IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
Spider-Man Rewatch Road To Far From Home Step 6 of 7
Captain America vs. Iron Man - that's where "The First Avenger: Civil War" could be broken down to, but there's more to this film of the Marvel Cosmos than just the mere scraping of the two former friends Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. For the first time in the MCU, the many narrative strands of the different Marvel films can be combined and a turning point is created with significance for all Avengers.
Accordingly, "Civil War" feels like the big season finale of a series and proves to be especially appealing when you are familiar with the previous episodes. Packaged in two and a half hours of gripping popcorn cinema, the film depicts a conflict that has political and social relevance and couldn't be more topical. What is remarkable in this context is that the figure of Captain America, of all people, who is labelled a mere lapdog of the US government and an embodiment of its propaganda, takes on the role of the questioning rebel.
During World War II, Steve Rogers experienced for himself what the misguided leadership of a country is capable of and does not want dictatorships like those of the Nazis to emerge again. A society that places all its actions in the hands of the state and leaves thinking to the leaders of that state is repugnant to him. The developments of the present, which accompany the new technology and make glass people a reality, also disturb him, who was put on ice for years. He does not succeed in placing his trust in people who hide in ivory towers and can wipe out an entire region at the push of a button. Instead, he relies on people he knows personally and whose intentions he believes he can see through. This view leads Steve Rogers to decide against the UN Convention and for the path of self-initiative. After all, personal motives also play an important role, as Captain America sees himself as the noble protector of humanity, whose judgement is always able to weigh right against wrong.
In contrast, Tony Stark, his billionaire and figurehead of privatization, stands for entrepreneurial success like no other in the MCU. However, due to his traumatic experiences and especially the events in "Age of Ultron", he is rethinking his own power to act. He became the strongest proponent of the agreement, because he realized that the actions of the Avengers had not exclusively produced good things and therefore needed state control. In order to prevent collateral damage in the form of human lives in the future, he wants to knowingly restrict his own freedom and let the Avengers' missions be led by people who, in his opinion, are absolutely trustworthy because they are elected authorities. Tony Stark's development from the leading figure of the arms lobby to a man who deliberately places power and responsibility in the hands of the government stands in big contrast to the development of Steve Rogers.
Iron Man represents the belief that security is the highest good, and in this case the end justifies the means to ensure that security, even if it requires total surveillance. Unlike Captain America, who sees himself as a fighter for the people, Iron Man wants to enter the service of the state, in which Captain America is a threat of dependence. Even Tony Stark, who tends to fall in love with himself, has personal motives resonating in this conflict; after all, he hardly differs from Steve Rogers in that he too enjoys full recognition as the godlike saviour of mankind. The two parties to the dispute do not reach an unequivocal result, since the fatal developments within the Marvel universe are already too far advanced.
In "Civil War" there is already an insurmountable gap between the people and the Avengers as their representatives. This gap results primarily from the physical and technological advantages of the Avengers. They represent an elite that stands far above the common man and wants to be judged according to different standards. The Avengers now see ordinary people almost exclusively as passive objects in need of protection. The question of whether state control or self-justice would be preferable becomes secondary, since both variants do not reflect the will of the people. Such a multi-layered story undoubtedly represents a novelty within the MCU, which is primarily designed for light entertainment, even though the film often reserves the discussion points mentioned for large-scale action scenes.
Nevertheless, "Civil War" offers enough material for extensive debates. In the end, the movie offers not only the opposing views of the protagonists, but also an excellent villain. Helmut Zemo is for a change no extraterrestrial world destroyer, but actually a simple man of the people, who has identified the greatest threat in the Avengers themselves. He also acts in the belief that he is representing the morally correct intentions and wants to destroy the autocratic heroes from within, in order to return to a society that is not divided into a godlike elite and its subjects. In his eyes, the Avengers resemble a nuclear bomb, which must neither fall into the clutches of the government nor be activated by a self-timer.
"Civil War" offers massive action, great melee sequences, a lot of scene changes, a good joke, a strong cast and a story that makes you think and shows parallels to the current political events. Dramatic elements and fine character development make the movie stand out from the crowd of Marvel movies.
Since I saw the movie during my little Spider-Man Rewatch Marathon, I'd like to briefly go into Spider-Man at the end:
Tom Holland is the third Spider-Man in 15 years, so Hollywood has quite a bit of wear on wall crawlers. First came Tobey Maguire, after him Andrew Garfield. With Holland, however, the situation is completely different. What for a long time was hardly considered possible happened: Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios agreed to integrate this Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In contrast to his predecessors, Tom Hollands version fortunately doesn't get an Origin story and isn't a 20 year old, but a teenager whose enthusiasm and excitement to fight together with his idols is very convincing due to Hollands acting. He's a lively, hip fan and a nerd, whose youthful carefreeness and cheeky wit are incredibly refreshing. Even though he can only be seen in a few scenes, he steals the show from his colleagues in each of these scenes.
A great introduction of the youngest friendly spider from the neighbourhood.
