CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR [4K UHD]

I admit that I have to credit a combination of factors that indirectly influenced my interest in recently watching this film Captain America Civil War (plus bonus features). One factor is that my husband indirectly got me interested in watching the marvel films over 12 years ago (2008) when he convinced me to see the Iron Man film in theaters (we had seen it together at a movie theater here in Norfolk Virginia). The second factor I recently had a strange unusual sleeptime dream where I saw the actor Robert Downey Jr. surrounded by what appeared to be his work/career entourage involving a happy event though the details are far from certain if I was actually watching him through a tv screen or an actual building. Sometime after this sleeptime dream, I politely suggested a certain film with my husband who recommended Disney Plus and we mutually agreed to see this film Captain America Civil War (plus bonus features) together before I also obtained it here through amazon for future unlimited viewings. The early beginnings of the Captain America Civil War film introduces the character of “Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier” (Sebastian Stan) which also eventually paves the way for one of the multiple reasons why multiple other characters become involved in either direct andor indirect ways in events involving the “Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier character”: Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Natasha Romanoff Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon character (Anthony Mackie), James Rhodes War Machine (Don Cheadle), Clint Barton Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), TChalla Black Panther (Chad Boseman), Vision (Paul Bettany), Wanda Maximoff Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Scott Lang Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Peter Park Spider Man (Tom Holland), Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), Sharon Carter (Van Camp), Brock Rumlow/Crossbones (Frank Grillo), Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), cameo appearances of John Slattery Hope Davis, Alfre Woodard, John Kani, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei Martin Freeman Stan Lee Kerry Condon etc. are also among the multiple actors/actresses featured in Captain America Civil War The film either shows andor references the following places in relation to the plot sequences of Captain America Civil War andor connections with some of the characters: Lagos Nigeria, Vienna Austria, Wakanda, Bucharest Romania, Queens New York, Brooklyn. I did enjoy that a back story was given as to why the antagonist was determined to seek revenge instead of completing forgiving although my only caveat to the film is that I do feel that sometimes people can improve personality wise over time as they evolve to live longer compared to how they might have thought andor acted in their younger years and if this film is ever remade/rebooted again andor more prequels made pertaining to Captain America Civil War it would be interesting to see if any redemption elements are included even more extensively. On a positive note, there were at least some redemptive elements touched upon by certain characters in the film. Aside from the caveat, Captain America Civil War was a much better film than I anticipated and fortunately my husband also enjoyed watching the film. There are some scenes after the conclusion of the film that give hints into other films and the credit of Captain America Civil War being directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo.

Steve: *Leads and then botches a mission in Lagos, Nigeria because he brought an unprepared team member AND totally misread the situation in the first place - leading to 11 people dying and many more injured.* Wanda: *Kills 11 innocent people by not being able to control her powers and being untrained enough for the mission.* Steve and Wanda: *Fluff off the 11 deaths in about two lines of dialogue, plus a couple of furrowed brows during the meeting with Ross.* Steve and Wanda: *Never refer to the screwed-up mission or the 11 deaths again. Doesn’t really seem to bother them.* Wanda: Waaaah! You locked me up in my room! How dare you?? *Proceeds to escalate airport fight to deadly proportions, causing injuries and millions of dollars in damages* Steve: Literally CHOOSES NOT TO DO the Right Thing (which is protecting the many) and runs off to save his one pal instead, becoming the catalyst for many more deaths and injuries and millions of dollars in damages – thus giving up the right to be Captain America (and he knows it; hence his throwing away the shield). Fandom at large: Everything Steve does is right because he’s Captain America! We love Steve and Wanda! Tony Stark (with not too much screen time but making the most of it…): *Takes complete responsibility for all his actions, especially blaming himself for Ultron even though he’s clearly NOT completely responsible. In fact, takes utter responsibility and blame even at the expense of his own health and well-being. Cares probably way too much. Listens to the pain of a mother who lost her son in Sokovia; lets it affect him personally and terribly. Tries to the utmost of his ability to keep the Avengers safe and together. Pays for all their mistakes and embarrassments, including stuff they blow up and destroy – and probably funds an army of lawyers and advisors to pay damages to the people injured and the families of the people killed as collateral damage on Avengers missions. Keeps Wanda SAFE in a SAFEHOUSE because she’s a visa-less foreign national who could be killed by Ross’s goon squads or imprisoned without bond at any time - also because she just KILLED 11 PEOPLE. Feigns going along with Ross even though he doesn’t trust Ross, because he wants to keep everyone safe and together and knows politicians don’t stay in power forever and that contracts can be negotiated. Tries valiantly throughout the story to use reason and rationality, offers of compromise and negotiation, to get Steve to at least listen to his side – because guess what, the Avengers actually do need accountability. Is rebuffed again and again but still tries. Brings Spider-Man to the airport SPECIFICALLY to “web ‘em up” and capture HIS FRIENDS WITHOUT HURTING THEM and finds it’s Cap’s side that escalates the war. Has to endure the grave injury of his best friend Rhodey and no doubt blames himself for that too. Goes to Steve’s side IMMEDIATELY when he gets the evidence that Bucky was not the Vienna bomber, to try to make things right. Bravely goes alone in a helicopter through a raging ocean storm to the Raft, at tremendous danger to himself, to try to find out where Steve is – knowing Ross could lock him up, too, and no one would be the wiser. Is stunned and appalled by what he finds there, but has to play the high-stakes game and get his information and get out if he wants to somehow save the Avengers and help Steve.Has to endure the cruel jibes of Clint, which he hides his feelings about. Escapes the Raft, flies more than 6,000 miles to Siberia, ALONE in the armor, to try to make amends. Almost succeeds– until he finds out his erstwhile friend kept the most terrible of all secrets from him for two years. Reacts as any human would (since he JUST SAW video footage of the murders of his parents, and the murderer is standing right there…).* Fandom at large: Aggghhh! Tony locked up Wanda and brought a child to the airport fight and then he attacked Bucky! He’s a spoiled rich guy with no feelings and no morals! “Civil War” screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (on the Blu-Ray): Steve is better than Tony and a greater moral character. Tony Fans: ………what??? The movie, as a whole, was great, but listening to some of the commentary on the Blu-Ray from the Russos and the screenwriters seems to directly contradict how Tony's story arc actually emerged onscreen. Tony was BY FAR the more sympathetic character when compared with Steve - I can't tell you the number of people who have said they went in to the movie as Team Cap and came out solidly on Tony's side. It's pretty clear the Avengers DO need accountability - an idea that Tony, by reason, rationality, and almost pleading, tried to get across to the stolidly non-responsive Steve. If 117 countries say so, then something needs fixing. You can't just imperially say "our hands are the best hands" -- that's a dangerous notion, and says who, anyway? Chris Evans' s Cap, in fact, was a stubborn lump throughout this movie (what the heck WAS his motivation for refusing the Accords - especially when it was clear that they were open to negotiation and discussion??) -- only coming to life at certain times (the church scene was nice...) while RDJ simply blew everyone else off the screen with his emotion-driven arc. I simply found this movie very one-sided, as much as I liked it. Cap's side and his bullheaded stubbornness were never explained clearly, while Tony (with MUCH less screen time) got to portray a fully realized argument and a full range of emotions explaining and illuminating his side and his feelings. Some critics and fans are calling this "Iron Man 4," with very good reason. As one major critic said, it's odd that the movie is called "Captain America" when Captain America is the least interesting character in it.

Edited for typos. I typically prefer to buy movies on Blu-ray so I approached this purchase with trepidation. There's something specific to movies and not any other kind of media that I feel compelled to buy them on disc. But I don't currently have a Blu-ray player because I just gave away my PS4 and I wanted to watch this movie so I decided to take the plunge into digital movie-buying. Overall it's a fine experience on my Amazon Fire TV--the little box not the HDMI dongle. Video quality: Totally fine. Probably not as nuanced and rich as a Blu-ray but not significantly worse than one either. Audio quality: Totally fine. I only have a 2.1 soundbar anyways but dialogue was clear, explosions were explosive. Stream quality: Good enough. I was surprised that the movie started playing immediately after clicking the buy button. I expected there to be some amount of caching of data upfront but there was none, that's pretty cool. And when the stream started it was at full quality immediately, no ramping up in quality from 480p to 1080p, also pretty cool. However, there were some hiccups where the audio stream would briefly cut out. I'm talking frames of audio so nothing significant enough to truly affect my ability to understand what was happening--also, it's a superhero movie it could be muted and you'd still know exactly what was happening and why. My Fire TV is wired into my home network and my ISP regularly provides download speeds between 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps. I don't suspect that stream issues were related to my ISP or home network but something else on my end could still be at fault or contributing to those streaming issues. Review of the movie: Civil War is a lot of fun to watch. Taken on its own merits--as opposed to taking it within the context of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe and cannon--it is a good and solid movie that stands well on its own. Despite the fact that the events of the movie are set into motion ONLY through the events of all of the other Marvel movies Civil War still has its own center and it doesn't rely on or require that you've watched any other Marvel movies to get involved and interested. Although that certainly does help. Tonally, it strikes the right balance between the utterly absurd and the deadly serious. The serious, political, content is satisfyingly grounded and feels sufficiently real in its approach. While the zany superhero stuff is appropriately fantastic, comedic, and hard-hitting when it needs to be. Looking at the movie in the context of the rest of the MCU I'd rank this one up near the top. I love that this superhero team-up extravaganza is darker and more serious than its contemporaries. Civil War and the Avengers, for instance, could not be more different in that the Avengers is a bright and saturated movie that doesn't deal so much with the grey areas and underbelly of the superhero-ing business. Civil War deals entirely with that part of the business and I think that's interesting and valuable as a counterbalance in the grand scheme of things. Pound for pound, I'd still rank The Avengers at #1 with The Winter Soldier at #2 and Guardians of the Galaxy and Civil War duking it out for spots 3 and 4. I'd recommend this movie to anyone looking for a fun romp that's more than just all the good guys punching all the bad guys. Id' recommend it for kids too, kids should be exposed to their favorite heroes disagreeing and fighting each other for what they believe in.

This was a great movie. There have been a lot of duds lately, and I was surprised that this one actually got me off of the computer for the duration. It's full of plot holes and I have no idea why the tertiary heroes like ant dude and spidey boy were even there, and that kind of detracted from what could have been a really good movie about the rift between Cap and Tony. I'll just add my own quirky thoughts.... The effects for Young Tony were stunning. Almost creepily so. We are quickly coming to a point where we are not going to need actors. Voices won't be far behind. For some actors, not necessarily the ones in this movie, that point can't come soon enough. I'm not buying Tony wanting government oversight. In fact, I'm not buying any of these characters wanting government oversight, except Cap. He's the only one out of the bunch that the government never really screwed. Yet somehow, Cap is the one to lead the resistance. Romanoff. Good God, Romanoff of all people to go with government, after what they did to her in Russia. This might have been more believable if they had stuck more to the original Civil War story, but they would have needed more movies and actual X Men for that, and they're all over at Fox. So we have to hand wave this stuff. Imagine Bucky as Cap's psycho girlfriend. Somebody would have had an intervention by now, but because they're not in a sexual relationship, this is all OK. One minute everything is OK, even good, the next she is beating the crap out of him and everyone else. No matter how much I loved my friend, at some point I would have to say he was killing too many people in his "altered" mode to let him roam free, and he would have to be killed if that's what it took. OTOH I get teary eyed watching two war buddies from The Greatest Generation sticking together no matter what. At that point, Bucky is all Cap has left from his past. Do you know anybody who would go as for for you as Cap did for Bucky? Again with Bucky.... Hugh Jackman is about to hang up his Wolverine claws. Sebastian Stan is young, good looking, and is a great actor. The Winter Soldier character has a lot in common with Wolverine-- he's a super soldier who's suffered a lot of experimentation, there's a lot he can't remember, he's got anger issues, and oooohhhh the angst. I bet he's got that Cartwright Curse going, too. All he needs is a custom leather jacket and a motorcycle. Think about it, Marvel. You may never get Wolverine back from Fox, but you don't really need him. Overall, this movie was kind of silly, but I really liked it. That's because I like bad movies. I like The Hot Chick, Gods of Egypt, all the Twilight movies, Barbie in Princess Charm School, the solo Minions movie-- my taste is bad and it really runs all over the place. This movie imprinted on me against my will. I eagerly await Bucky's Big Adventure.

An excellent adaptation of a spotty comic book storyline. Plus an excellent introduction of Spider-Man to the MCU. In a lot of sense this should be considered the third Avengers movie because of all the characters involved. What it does do is bring into question all the lives that were lost during various Avengers' actions in previous movies. Other than Avengers; Age of Ultron, everything that happened that happened in the MCU would have been worse to astronomically worse if the Avengers hadn't been involved. This film does a decent job of bringing the "real world" reaction/response into the scenario, and how it shows the two sides is believable and realistic. Neither is 100% right, and neither is 100% wrong. They (Cap and Iron Man) are making decisions based on their own experiences.. Cap got screwed by believing in SHIELD when it was actually Hydra, intending to kill millions and take over. Tony was trying to protect the world and ended up releasing Ultron on it. So Steve doesn't believe in "authority from above" and Tony feels the need to be reined in. Nearly a complete flip-flop from the first Avengers movie. Upon multiple viewings this movie is more similar to Captain America: The Winter Soldier than it would first seem. There are a lot more super heroes in this that Winter Soldier but the overall story and plot are more in line with that movie. That being said, there are at least three excellent action pieces. The first being Cap's Avengers vs. "Crossbones". The second being Cap's Avengers vs. Iron Man's Avengers (this one is awesome), and the last being Cap, Bucky vs. Iron Man. The first one is pretty cut and dried, and, IMO, the Avengers take a bit too much crap about the aftermath considering the alternative. The second one is awesome and if you like Spider-Man, and to a lesser extent Gi-Ant-Man, you are going to have a good time. The last one requires Tony to be a bit more emotional in his response. The end result works out well (and a hell of a lot better than the comics). It seems like this storyline should be setting up a Black Widow story but I doubt that will happen. I do hope that some comments about legal proceedings or incidences based on this movie will show up in the Netflix shows if not the follow on movies. Oh yeah! Black Panther and Wakanda are in this story and bad ass!

What can it be said? This was the movie event of the year. Marvel's Cinematic Universe adds another great movie to its collection and I don't think it can be said enough. Taking its cues from the popular comic book angle, Captain America Civil War brings to fold the epic storyline of the Avengers divided on the moral questions of their phenomenal powers and skills used independently or on the orders of global authority. Steve Rogers is against this whereas Tony Stark is for it. Almost from the beginning its clear both men have noble reasons for what they believe and it is amazing how well told this is. Written as well as other comic book fares such as the Dark Knight Trilogy, not bad considering this is the third film in a series. There is no sequelitis here and in fact, becomes a major turning point for the Avengers. I even heard someone called this Avengers 2.5. Make no mistake I'm for Team Cap, Steve grew up in World War II and he learned first hand the problems with the reliance on global concerns above doing the right thing. A League of Nations didn't stop Hitler and only made him stronger, along with HYDRA. Tony relies on the need to set limits but deep down wants respect and admiration from the world. As far as I'm concerned he was a sellout and only interested in trying his best for himself and not the world and of course the team. Yet as this goes down a mysterious third party is using a traumatic incident from the Winter Soldier's past against the Avengers as they splinter from within. This leads to an awesome encounter between Captain America vs Iron Man first in an encounter with their respective teams and finally one on one in an abandoned HYDRA bunker which is epic as the original comic. Civil War or Avengers 2.5 gets its name from having Captain America's team of Winter Soldier, Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man fight against Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, Black Widow alongside two newcomers. Black Panther and Spider-Man. Black Panther. What can it be said? I knew next to nothing on him other than his fearsome costume, but his presence brought to life by Chadwick Boseman is an amazing gift to fans old and new. Spider-Man. Marvel finally brings back its beloved hero to its Cinematic Universe and everyone should celebrate. Tom Holland brings back the teenaged innocence of the web-slinger that Tobey Maguire brought but also some of the modern styles that Andrew Garfield brought. Though I would have loved it for Garfield's Spider-Man movies to be inserted in the MCU, this is still a pretty good actor in Holland and am really glad for his appearance. Both newbies will get their own movies prior to the massive two-part Avengers sequels coming soon, but this is certainly a nice sample. Truly an epic.

If your a fan of the Marvel Studios series of movies based on its comic book heroes, this latest installment may be the best. Back are Chris Evans as the eponymous titular character, and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron-Man, in a face-off over how much oversight earths "enhanced" heroes should, or will accept over their efforts to thwart the forces of evil. Sides are drawn and a whole plethora of characters are drawn into the melee on both sides. We get our first look at the Black Panther, Marvel's original African American hero, who will soon have his own film. There is also the first appearance of Spider-Man in a Marvel film, though he has appeared in five films produced by Sony Pictures. Both are portrayed nicely, and give fans something to look forward to later. The film is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, (directors of the excellent Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and the plot and action are handled in such a manner as to keep the story-line streamlined and clear, and to juggle all these characters and their interaction without it becoming a confusing, loud whirl of CGI. The story is loosely based on a story arc from Marvel Comics a few years back, but only loosely. It is pretty necessary that you have at least seen said previous Russo captain America film, as well as director Peyton Reed's Ant-Man, and Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron beforehand, or some of the plot references and character relationships won't be completely clear. But, even if you don't this is a very good movie and it's worth owning. This purchase has two discs, the one is standard digital DVD, which regular and blu ray dvd players can read, but there's also a new format HD blue ray disc. My regular blu ray could not read this disc. I understand new players are coming out to read this format, but be advised if you are buying this expecting to pop it into your blue ray and get that experience you'll probably have issues if your blu ray is an older model.

The Captain America movies just keep getting better with each release. I thought "The First Avenger" was a lot of fun if not a little lacking in character development, thought "The Winter Soldier" was really great and helped flesh out Cap as a person and not just a costume, and now with "Civil War" I'm not sure where the series could go next. Whereas some reviews seem to fault the movie for the "over-stuffed" roster, I feel like it actually makes sense to have as many of the characters that do show up in the movie. Unless the story takes place on a different world, a la Thor, I've never really been able to accept why only some of the planet's superheroes would show up to battle whatever threat was facing the world on a given day. What it really boils down to is the amount of enjoyment I get from watching the movie, and Civil War does not leave me wanting at all. The action sequences are some of the most amazing I've seen in recent movies, and certainly among other superhero movies from other studios, while at the same time the quiet moments provide the downtime needed between setpieces. The plot, while a little contrived (I wish there had been a more compelling villain) will keep you interested, and is more than just a vehicle for the action sequences. The performances from all the regular cast members are among the best you'll see in a superhero movie (Paul Rudd is always a standout, even in the smaller role as Ant-man), but the real standout is Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. I was not familiar with the character before, but I am very excited for his solo movie after seeing him in this.