REVIEW: Civil War Comes To Marvel Universe In Captain America Blu-Ray Release
By Kyle Buis
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The movie loosely based on a major comic collaboration from a decade ago is now out on Blu-Ray.
"Captain America: Civil War" may as well have been called the third Avengers movie as it brings together a cast from throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe to essentially fight each other.
The movie borrows from the comic series that shares its tagline, in this instance using the collateral damage from the first two Avengers movies and an incident at the beginning of the this movie as a reason to put new restraints on earth's mightiest heroes.
Before this movie came out, I took a Marvel Unlimited free trial binge and went through the nearly 100 issues in Marvel's recommended order, so I was familiar with its origins. Obviously, this was not going to be an exact recreation for many reasons, including the length, the fact some of the major players (See: Fantastic 4) were tied up in rights purgatory, and how on earth were you going to explain a cyborg Thor, let alone what happens to Goliath.
But "Captain America: Civil War" makes good use of the main premise of the series: When and how should absolute power be put in check. The special features, including what I look at as a four-part documentary series explaining how the writers assembled the rival sides.
The fact this is a superhero movie that goes beyond the typical spectacle of a Big Bad that can only be beaten with the power of teamwork, friendship and HULK SMASH (by the way, no Hulk in this one) is worthy of praise. The comparisons to "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" are inevitable, and DC's offering pales in comparison for many reasons, mostly because of character development. Marvel has had nearly a decade to build relationships and characters and that work paid off well in this movie and with new strain on those relationships, it shows promise going forward while avoiding being stale.
The Blu-Ray edition comes with the documentaries I mentioned above, as well as a sneak peek at "Doctor Strange"—Marvel's next movie set for a November release—audio commentary with the directors and screenwriters, a gag reel, and deleted and extended scenes.
