13 QUICK THOUGHTS on CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Yep, there are SPOILERS. So come back later if you haven’t seen it yet. But definitely do come back because I’d like your opinions too.

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It’s CAPTAIN AMERICA WEEK! Check out the CAPTAIN AMERICA WEEK Index, where you can find a whole bunch of stories — such as a great piece on Steranko’s Cap and an essay by Steve Englehart. PLUS: We have several galleries of great Captain America comic-book covers! Click here.

I dug the movie a lot. So here we go:

1. I went into the movie whole-heartedly #TeamCap. Part of that is I’ve grown a little weary of Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr.’s shtick. But, slowly but surely, this movie started to change my mind. I’m not so sure Cap is right and I’m not so sure Tony’s wrong.

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2. And that’s the mark of nuanced storytelling, isn’t it? Because even among the bombast, the filmmakers introduce some pretty complex ideas in deft and even subtle ways.

3. I think the movie picked up as it went along. There was a point where I did think to myself, “Alright, c’mon, get on with it.” But then they did.

4. Oh, my lord, Chris Evans’ arms. My wife’s eyes about popped out of her head. I think I have some work to do.

5. A big reason a movie like this works so much better than Batman v. Superman — which dealt with very similar themes — is that we’ve had time to care about who these characters are and to understand what motivates them. There’s almost no shoehorning.

6. Another reason is that Cap, Iron Man, Black Widow and the lot are true to their core concepts, even if some of the details are changed. The DC films seem hellbent on reversing that idea. But enough about the inevitable comparisons. Let’s move on.

7. Elizabeth Olsen keeps looking better and better as Scarlet Witch.

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8. Vision is creepy isn’t he? But then I’ve always thought the Vision was creepy.

9. Didn’t you want Zemo to wear a purple ski mask at least once? I mean, it was cold enough, right?

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10. Enough with “commitments” for Black Widow movies. Just do it already. Natasha is by far one of the two or three most interesting characters in this entire universe and she really needs space for her own story. Or stories.

11. OK, Spider-Man. He’s probably worth his own post because I love Spidey. I think Tom Holland was good and I LOVED seeing the Spider-Signal. He had a great rapport with Tony and I think I could stand to see a lot more of this Aunt May.

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12. GIANT-MAN. As soon as Scott started talking about this thing he did once, I knew it was coming — but it was still a “Hells Yeah!” moment.

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13. Never have I seen a movie juggle more characters with such incredible ease. And not just characters we’ve already seen: It even managed to give viewers a very strong idea of who Black Panther is. I have some more thinking to do before I figure out where Civil War ranks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s certainly near the top.

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Author: Dan Greenfield

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