Captain America defeats Iron Man
I told you major spoilers ahead. It’s your own damn fault if you clicked on that.
Now that you know who wins, let me suggest a few other winners for you. Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, is fucking awesome. Thrown into an already star-studded cast, this pubescent arachnid superhero damn near steals the show. I was definitely much more interested in the relationship between Iron Man as a mentor and a young pupil, a Padawan if you will (Easter egg right there), Spider-Man.
While Stan Lee made his obligatory cameo, there were some noticeable vacancies in the movie. The most refreshing absence were the forced attempts at humor that have become nauseatingly common in Marvel movies. Perhaps taking a page out of the DC Comic movie book, the customary not-witty banter was refreshingly gone. Not completely, which made the few moments of forced humor refreshing.
The word that best describes Captain America: Civil War to me is… predictable. You’re along for the ride, but you pretty much know everything that is going to happen. Certain details, like Ant-Man dominating the fight at the airport, keep it interesting. I expected Thor and the Incredible Hulk to show up but they didn’t. So while not entirely predictable, you generally don’t become too invested in the huge action battle sequences. There is very little risk of any of the superheroes actually getting killed off; that the suspense never gets too tense.
Overall, I’d have to say I like this movie. Crucify me for saying I enjoy the dark tone of DC movies over Marvel, but I feel Marvel is catching up. With heavy hitters like X-Men: Apocalypse and Dr. Strange (which has a extremely Nolan-esqe Batman Begins and Inception feel about it….) coming up this summer, it’s anyone’s guess as to which of the summer blockbusters will prevail. If I was a gambling man, I wouldn’t put my money on Suicide Squad.