Captain America:
Civil War has confirmed what I, and others, have known all along: Captain
America is an idiot. He’s not an idiot in the stupid way or lack of
intellectual ability, he’s an idiot in the most noble way. He reminds me of the
idiot in Dostoevsky’s great novel or the character Don Quixote. He is certainly
an idiot from the standpoint of ancient Athenian democracy (go look it up). His idiocy is certainly incompatible with the
real world. In the real world he would most certainly be dead already. He would
hold out for awhile with his physical prowess but eventually the great symbol
of American hypocrisy would be silenced. I said in my review of Captain
America: The First Avenger that this sort of character is a complete joke
when measured against the standards of the real world. He fights for an
American ideal but can’t account for US dealings in the real world. This means
he doesn’t know what he fights for and this makes him a great noble idiot. Cap thinks he’s a hero but is certainly not
one. He’s the kind of character that would justify US imperialism and
exploitation if it called for it. He has a lot of big talk but that’s it. He
can’t implement or build anything substantial. All he has is brawn because of a
super soldier serum or steroids.
With that said Civil War is a very good film. The film
is not great but it’s a solid one. Civil
War works as an Avengers film but it doesn’t work as a Captain America
film. As a Captain America film it is very inadequate. If it wasn’t so focused
on the Avengers this film could have been a really good Captain America film. A
lot of people are calling Civil War
the greatest superhero film ever or the greatest marvel superhero film but they
need to check themselves. This film is nowhere near the level of The Dark Knight or Iron Man or Spider-Man 2
in terms of transcending the superhero genre and it’s certainly not on the
level of the The Avengers in terms
of setting a genuine standard for team up superhero films. When compared with The Winter Soldier it is a step down as
a Captain America solo film. What this film does do well is to set up Marvel’s
phase 3 and so it’s a very good film within the context of marvels’ long term
project. It doesn’t stand up well on its own.
This film is about how the Avengers respond when they are held
accountable for their destructive actions in the past. 117 countries at the UN
ratify the Sokovia accords as a means to keep these agents of US military power
in check. They might operate on a
private basis because they are so well funded by Tony Stark/Iron Man but they
are an extension of US interests. The US is also the leader of the UN so it’s
no surprise that the white house would have a lot to say on the matter. The
Sokovia accords split the Avengers into two factions, one (Black panther, War
machine, Black Widow, the Vision and Spiderman) led by the great egotist Tony
Stark and the other (Scarlett Witch, Hawkeye, falcon, the winter soldier,
Antman) led by the great idiot Steve Rogers. With all of this going on a mysterious
character known as Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) has his own nefarious plan to tear
the avengers apart as he tries to exploit a remarkable secret in the winter
solder’s past.
Positives
The primary positive is that this film works as a film about
the Avengers. The issue related to the Sokovia accords gives the story of the
Avengers a new dimension. This issue of the sokovia accords also sets the stage
for the introduction of T’challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). His
introduction does not seem so frivolous given his position as a head of state.
I am certainly looking forward to his solo film. As a black man the Black
Panther is more appealing to me than the other superheroes. I was not so
impressed by the introduction of spiderman. His inclusion was a bit much but
his introduction more or less confirms that this is an Avengers film. The
introduction of Black Panther and Spiderman compensate for the absence of Thor
and the Hulk. Without the Hulk and Thor, the two most powerful members of the
Avengers group, this is certainly The
Avengers 2.5.Ant man is here as well but as usual he is very disappointing
especially as he only provides comic relief.
He’s certainly one of the worst characters in the MCU in my opinion but
he must have his place in the Avengers set up led by Captain America. He’s a
mildly interesting character without the comic relief. War machine is given
some good ground to cover here and I was genuinely surprised. They should have
a War Machine film in phase 4. There is interesting ground to cover here by
exploring the marginalized black characters like war machine and the Falcon. In
terms of producing a film War Machine would be the most likely of
the two to have a film. He certainly has more power than the wimpy falcon
and his skill set is diversified. Civil War made me realize that he’s not
simply just an iron man clone. His suit has its own distinct features. Civil War does give each character a
means to stand out.
The great divide between the egotist Tony Stark and the
idiot Steve Rogers is very compelling in this film. Obviously the big reveal
towards the end has a lot to do with it. The final act in Civil War is emotionally
resonant. Not surprisingly a lot of it has to do with Captain America’s idiocy.
In terms of pure emotion and cutting to the core of these characters it’s the
best I have seen in a marvel film. In most cases marvel films are very
superficial but this one has a genuine core. It was very well done but only
when you see it within the context of the Avengers and not as a Captain America film.
The plan of the villain, Baron Zemo, is very effective. He
is a shadowy sort of figure and sometimes those are the worst kind of people to
deal with. They know how to infiltrate and destabilize from within. He’s not a
dominant villain like Loki. Loki had a somewhat similar plan to tear the
Avenger’s apart but he also had force on his side. This villain, Zemo, is clearly
more appropriate for a Captain America film because he is not a very dominant
figure. The Avengers will finally get a real test when Thanos comes to town in Infinity War. He has ultimate force on
his side and he has been operating as a shadowy figure for some time now. It goes
to show that Hydra will haunt Cap forever. The Red Skull is truly his greatest
villain.
The action in this film is very good. People will certainly
be entertained. The final fight is
pretty good as well.
This film has done well to kick off marvel’s phase 3 which
will culminate in Infinity War. It’s
not a great standalone film and neither does it transcend the superhero genre
effectively but it does work when you consider marvel’s long term project. They
finally have a story that shows divided loyalties. How the avengers come
together again will be very interesting. Captain America films normally do set
the stage for the new phases. This film does suggest that the world will get
even stranger (according to nick fury)in phase 3.
Negatives
The primary negative is that Civil War is not a standalone Captain America film. This is clearly
an Avengers film. It can’t be a complete Avengers film without the Hulk and
Thor, who are the most powerful individuals, but the issues are directly
related to the Avengers. There are elements related to Zemo’s plan and the
winter soldier program, that was developed in Moscow, which would have allowed
for a Captain America film to be very significant. If they took out the civil
war issue captain america would have had another solid solo film to follow up The Winter Soldier. Captain America,
however, is not as marketable in a stand alone film. The reality is that, as a
brand, Cap is not as marketable as the likes of Iron Man or Spiderman.
Spiderman alone is probably the biggest marvel comics brand. The elements of
his new suit also allude to this. Kevin Feige must have recognized that Captain
America by himself won’t get over the US$1 billion hump. Captain America stand alone stories are more
interesting from the political thriller standpoint. They could have built on
that here based on Zemo’s plan. The Civil
War issue gives us other issues that have nothing to do with Zemo and so
you get to understand that this is probably the last standalone captain america
film. As a captain america film Civil
War is awful and cannot stand up very well on its own. Where they missed the boat is that based on
the winter soldier program that Zemo is interested in they could have created a
real context for a genuine civil war to erupt amongst various nations,
particularly the US, especially when you speak of destabilization. Political
destabilization always leads to civil war. Based on Zemo’s plan a civil war did
not have to concern the avengers themselves. The screen writers missed the
avenue to tie Zemo’s plan into the civil war storyline more effectively. Such a storyline related to political
destabilization would have been more effective than having the Avengers go at
each other. Such a storyline would have transcended the comic book element and
given Captain America another solid stand alone film.
This is why this film does not work as a standalone Captain
America film. It works as an Avengers film.
We were shortchanged by Marvel because they must have realized that
before and after the Age of Ultron that mediocrity was setting in. They upped the ante here to add some vibrancy but
after awhile people will understand that this was just another long
advertisement for phase 3. They got very
dramatic in this film to drive home some of their points but there is nothing
really conclusive.
Captain America is a great noble idiot. This film will make
a lot of people anti-captain america. His hypocrisy in this film is startling.
Is he really heroic or just an idiot from the perspective of Athenian democracy?
(More explanation in a later post) He is more interested in his own agenda than
the greater good. He only cares for his friend so who is he really saving. Can
he help to solve the problem of income inequality? The civil war in this film
is between the dominant capitalist, Stark and the petty bourgeois, Steve. For
all of his physical brawn Steve only makes it clear that he depends a lot on
the patronage of others to get by. He cannot make things happen on his own.
Steve does not seem to realize that the only reason the Avengers can operate on
a private basis is because of Stark’s funding. Stark has contributed the most
to building up the facilities and to providing the tech used by the lesser
heroes like falcon. Steve’s inability to see the big picture makes you realize
why he has to go on the run. Without help from another quarter his followers
would be living in dire poverty (Hawkeye) and their families made to suffer as
a result. Cap is not a revolutionary and so he’s stuck because he cannot make
things happen. They keep portraying the captain as a man of big talk and brawn.
Nothing more.
In the end this film does work as an avengers film but it
sucks as a standalone Captain America film. For it to be a Captain America film
it would have to be much more intricate.
