Summary: As the government asks the Avengers to be brought together under the one umbrella Tony Stark/Iron-Man (Robert Downey Jnr.) and Steve Rodgers/Captain America find themselves going to war as they both stand for their ideals.

Year: 2016

Australian Cinema Release Date: 28th April 2016

Australian DVD Release Date: TBA

Country: United States

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Screenwriter: Christopher Markus, Steven McFeely, Mark Millar (comic book), Jack Kirby (characters), Joe Simon (characters)

Cast: Gozie Agbo (Dr. Broussard), Paul Bettany (Vision), Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa/Black Panther), Daniel Bruhl (Zemo), Don Cheadle (Lieutenant James Rhodes/War Machine), Kerry Condon (Friday (voice)), Hope Davis (Maria Stark), Robert Downey Jnr. (Tony Stark/Iron-Man), Chris Evans (Steve Rodgers/Captain America), Gene Farber (Karpov), Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow/Crossbones), Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), William Hurt (Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), John Kani (King T’Chaka), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), Jim Rash (M.I.T. Liaison), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), John Slattery (Howard Stark), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider), Marisa Tomei (May Parker), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter), Alfre Woodard (Miriam), Jane Wu (U.N. Staffer Wu)

Runtime: 147 mins

Classification: PG

 

OUR CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR REVIEWS & RATINGS:

 

David Griffiths:

So far 2016 has delivered mixed results for comic book fans right around the world. While we were very impressed with the way that Deadpool stuck to the comic itself despite the possibility of making it a cinema unfriendly film we were all disappointed that Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice didn’t live up to the dizzying heights we all wanted it to. With those results echoing in our heads we all approached Captain America: Civil War with some trepidation. Even as a series in itself Marvel’s Avengers series has been up and down. While Captain America: Winter Soldier was a brilliant film, Avengers: Age Of Ultron was a bit of a letdown. Well you can all take a big breath and relax comic book fans because Captain America: Civil War delivers with a massive payload.

For those that haven’t read the comics surrounding the Marvel Civil War series Captain America: Civil War sees Steve Rodgers/Captain America (Chris Evans – Snowpiercer) go head-to-head with Tony Stark/Ironman (Robert Downey Jnr. – The Judge) after Rodgers decides that he can’t be part of the Avengers if it means they now have to answer to Government department… as he points out Governments can have agendas. With pressure mounting after a mission led by Captain America, Falcon (Anthony Mackie – The Hurt Locker), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen – Godzilla) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson- Lucy) ends in civilian casualties Stark is quick to sign the agreement but Rodgers refuses.

Tensions rise even more when the new Government led Avengers are asked to bring in Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan – The Martian) after he is blamed for a terrorist attack. Something that Rodgers believes he is innocent of. Cue the war.

When leaving the cinema after the premiere of Captain America: Civil War one thing was going through my mind, and that was that the Russo Brothers who directed this film and true action film geniuses. Trying to fit so many comic book characters into one film could have failed really badly. In their hands it doesn’t. For many directors (I’m looking at you Zack Snyder and Michael Bay) this film would have been an excuse to throw characterisation right out the window and instead just concentrate on explosions and fighting galore. That isn’t the case here, while the film not only allows fans to know exactly how each Avenger is feeling as the split happens we also get an introduction to two new Avengers – Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman – Gods Of Egypt) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland – In The Heart Of The Sea) and get a real feel for their characters despite the fact that time doesn’t allow for a huge introduction into their lives.

The characterisation really comes to the fore though with the friendship breakdown between Steve Rodgers and Tony Stark though. This isn’t just simply raised fists at twenty paces like it was in Batman vs Superman, no Civil War really allows the audience to see the pain the two men are going through as their friendship erodes and as a result it is easier to understand exactly what leads to the battles that we end up witnessing.

Having said that though the Russos have not forgotten that a movie like this needs action sequences and boy do they deliver on that level. If you were impressed with the action scenes in Winter Soldier then you are going to be blown away with what you see here. While Iron Man and Captain America’s hand-to-hand battle is something that every true comic book fan is going to savour what really steals the show here is the amazing car chase involving Falcon, Cap and Winter Solider, and then of course the epic airport battle that is truly Avenger vs Avenger with battle lines drawn. While the Russos make this scene look good, they also bring in some creative use of the environment around the characters and also manage to deliver some light hearted moments made possible by the smart-ass antics of Spider-Man and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd – Role Models). You wouldn’t think that action and comedy would gel so well together, but somehow the Russos manage to pull it off. So impressive are what the Russos seem to be able to do with action sequences it has to be said that they are now the best action directors around currently and they are doing for the genre what James Cameron did with the Terminator films all those years ago.

So good is the screenplay for Captain America: Civil War that this is one of the first times in this franchise that the actors have really had a chance to show their skills. Robert Downey Jnr. brings his acting A-Game to this film, he seriously puts as much effort in here as he did in dramatic films like The Judge. Even Chris Evans shows that he is more than just a pretty boy actor while Paul Rudd is backed up the comedic stakes by Tom Holland who brings a fresh new feel to the Spider-Man character. While it does take a bit to get used to Holland as Spider-Man his wise-cracking version of Peter Parker does grow you and by the time he exits the screen you find yourself looking forward to the forthcoming Spider-Man movie.

Captain America: Civil War is what we all dreamed it would be… it fact it goes beyond expectations. If it wasn’t just a little bit long you would have to say that it is the perfect action film. With spectacular action sequences, great suspense and a well-written screenplay this is one film I am going to watch over and over.

 

 

 

Adam Ross:

You can hear Adam Ross’s Captain America: Civil War review on The Good The Bad The Ugly Film Show Ep #174.

 

 

Nick Gardener:

You can hear Nick Gardener’s Captain America: Civil War review on The Good The Bad The Ugly Film Show Ep #174.

 

 

Average Subculture Rating (out of 5): 

 

IMDB Rating:

 

Other Subculture Entertainment Captain America: Civil War reviews: You can also listen to our full Captain America: Civil War review on The Good The Bad The Ugly Film Show Ep #174.

Trailer: