There is a standard format in romantic comedies;
couples either ‘meet cute’ or ‘meet angry’. The archetypal meet cute would be Woody
Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall,
the meet angry version is Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally. The point is, however they meet, they are
going to end up together.
There’s a similar trope in the comic book world
when two heroes meet for the first time. The older one invariably assumes the
new one is a villain; they fight, they discover the truth, they become allies,
albeit grudgingly in some cases.
This is where we are in Captain America: Civil War. The title incidentally is something of
a misnomer, this is an Avengers movie in all but name. It stands to reason, all
the best Captain America comic stories are either set in World War Two or in
the Watergate era and these themes have been covered in the first two films.
This time the Avengers are being held accountable
for the collateral damage that has occurred on their watch. The film kicks off
with another mission in Lagos which incurs huge loss of life, add to this the
Chitauri attack in Avengers Assemble
and the Sokovian debacle in Age of Ultron
and it is obvious that the Avengers, in some eyes, pose a clear and present
danger to those they are supposed to be protecting. Maybe no one thought
through the notion that avenging generally involves someone dying in the first
place.
Anyway they are to be brought under the control of
the United Nations thanks to something called the Sokovian Accords and only to
go into action when the UN decides. Iron Man is all for it since he is
temporarily remorseful, Captain America on the other hand feels they should choose
their own path. You could argue that this is a debate between social democracy
and libertarianism but hey, this is a comic book movie after all. The politics don’t matter.
What does matter is
that, rather in the nature of a school playground, the two coolest kids pick
sides. In the end Cap and his cronies are lined up against Iron Man and his
acolytes. The results are spectacular.
Although their rivalry does not last long,
especially when the real culprit is revealed, the big battle more than pays
dividends. The fight scene at Leipzig Airport is one of the best action sequences
of recent memory. Three new characters are introduced into the equation. There’s
the joyous Spider-Man and the noble Black Panther, who we knew about, and a
surprising third who made the seven-year-old inside me leap for joy to see one
of his earliest fan faves on the big screen.
There is no war as such, more of a skirmish,
albeit superbly staged. But the real pleasure of this film, and this is
something you don’t often find in a comic book movie, is the script by
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Characters are defined and behave the
way they should rather than the way the plot demands. In addition the film
strikes a deft middle route between the ponderous self-importance of Batman vs. Superman and the constant
wisecracking of Deadpool. It is a
script of wit and intelligence and the Russo brothers do a fine job with the
material.
It’s not without its flaws. The whole Howard and
Maria Stark sub-plot feels wrong and forced, and it’s a bit of a shame to see
Zemo – one of the great villains of the Marvel Universe – pressed into service
here in such an underwhelming manner.
But these are minor points. Captain America: Civil War is the best comic book movie for years, possibly
since Richard Donner’s Superman and,
in a genre whose rules are constantly being rewritten, that is quite an
accomplishment.
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