“Blu-ray or Bust” - CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

“Blu-ray or Bust”

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016, PG-13, 147 minutes, MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY)

Occasionally—and I mean, like, once in a Thor moon—Marvel Studios releases something a wee bit questionable.

As of late, we’ve seen less popular characters from the Marvel Universe shine; Antman, The Scarlet Witch, and The Black Panther are all superheroes who thrived years ago in the world of Marvel comics. Panther has a stand-alone film due out in 2018, and the next Antman film should be out the same year. With DOCTOR STRANGE coming out in November, you can see how the studio is banking on some of the lesser-knowns to distract us from what is starting to become an exercise in redundancy.

Don’t misunderstand; there are parts of CIVIL WAR that are fresh and unique, as with every MU film. But the themes are not changing all that much, they are just evolving, growing bigger and more dramatic—although some of the urgency is getting lost in the translation.

After the events of the previous films (most notably the Avengers movies and the Cap’s prior adventures), things get out of control with a mission to Africa to stop a henchman from the last Cap movie. Civilians die, and—please, stop me if you’ve heard THIS one—the heroes come under attack by the politics of mortals. Sorry, kids, but this particular plot point is getting a wee bit old. It was done in the first iteration of the X-Men franchise, was an issue in THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, and, most recently, a major them in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN (insert stifled yawn here).

And that ain’t the only problem; this is not so much a “Captain America” movie so much as it is a half-assed Avengers flick. Remember earlier when I mentioned the little guys? Not only does The Black Panther get a healthy amount of screen time, but so does the newer version of “Spider-man”, played with enough glee and humor by Tom Holland to show you why a re-boot of that particular character was absolutely necessary. The other standout is Chadwick Boseman’s Panther. His acting lifts the typical superhero performance above the norm, and seems to bring out the best in those around him. Robert Downey Jr. nails several of his more emotional scenes, and it is nice to see some acting amongst the exploding set pieces.

Again: the movie isn’t all bad. It does move the MCU along, but to follow THE WINTER SOLDIER with an Avengers initiative (sorry/not sorry) wrapped up with a bow that says “Captain America” almost seems a waste of a Captain America movie. The biggest plot may be about Roger’s relationship with his mentally wayward friend Bucky, yet it is overshadowed by the subplot, which splits the team in the first place.

The special features… are plentiful/exhaustive/all-inclusive. There are two Making Of’s (not sure why they split one in two, but, whatever) that clock in at twenty-two minutes each, and cover the production literally from page to screen. Both doc’s are a geek’s dream, and shows the attention paid to every stinkin’ detail. You also get a pleasing gag reel, and two four-minute behind-the-hero’s-motivation flicks that show you the conflicts for the two main players, the Captain and Ironman.

CIVIL WAR may not be the best MCU film, but it isn’t THOR: THE DUMB WORLD, either. As the next Marvel film is DOCTOR STRANGE, it will be interesting to see the future repercussions from the events played out here. Let’s just hope the upcoming BLACK PANTHER and SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING films are left to their own devices; the iterations show in this film are wonderful to behold, even if they are being spring-boarded off of the broad back of Captain America.

Film Grade: B

Special Features: B+

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely

- T.S.Kummelman