Civil War wins in superhero faceoffs
Captain America action blockbuster leaves Batman v Superman in its dust
Superheroes battling superheroes: Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice did it first. But Captain America: Civil War does it better.
Even though Zack Snyder buried brilliant stuff in his moody opus, Anthony and Joe Russo maintain their magic touch throughout Civil War without descending into the murky passages we endure as Dawn of Justice drags on.
Here are five major ways that Captain America kicks Batman v Superman’s superhero butt:
1. Civil War now easily ranks as the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is more focused, more logical and less esoteric than Avengers: Age of Ultron; it maintains the nuttiness of the first two Iron Man movies (thanks to the droll Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man); it cleverly loops in Ant-Man (Paul Rudd is still hilarious); and it gives Chris Evans the opportunity to enhance Steve Rogers/Captain America, evolving him into a more complex, morally struggling and interesting leader. Meanwhile, Batman v Superman is not even the best movie in the two-title DC Extended Universe: That honour belongs to Snyder’s Man of Steel.
2. The plot of Civil War is logical and relevant in today’s political climate. With a screenplay credited to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Civil War pits two factions of the Avengers against one another over the linked issues of accountability and government supervision. Rogers leads the “we-know-best” group against Stark’s “weneed-limits” group. When the two factions engage in a brutal battle, viewers are conflicted. In Batman v Superman, our two superheroes are easily manipulated by the villain.
3. Performances are consistently bright throughout Civil War, whether it is the lead superheroes — Evans, Downey, Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Jeremy Renner — or the excellent support ensemble that includes Sebastian Stan reprising his role as the mixed-up Winter Soldier and sublime William Hurt reinventing his character from The Incredible Hulk. Formerly a military man obsessed with the Hulk, Hurt’s Thaddeus (Thunderbolt) Ross is now the U.S. Secretary of State. He provides the gravitas and grace necessary to legitimately hang the Civil War plot on global politics. Meanwhile, Batman v Superman suffers inconsistency issues, particularly because Ben Affleck is so much better as Bruce Wayne than as the clunky Batman of the superhero battle.
4. The visual palette in Civil War is a joy to behold. The Russo Brothers again worked with a creative team led by Canadian cinematographer Trent Opaloch (District 9, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and English composer Henry Jackman (The Winter Soldier). New to the team is production designer Owen Paterson (The Matrix trilogy). They seamlessly create a superhero world that seems both realistic and fantastic. In contrast, Batman v Superman features interminable battle scenes in semi-darkness.
5. The Russo Brothers introduce new Avengers with an electrifying buzz that makes the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as much fun for us as it obviously was for the actors. We get the Marvel debuts of Chadwick Boseman (who played Jackie Robinson in 42) and Tom Holland (a 19-year-old Londoner best known for playing Billy Elliot on stage). Boseman is boldly charismatic as T’Challa/Black Panther. Holland is amusing as a naive chatterbox version of Peter Parker/ Spider-Man, a kid who has only had his powers for six months. In Batman v Superman, new spinoff superheroes are introduced awkwardly in “found-footage” videos.
So that confirms that Marvel trumps DC big-time. Unless, of course, Suicide Squad reverses the trend in August.