What I Loved About Captain America: Civil War

Dearest Marvel/Avenger fans,

**WARNING!!! This post contains opinions on the latest Captain America movie - Civil War. It will be an extensive post and it will have loads of pictures and text so please grab yourself a cup of tea and a warm blanket and Enjoy!** 

I know I should not be afraid to say anything about the Captain America: Civil War by now, as it was in the cinemas for quite a while now (the premiere for Poland was on the 6th of May). I got a chance to see it the first time on the 9th of May, on a lovely sunny Sunday, at the Cinema City in Galeria Kazimierz. We did not choose the 3D option - sometimes those give me a headache... - but we took the 2D regular instead. If you know your Marvel heroes and you know the comics there is not much that would WOW you, yet I really liked this movie: well done, nicely paced, more fighting scenes (between the heroes that now split sides) and pretty well written lines. But without any further ado, let me tell you what I loved about Captain America: Civil War.

1. Even if Hulk and Thor are not present, the other Avengers + friends more than make up for it. When I come to think of it, I more like Loki than Thor and I don't consider The God of Thunder as intriguing... probably due to loads of muscles vs. Loki's awesome brain :) when in comes to Hulk, I would really love to know where he is... and I would also love to see more of him and Natasha in the movies. I have a feeling that they would be good for eachother!

2. The relationship between Scarlet Witch (played brilliantly by Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (played by my beloved, underrated actor, Paul Bettany) gets from the comic book to the movie screen. I like the chemistry between them and I love how they care about eachother. Considering that Wanda lost her brother, her homeland and she's being grounded to the Avengers compound due to her amazing powers as a mutant, I must admit it is nice seeing her find a friend (and more) in Vision. He is equally challenged and still has problems understanding the world, but you can see both try to figure out their issues and trying to face who they are and the powers they have - eg. The talk they have about Visions power stone vs. Wanda's super power.

3. Natasha's double sided nature: not being able to be 100% against Captain America or Iron Man, believing they are both right in their own way. I love her for being a bad ass without any special powers and standing up for what she believes it is right. In all her actions you can see how she plays so no one would get hurt. It's touching and cute (in the airport scene) when she fights Hawkeye and she asks if they are still friends :) as the 2 amazing people that they are, no special forces or mutations, what both are able to do is magnificent! I am so happy Natasha will finally have her own Marvel heroes movie. Now I am just waiting for Hawkeye to get one as well :)

4. The very likeable new Peter Parker (Spider... boy!). I enjoyed seeing a younger version of Spiderman (including Marisa Tomei as the very young aunt) but it felt somehow weird and pushed the fact that Iron Man would call on a kid's help to get #teamcap back on track. I know Spiderman comes with really good superpowers that can come in handy in a fight, but why bother at this precise moment to go and pick up the kid only to force introduce him into the action/plot and get us more aquianted with him. It somehow felt for a while less of a Captain America movie and more of an Avengers one... that being taken aside, I loved this version of Spider boy :) He was fun and quirky and had a visible crush on the Avengers :) his action scenes are pleasant and fun to watch, bringing a fresh comic vibe.

5. The Ant-Man joining #teamcap - I really wish for more Ant-Man movies + I wanna see more of Wasp ;) so this small cameo of Ant-Man helping the Avengers on Captain America side was fun!!! As #teamironman has Spidey, #teamcap had to have a "special weapon" as well, and that was Paul Rudd's Ant-Man that had a crush on Captain America ;))) I loved seeing him in the action scenes when he teams up with Hawkeye (sitting on one of his arrows) and manages to enter Iron Man's suit and mess it up ;)) I loved seeing him go "Hulk mode" and enlarging himself and kicking some super - hero arse! ;)) until Vision  passes through him and Spidey pulls an old Star Wars reference (which I totally and geeky loved!!!)

6. The action scene in the airport hangar - is the one nerds/geeks will love to hate and hate to love. It's brilliantly done and only thinking of the amount of exercise both the actors/stuntman + the people filming had to go through... only that would deserve a full round of eternal applause! Not to mention seeing your favourite Marvel heroes fighting between themselves and seeing how awesome some of their powers truly are... breathless! Amazing action from Scarlet Witch, that with a bit of training, I believe could kick everyone else's arse ;) she made me think of Jean Grey's Phoenix... I surely would not wish Wanda to go rogue ;)

7. Peggy's funeral - it was to be expected but also to be expected is the fact that every fan will get teary eyed at this point. Let's face it: Peggy Carter is one hell of a character! Well written and exceptionally played by Hayley Atwell, Peggy is one of my favourite female characters in the Marvel universe. And she manages to grow on you like no other will! In a time when only men were considered able to face the task of protecting the country and other people, Peggy shows that what she can do can change the world and how other think about women. She is the Black Widow before her time ;) with no other special powers than her true wit, charm, amazing personality and tom-boy fighting skills... she saved the day numerous times! Sadly enough (even though she was one of the first that believed in Steve Rogers - pre Captain America serum) they never stood a chance to be together.  I love though their screentime friendship together :)

8. The Romanian language displayed in the movie :) that's right! I heard my very own home language and while at the Cinema I could not help smiling and pointing this out to my husband, patiently sitting next to me ;)) the scene where Bucky goes out to buy some plums in some Bucharest market is a killer! At first I was extremely impressed by the comand of Romanian language of the guy playing Bucky + others. Then, later on, at home, I Googled it and guess what?! Sebastian Stan (the actor playing the Winter Soldier) is actually Romanian! :o shame on me but I did not know that! Born and raised in Romania until he was 8, he still has perfect command of the language! :)

9. The Captain America vs. Iron Man vs. Winter Soldier scene - it's the roughest scene in the movie and it's a tearjerker as you wish somehow all of them would win. It's heartbreaking to see two friends fighting and seeing Tony against Steve is quite a knockout :( I won't tell you more, but the fast pacing and rhythm of the scene, plus the soundtrack and the background of their relationship in the comic books/movies makes you wanna scream... and let's face it: Captain could have killed him!

10. The dark side of the heroes is brought to life by one man, of no particular set of skills or superpowers, but that had patience and motivation. I liked the actor Daniel Bruhl (playing here Zemo) ever since the amazing portrayal he did in the movie "Good bye Lenin!". That is also one of my favourite movies done in the latest century. A must see! But think about it now... what a man that has nothing, lost everything, is capable of doing. The Force that drives every human being into taking actions is something I wonder about almost on a daily basis. What pushes us toward? What makes us tick? What turns us from facing the light into turning to darkness and seeing that people that help actually do harm as well... I liked the idea that the Avengers (with their super powers) could be turned in their way by one human being.

I think that overall it was more of an Avengers movie than a Captain America one. It did not shed much light into Bucky's or Steve's past... rather more on Stark's family! But it was nonetheless really nice to see it on the big screen. It is the kind of movie that you should watch at the Cinema. Not necessary on a 3D option but on the big screen nonetheless.  Looking forward to the next Marvel movie ;) Doctor Strange is coming this fall and the next X-Men is this month, so get your money ready!

Yours sincerely,
The Twisted Red LadyBug that loves movies