It's the one cliché that even the more hard-boiled among our number roots for deep down inside, but would never admit to after the credits start rolling: every superhero movie deserves a happy ending. And if it doesn't get one, chances are, you're going to end up going home miffed, even if you've sat through 120 minutes of cinematic gold dust.
Not this time, though. Marvel's new Captain America movie breaks away from the road map set by the hundred odd films that came before - it doesn't have a happy ending in the conventional sense, but it is one of the most complex and gripping movies made by Marvel and will be a tough one to beat.
Sure, nobody dies. But by the end of it, the extended Avengers (if you haven't caught the teaser yet, they're all here in Cap's third solo movie) don't walk off into the sunset. Or share shawarmas. They're well and truly divided on two sides of a line - with a less snarky Iron Man on one side and a oddly liberated Captain America on the other. No surprises then that the studio intends to keep it this way as they navigate their way toward the next Avengers movie and several other potential spin-offs.
As always, the action is fast, innovative and defy the laws of physics. The one-liners are brilliant - with the writers using all the snarkiness they would normally employ for Stark to power the dialogues of Ant Man, Spiderman and Falcon. Needless to say, the graphics are great and there are very few places where the film feels like a drag. This, despite it being the most emotional and, dare we say, deep movie in the series, yet.
The movie opens with Cap'n Rogers' ex-best friend Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier being brainwashed by the Soviets into doing the scores of dastardly things he ends up doing, while under the influence. You may wonder why this prologue makes sense, considering how much screen time he got in the last movie, but rest assured it'll all make sense in the end.
Fade out from that into... You guessed it... Avengers fight scene. Let's not dwell too much on what comes after. It spoils the surprise. It can't really do too much justice to the awesome action direction and VFX work that goes into Cap's shield scything around. And it's nothing you haven't already seen in the earlier movies before.
But unlike all the other films from the franchise that have filled the studios coffers with billions of dollars, Civil War stands apart for its sheer gutsiness - in taking two well-loved superheroes and pitting them against each other. Sure, we just endured Batman V Superman this summer, but without taking the easy way out and having them unite to take on a common foe, the Russos have thankfully resisted the urge. And boy, have they scored big with that move.
This one's just a sampling:
Cap: I can't let you kill him (Barnes). He's my friend.
Stark: I was too.
*Flash. Bang. Thud. And boom.*
It's not all that shocking to visualise Captain America and Iron Man going toe to toe. Heck, given their history and their innate need to be top dog in any space, it's a wonder they haven't been at each others necks already. Come to think if it, verbally, they've been going at forever and the cracks only widened after the happenings of Avengers:Age of Ultron. What's really intelligent about their face off in Civil War is the role reversal between the two. Stark was always the flippant, devil-may-care sort who laughed at authority and scoffed at control. Captain America loved rules and often lived by the code, even when it made little sense.
And yet, when the UN forces the Avengers to report to a working group (read: political sorts) and give up their autonomy, it's Cap who puts his foot down. Stark, weighed down by the amount of carnage they've caused while fighting various battles - with Loki, weird metal Centauri aliens, Ultron - is convinced that they're a danger to the world and need regulation. Right about then, the twain began to trade blows. Understandably, the rest of the Avengers - with the addition of Ant Man (Paul Rudd), a quirky new Spiderman, Vision and Black Panther - pick sides and they have an epic go at each other on a set that's made to look like Liepzig Airport. For a lot of folks this might be the high point of Civil War, because it's not everyday that you get to see such a wide assortment of superheroes dishing out blows and wisecracks to such entertaining effect.
Incidentally, it's a bit of tragedy that Samuel L Jackson's patched up Nick Fury character was left out of this film. Didn't feel complete without him somehow. It's also a pity that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is having trouble with Iron Man/Tony Stark. She was always someone to look forward to during these films.
Closer to the end, there's a teensy weensy glimmer of hope that the two men will have a tender, tearful reconciliation when Stark discovers that Captain America was right all along - but the plot is strong enough to ensure that there are other things to reignite that rage. So divided they remain. Until the next movie anyway. One can only hope and pray that it's got the emotional depth of Civil War and the the cheesy superhero-movie thrills of the other Avenger films. That'll beat a happy ending any day.
Note to future Avenger moviemakers:
If, in the future, anyone's got to die, please let it not be said superheros' wife/girlfriend/potential love interest/assistant with whom sparks are always flying, we hope. After all, that's what brothers, best friends, preachy uncles and redeemed villain-type relatives are for. Hint hint.