” of CACW come under government scrutiny, accused of going too far. While foiling a well-armed attempt to steal deadly bio-substances from a laboratory in Lagos, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) destroys a high-rise building, killing many innocent occupants. Reacting to global outrage, the U.S. secretary of state (William Hurt) gives the Avengers a stern ultimatum: Submit to an international protocol placing them under the authority of the United Nations—or what? Arresting the Avengers would require the Delta Force, the Navy SEALS and air support, but the chastened superheroes debate their response amongst themselves and come to no agreement.
On one side of the argument is Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). With a troubled conscience and a worried mind over the collateral harm he has been party to, Stark argues that they should accept the protocol. But Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans), a paragon of self-assurance, says no, insisting that the U.N. can’t be trusted to do the right thing. The Avengers have made their own judgments in the past, saving the world several times over and should continue to have a free hand.
CACW circles around and doubles back on plot elements from related Marvel-based movies. SHIELD and HYDRA are cited, the destruction of the failed state of Sokovia is replayed and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) returns. The Captain’s old buddy, victim of Soviet mind-control experiments, is blamed for acts of terrorism. Stark makes a Manchurian Candidate quip (Downey always gets the best lines), but there is more going on than a Cold War renegade sprung back into action.
Fans of the Marvel universe will get a kick when, inevitably, the Avengers brawl with each other after the Captain and his crew refuse to back down. Here they come, squaring off on the runway of Leipzig airport. On one side: Captain America, Wanda, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Facing them are Iron Man, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), James Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany) and newcomer, T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), an African prince with his own reasons for entering the fray. Perhaps feeling insecure despite his high-tech gadgetry, Stark recruits an agile young unknown, Peter Parker (Tom Holland). This alternate origin story for a Spider-Man still testing his powers provides CACW with a good share of comic relief. Given the gravity-free unreality of the computer-generated destruction, directors Anthony and Joe Russo add one good touch: There are injuries.
CACW can be read as a rumination on the classic ethical question of what to do with evildoers. Can you carefully calibrate your response in thwarting them or do you risk becoming as they are, careless of the cost in defeating them? The screenplay touches on related contemporary anxieties, including the proliferation of lethal weaponry, vengeance for the death of family as a motivator for terrorists, the danger of acting alone versus the danger of ineffectual response from the world community. A train of thought runs behind a kinetic spectacle too fast for the human eye to absorb. As always, Downey gives the best performance, insuring that Stark is the one character living in three dimensions rather than one.
Spoiler alert: Yes, the conclusion allows for a sequel.
Captain America: Civil War
Chris Evans
Robert Downey Jr.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo
Rated PG-13
