By Ruth Kramer ’18, Co-Editor-in-Chief
After the bust that was Superman vs. Batman: Dawn of Justice, many superhero fans were worried that Captain America: Civil War would be another disappointment. After all, turning allies and friends against each other can only go so far and be so interesting. But Marvel proved the world wrong. Captain America: Civil War was a fantastic film with plot twists around every corner and guest appearances from everyone’s favorite heroes including Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and even Ant-Man.
I am not much of a superhero fan. In fact, I’m not a superhero fan at all. I don’t read the comics and the only other Marvel movie I’ve seen is Captain America: Winter Soldier, and that was only because I was ordered to go by one of my Marvel-loving friends. But I saw this Marvel movie anyway because I knew my friend wanted to see it and Jungle Book was sold out. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had always heard that superhero movies were either boring with a lot of things blowing up or great with a lot of things blowing up and I was very excited to see how this one turned out. After the first explosion, I knew this was going to be one of the greats. Great actors, great effects, as well as great one-liners all added up to make a highly entertaining film.
Captain America: Civil War follows the Avengers and their struggle to keep the world safe. But because people have died because of the Avengers’ working for the greater good, the world’s governments want to limit the Avengers power. The governments want the Avengers to become a last resort, only intervening when nothing else can be done by mere humans. Steve Rodgers (a.k.a. Captain America) completely disagrees; yes, sometimes people die, but wouldn’t it be better for 10 to die rather than 10,000? Because of his views and stubbornness on the subject, tensions begin to arise between Captain America and other heroes such as Iron Man and Black Widow.
Just before the world’s governments can sign the document that will completely limit the Avengers power, a bomb goes off, killing many government officials and civilians. Before the world can even react, the primary suspect’s identity is revealed as James “Bucky” Barnes, one of Captain America’s closest friends. It turns out that he can be brainwashed into a killer without a conscious in only a few words. Shortly after, Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) decides that Bucky is in fact the terrorist who killed so many people and that he must be stopped. But Captain America just doesn’t believe it; he goes looking for Bucky to protect him and along the way picks up heroes who are willing to help such as Falcon and Hawkeye, while Iron Man gets Spider-Man and Vision. And so a battle begins between two who were once friends.
Going into Captain America: Civil War, I was no superhero fan. I would rather have watched an animated Disney movie or even a cheesy rom-com. But Captain America: Civil War thoroughly impressed me; it was funny, emotional, and action-packed. In fact, it even made me want to see more Marvel films. Captain America: Civil War is such a great movie because it can reach so many audiences. Superhero fans, scientists, even teenagers who swoon at the sight of Chris Evans’s amazing arms all line up to see this movie. No matter who you are, Captain America: Civil War is definitely a movie you should see.
