"Captain America: Civil War" Review

I'm not a big fan of superhero movies. It was fun once or twice, but they've been coming out year after year for so long. First we had to deal with each individual Marvel franchise so that they could coalesce into one giant Avengers thread. Now DC is trying to build a similar pillar. And let us not forget about Fox's X-Men movies. I like that the DC team is taking their universe down a darker path, but overall it's no contest when comparing what DC is doing and what Marvel is doing. Marvel's vision is so much tighter, and it shines through in Captain America: Civil War.

If you've seen Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Ant Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, and/or Captain America: The Winter Solider (Whew!), you know what you're getting into. Marvel didn't break away from what is working. Prepare yourself for a CG happy, explosion friendly, slap-stick humor fused film that does well in setting up the next movie. Speaking of setting up the next film, like with any Marvel movie, stay until the very end. Like the very, very end. I think fans will be very pleased with the teaser.

The film did have some interesting ethical questions it juggled. The film brings up the age old debate of utilitarianism vs. deontology. Is it okay that a few people get hurt along the way if the greater good is protected? Or must the means be as just as the ends? It really sets up great friction between Captain America's team and Iron Man's team (thus, "Civil War"), even if the framing is hardly fair within the movie. The movie has Captain America's name in it, so clearly the audience is nudged in that direction. However, it does set up a neat dichotomy for the audience.

The World Wide Web lost their collective cool when it was revealed that Spider Man would make his debut in this Marvel/Disney universe. I thought the teasers did a great job not showing too much. I think fans will be very pleased with Spider Man's presence in this film. If a grumpy film viewer like me could enjoy it, you can too. I'm a fan of Paul Rudd, so I wish they would've included Ant Man a bit more in the film. Regardless, I enjoyed the film and I expect it to do very well.