Captain America: Civil War

Okay I'm a little late to the party for seeing Captain America: Civil War, FINALLY. I mean it's been in the theaters for three weeks already and everyone has an opinion and I'm sure there have been dozens of reviews already. None of which I've read because I wanted to into the theater with only the previous films and the previews to guide me.

With that in mind, I had already decided that I was probably going to be #TeamCap. And I went to the movie with my father (yes, I'm 40, I still love Daddy/Daughter dates), who is decidedly #TeamIronMan. This is awkward. Doesn't help that my kid is awesome and is totally #TeamCap with me. I might be in trouble. 

Oh and if you haven't figured it out yet, major spoilers because I was probably the last person to get out to see this flick. 

I am a huge and vocal fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I have seen all of the movies (including Wolverine: Origins *sigh*) and clap with glee at the good teasers and the Easter eggs. I also read Marvel comics in the 90's. I'm no expert and I don't know all the authors and artists and every story line in the books, but I know what I like and I keep watching and paying attention. 

I loved this movie. 

I liked the first Captain America even though I was never a huge fan of the character in the comics back when I was reading them. I just always felt like the character himself was just a little bit too propaganda-y for my taste. And I appreciated so much how the movie itself spoke to that very issue. Chris Evans brought an innocence and accessibility to to the character I wasn't expecting. I mean he's not only eye-candy, but he's created someone you genuinely believe is a good person. Like a really good person. 

I am an Iron Man fan. Always have been. I like the idea of the asshole with the heart of gold. I want to believe that the snarky jerk getting all the attention at the party actually gives a shit about things more than just himself. I want to see the best in people. So I've enjoyed the MCU story arc of Tony going from war profiteer to philanthropist and Avenger. But the thing no one (in the movies) really talks about is that Tony is NOT OKAY. Going right on back to the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is fucked up. This man has more PTSD than alphabet soup. There was a fair amount of addressing it in the third Iron Man, but even so, you know in the movies since then that things have not resolved themselves for him. Pepper is gone. PEPPER IS GONE. This is a sign folks. Don't trust his instincts. Remember, Ultron was his idea. Look how well that went. (Even though we ended up with Vision, who is a vision, but still... Ultron = BAD IDEA!)

So Civil War is really about Steve and Tony have different ideas about what to do with the fallout of the things the Avengers do... Finally, superheroes discussing the collateral damage! Did we really believe all those years that when the big hero fought the big bad and buildings fell down that NO ONE WAS IN THEM? Of course people got hurt. We know this, but it was never discussed, until the recent movies. And now, here it is, come to a head and 100+ countries want to control the actions of the Avengers in order to minimize the collateral damage. Now this would take the blame off the members of the team. But it could put them in positions of doing things they don't want to do, or not being able to do things they feel they have to. In other words, by giving up accountability, they also give up their autonomy. 

Tony is completely on board with this plan. 

Steve is completely NOT on board with this plan. 

Meanwhile in another country, Bucky is being framed for a terrorist attack. 

Steve runs to save Bucky. Tony runs to catch Steve, and Bucky. The Avengers choose sides. Vision makes paprikash for Wanda. A crown prince turned king is revealed to be Black Panther. Natasha is conflicted. Tony recruits a high school kid who happens to sling webs. Sam has new toys. Lots of shit gets broken. Tony gets half the Avengers arrested. The bad guy makes a phone call that makes absolutely no sense, but reveals that he is an impostor and the frame job has been planned for a very very long time. More stuff gets broken.  Did I mention stuff gets broken? Yeah... Like Rhodes. He gets broken. Tony briefly changes his mind about Bucky. Some shit is revealed about stuff Bucky did when he was the Winter Soldier. Tony no longer thinks Bucky deserves to live. More stuff gets broken... Get the picture? 

In a story line that is essentially about determining what to do with the accountability and collateral damage of superheroes fighting super villains... There is a metric ton of collateral damage. 

This film does not stand alone. It can't. If you haven't seen the films leading up to it, none of it will make sense and it would just be a bunch of pretty people kicking the crap out of each other. However, as part of the whole, this chapter progresses the stories of not only Captain America and Iron Man, but of the Avengers and the MCU as a whole. They are working out the kinks in the system. And by now they should start to realize that working with/under government organizations... Isn't working. Every time they team up with outside forces, it goes sideways. The problem is, the Avengers have been reacting since they came together. They see a problem, they fight a problem, they have shawarma. What they need is an internal system. And Tony should not be in charge. Unfortunately being the guy footing the bill, he gets too much say in what happens. I don't have an answer, I'm willing to see how the story goes. More than willing. Excited actually. I cannot wait to see the new characters get their own films (BLACK WIDOW needs her own story!) and the Spiderman reboot. Especially with Marisa Tomei as Aunt May (my step-mother is vaguely related to her through marriage, but I'm sure Miss Tomei has no idea who we are). 

Very long story short, go see Captain America: Civil War, but don't expect to be satisfied, this is a "to be continued" style chapter in the greater whole. But it was a really good chapter.