Movie Review: 'Captain America: Civil War' ranks with the superhero movies of all time

May 5, 2016 12:00 AM

By Tony Norman / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Believe the hype, heroes. "Captain America: Civil War," the third and perhaps final installment of the Captain America movie franchise is the kind of smart, emotionally resonant and visually exhilarating movie fans of the genre have been waiting for.

With memories of the disappointing "Batman v. Superman: The Dawn of Justice" still fresh, fans — especially comic book fans — are all too aware of the likelihood of movies chock full of superheroes collapsing under the weight of a studio's spandex-inflated ambitions.

'Captain America: Civil War'

Ratings explained ^[1]

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson.

Rating: PG-13 for comic book violence and mayhem.

"Captain America: Civil War" deftly evades that trap by being the first superhero movie to question the ethics and consequences of costumed vigilantism in a way that isn't preachy, gimmicky or an insult to an audience's intelligence.

The first act of "CA:CW" opens with an assassination on a dark road in 1990 that will have major ramifications in the film's emotionally taut third act. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), then known as the Winter Soldier, commits a murderous act that puts him on an inevitable collision course with a superhero a quarter of a century later.

When the movie shifts to present day Lagos, Nigeria, a subset of the Avengers led by Captain America (Chris Evans) foils the theft of a dangerous biohazard by a criminal gang. The Avengers succeed in their main mission, but an explosion triggered by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) inadvertently kills a delegation of citizens from Wakanda.

Missteps and collateral damage by unregulated super beings becomes the rationale for a superhero registration act imposed on the Avengers by the nations of the world. This sets up the argument at the core of "CA:CW" about whether enhanced abilities and a will to do good should be a license to act without regard to consequences. The Avengers are split down the middle about the ethics of registration with some, such as Captain America, refusing to sign it despite the threat of sanctions and even arrest.

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is the unlikely champion of the registration act and Cap's philosophical foil. He believes superheroes have to be accountable to government oversight or risk the anarchy of good intentions. It is a fascinating role reversal that keeps "CA:CW" from collapsing into predictable liberal/conservative arguments.

Things get even more complicated when an explosion during the ceremonial unveiling of the registration act kills Wakanda's king. The king's son, Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), vows to avenge his father's death. The No. 1 suspect for the terrorist act is the Winter Soldier, Cap's amnesiac partner from WWII.

So the worldwide hunt to bring the Winter Soldier to justice is on. This hunt pits Avenger-against-Avenger in a tense standoff that asks serious questions about the moral and political consequences of being a superhero.

It is also an opportunity to introduce new heroes into the Avengers orbit including the Black Panther (Boseman), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the precocious teenage web-slinger Spider-man (Tom Holland).

Mr. Holland's debut as Peter Parker/Spider-man is delightful and lives up to every expectation. He brings a sense of joy and new-found possibility to the role. The battles between the heroes are well-staged and avoid the confusing camera work that often obscures fight scenes under a fog of special effects.

Where "BvS" is a revenge movie built around a couple of fight scenes between two superhero icons, "CA:CW" is a movie built around an argument by superheroes about the ethics of revenge that is never definitively resolved. Sibling directors Anthony and Joe Russo have delivered such a well-written, well-directed film that it would've worked even if the characters weren't in costume.

The first "Avengers" movie was superficially a more exuberant film because it was about heroes thrown together in unexpected ways and forced to work together to save the world from cosmic invaders. "CA:CW" is a more sophisticated and aesthetically satisfying film because it balances exuberance with a practical question: Who is responsible for the rubble that superheroes leave behind when they're saving the world from each other?

Yes, "Captain America: Civil War" truly is the best superhero movie ever made. Make sure you stay through the credits to see two extended scenes to carry you forward into the MCU.

Tony Norman: tnorman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1631.