The Film
"Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth."
Have the Avengers worn out their welcome? According to the box-office take on Captain America: Civil War ($1.15 billion), we won't be seeing the last of these superheroes anytime soon.
However, the plot of the film plays slightly different. Picking up one year after Avengers: Age of Ultron, this super team is still taking on bad guys. It's not always easy, though. A botched job in Lagos seems to be the final straw, causing the UN to create the Sokovia Accords. This means that the Avengers can't just fly out to save the world whenever they want to. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) sides with the government, but Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) trusts his own gut better than a bunch of non-super suits.
That disagreement plants the seeds for the Civil War portion of the film's title, but Bucky (Sebastian Stan) really seals the deal. He's not the real bad guy, though. That would be Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl), who is using Bucky to help destroy the Avengers. Instead of going through all of the UN red tape, Captain America assembles Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) to take down Zemo. However, Iron Man has his own team, which includes Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).
There are a lot of names in that lineup, including a few that are new to the Avengers film franchise. To cram all of those characters and the action involved with them into one film, Captain America: Civil War clocks in at a lengthy 148 minutes. However, it all works. It's a shame that just a fleck of that wasn't spent more on Zemo, but the action is awesome and comes quite often. There are explosions, chases, and fist fights aplenty. The cast is wonderful as well, especially when sharing the same screen. Of course, that roster makes Civil War seem more like an entry in the Avengers franchise than one for Captain America. It's hard to complain, though. It's a great movie.
Still not sure what side you're on? Check out Matthew Passantino's theatrical review of Captain America: Civil War.
The Picture
Unfortunately, we didn't receive the 3D version of Captain America: Civil War for this review. However, the 2D Blu-ray is one gorgeous piece of eye candy. The color palette is absolutely perfect and varied. However, the detail is the real standout here. There are razor-sharp images of rocks, buildings, bits of broken glass, blades of grass, and all sorts of flying debris. The texture on clothing is also noteworthy, with Captain America's suit and shield, the Winter Soldier's hand, the sheen on Spider-Man, Falcon's feathers, and all the rest of the superhero costumes looking downright perfect here. Faces are equally impressive, with hair and stubble, pores, lines, and battle scars all present. Would you really expect anything else from Disney?
The Sound
We expect Disney to give a blockbuster like this one a good DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. Yes, it's good -- but just not great. The mix has a lot of action, which never gets in the way of the dialogue. It's just that the depth of that action can vary at times. Maybe Marvel and Disney have spoiled us, but there are portions of the movie where it seems like the surrounds could give a little more. The scene in Lagos is a perfect example. That type of action should absolutely rattle the room. Instead, it seems just a tiny bit restrained. That's not to say that this track isn't enjoyable. In some cases, it's exactly what it should be. For instance, that final fight between Captain America and Iron Man is just perfect. Otherwise, some of those chases, explosions, and fights can be quite exciting, but just don't pack the punch you'd expect from a Captain America flick.
The Extras
It may not look like a lot on paper, but this is a pretty nice selection of extras. There's a gag reel, separate 4-minute featurettes on Captain America and Iron Man, another four minutes on the upcoming Doctor Strange, and four deleted scenes, which includes an extended peek at Peggy's funeral. For something a little meatier, there's "United We Stand, Divided We Fall - The Making of Captain America: Civil War," a 46-minute making-of featurette that's divided into two parts. The first half talks about bringing the comics to the big screen, the cast and characters, various stunts, sets, and more. The second half focuses on the newer cast and characters, including Vision, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, as well as the big battle between all of the characters, Zemo as the villain, and the big reveal about Bucky. There's also a feature-length commentary track that has directors Anthony and Joe Russo sitting down with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
Final Thoughts
Captain America just keeps getting better with age. At 148 minutes, this third installment is long, but it's also fun and action-packed. The audio track isn't the demo-quality mix you'd expect it to be, but that shouldn't keep you from picking up Captain America: Civil War. It's an excellent film.
Product Details
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