Freedom Or Safety?

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2016)

One thing about the movies being made from Marvel Comics: they know how to do them right. Almost all of the films based on DC Comics have done well at the box office but the Marvel films are leaps and bounds ahead of them. The biggest reason is that Marvel embraces the fact that these films are based on comics rather than toss them aside as if they don't matter. Fans recognize this. Marvel has taken the written word, the images from their comics and translated them to the screen without abandoning everything that made them special. Their newest release on DVD/Blu-ray, CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR, proves that.
Based on the series that enveloped all of their comics a few years back, the story focuses on a fearful world that wants to keep these super powered individuals in check. As the film opens a mission for the Avengers to prevent a deadly virus from being unleashed upon the world goes sideways, the end result being an explosion that collapses a building and results in casualties. Rather than note the number of lives that were saved by these heroes blame is laid at their doorstep rather than at that of the criminals they stopped.
After the mass amount of destruction that has happened during different battles in various other Marvel films involving the characters, the world has come together with the Sokovia Accords. This would require all heroes to sign off on supervision by the UN, an agreement that they would be the ones to decide where and when they would go and what missions they would become involved in.
This sets the heroes against one another. Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) believes in the Accords. He is overwhelmed with guilt at the wake of destruction left in the paths of battles past. Captain America (Chris Evans) on the other hand recognizes that decisions need to be made by those involved in the battles, those who know firsthand what evil looks like, rather than in the hands of politicians whose motives change with the wind.
As the Accords are about to be signed the delegate from the African nations of Wakanda is speaking when a bomb explodes, killing him. Framed for the murder is Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Cap's friend. The UN sends in team to capture Bucky but Cap gets there first to find out what is really going on. He helps him escape but a chase follows with not just the UN troops in pursuit but the new King of Wakanda, T'Challa aka The Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). All are eventually caught and it is while imprisoned that the real culprit reveals himself setting the stage for a battle royal between two teams of super heroes.
Iron Man has recruited those who feel the Accords must be followed: Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany) and new recruit Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Cap has his own team in place with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Winter Soldier and new recruit Ant Man (Paul Rudd). This result in a free for all that will have comic fans jumping with joy and action film fans watching in delight. And yet it is not the final battle and comes almost a full 30 minutes before the end of the film, a confrontation and revelation of why the whole thing has taken place.
It would be easy to discuss the effects here but be honest, you already knew they'd be mind boggling. With as huge a cast as is on display to pick out one performance above the rest isn't quite fair, but both Evans and Downey bring depth and emotion to both sides of the issue at hand. The real discussion about the film lies in the whole concept of the reason this "civil war" takes place.
One would think that after discovering the infiltration of top government officials in the previous Captain America film that all of the Avengers would hesitate signing off on the Accords. The guilt that Stark feels because of the deaths that result from the battles with bad guys develops into something that clouds his judgement and brings him to agree in them. Cap's wisdom based on past experiences in both his current and past life know that you can't always trust in the people placed in power but you can trust the team members in whose hands you have placed your life.
In addition to that there are so many threads from most of the past films that are brought together here that to count them all would take too much time. That's one of the most amazing things about the Marvel films. A single example is the rise of Gen. Ross (William Hurt) to Secretary of State, something that has happened in the course of 8 years from the release of THE INCREDIBLE HULK to this film. It means that all of the films combine together to make one huge storyjust like comic books do.
I've loved all of the Marvel movies to date. The combination of old and new characters, of plot lines that are based in the actual comics and the superb direction, writing, editing and every other aspect of movie making that is on display here means that this is one movie that will receive multiple viewings at my house. My guess is they will do the same at yours and if not, they should.