I saw Civil War this morning and just got home.
The oddest thing about is that it feels more like an Avengers movie, not a Captain America movie (as lessee, it has, uh, somewhere around 13-14 heroes in it? Good lord!) As a testament to the writing, however, each of the characters gets some face time, and overall it seems to still focus on Cap and the Winter Soldier the most, so it still seems to track the "Captain America" path through the narrative. Unlike DC's contributions, where having too many characters means everything feels diluted, this movie still manages to make the most of the reduced time for each and firmly establishes who they are and what their motives are... which is actually an understated achievement and deserves more credit.
I don't think it's better than Winter Soldier, I think they're about on par with each other (and this movie has a bigger scope to it but a weaker "villain" in some ways); however, I think it's more solid than Avengers: Age of Ultron, which isn't a terrible movie but earned more of a "B"in a category where some Marvel movies keep hitting A- and A's.
Black Panther and Spiderman are both pretty decent here, as new additions... although Tom Holland comes off as being a ninth grader and I'm a little unsure of what kind of tone a new Spiderman movie will try to strike. I like him -- and he actually feels like a young high-school student -- but he seems the least adult of the three Spidermans that will have hit the big screen and I'm not sure if they are slanting it more as a teen fiction movie versus a film that can also appeal easily to adults with adult concerns.
To a large degree, the movie didn't try to whitewash much, and the most villainous entities are more the government (although you can understand the concerns) + the movie villain himself; but with these movies, the villain has usually been somewhat of a let-down. I think the tone struck here (that initially splits the Avengers) is more between idealism/mobility vs. pragmatism/responsible oversight. It's just really unclear whether any form of oversight will make the Avengers ineffectual. I like how they try their best to stay in the "gray" area in terms of right or wrong, and you can generally see everyone's side of things and what is driving them. Even Cap isn't pure. They've all got some good intentions mixed with a bit of self-interest.
Also, while there were some incidents from past movies that obviously raised world concerns, the attack on NYC (at the very least) isn't a great example because it was basically being taken over by aliens, and if the Avengers had done nothing, humanity would have been enslaved... so it's rather difficult to blame the Avengers for stepping in when they did. This isn't a rare thing; what should be considered are the alternatives to what went down, and THEN the Avengers can be held to task if their solution was more damaging than the disease.
The irony is that in the end, I think the attempt to rein in the Avengers creates even more collateral damage.
The character arcs seemed to make sense, once you see them in context and watch through the end. Some of the trailer stuff was taken out of context, but it makes more sense in the movie. And many of the characters have the crap beaten out of them (bloody and bruised) by the end, if not worse; it's pretty bad.
The Russo's really have done a good job with the Captain America run -- creating some pretty decent action narratives that are strongly supported by solid characterizations. People seem driven by their own personal convictions and stories, and the plots unfold from that. So there is substance to the energy and energy to the substance. They can add this movie as another feather to their estimable cap.
Also watched The Pineapple Express last night. Pretty funny movie (even if a bit trite in scope), unless you really hate Rogan, Franco, and McBride. There's so much crazy interplay between the characters throughout the movie, and especially the conversation in the diner at the movie's end. Gary Cole does his thing again (such a great character actor), although he doesn't get to do as much as normal in this movie. Ed Begley and Nora Dunn don't get as much time as hoped either. I did laugh at a lot of it, though. Franco's done some great serious drama (127 Days, etc.), but here he just hits his character (pot dealer and just not quite all there) so perfectly... Rogan's pretty much just playing himself.
the way they animated all the animals was amazing..
