It's much more than a super-heroes' blast fest.
Captain America: Civil War
Grade: A-
Directors: Anthony Russo (You, Me and Dupree), Joe Russo (Captain America: Winter Soldier)
Screenplay: Christopher Markus (Thor 2: The Dark World)
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr.
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 146 min
by John DeSando
“There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations. We're bounder-less. We're no better than the bad guys.” Tony Stark/ Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)
Why do I feel good watching a super-hero adventure, Captain America: Civil War, just like so many other summer actioners? Because this almost 3 hour child of Marvel Comics is actually about serious global problems that transcend the barrage of film bombs we have to sit through to get to that good stuff.
It’s also about choices, in this case whether or not Avengers register as a superpower and be governed by a world body, essentially the US government, or remain do-gooders with a tinge of vigilantism. When you have been a stand-alone force for good, bowing to someone else is tough.
Captain America (Chris Evans) squares off against Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) because the former believes the Avengers should not be subject to world-powers’ oversight embodied in the Sokovia Accords. Tony Stark, willing to sign, believes compromise is the better strategy for their survival. This difference is highlighted by a recent Avenger initiative that ended in serious civilian collateral damage.
The damage to the Doctors without Borders hospital recently in Afghanistan is only one instance of where the good intentions of eradicating a formidable enemy run afoul of bad information involving serious damage. As is only obvious, the civilian casualties from drone strikes are hard to accept. A peripatetic super power like the US can always expect pushback when it asserts itself around the world.
Although the film does not address answers to these dilemmas, it does bravely show the arguments for overseeing activities of the Avengers that could lead to civilian deaths. The answers are not there, but I am delighted that a potentially hackneyed production comes out fighting in the arena of geopolitics and humanity.
“If we sign this, we surrender our right to CHOOSE. What if this Panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? We may not be perfect but the safest sands are still our own.” Steve Rogers (Chris Rogers/Captain America)
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
