Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 7, 2016

War is a messy thing, and so too is saving the world. Trey Parker and Matt Stone might have had tongue planted firmly in cheek when they once sang, "freedom isn't free; there's a hefty f---ing fee." But there's a lot of truth in that. Battling evil and oppression, as much as one would like to believe there's another alternative, requires sacrifices of man and material. Wouldn't it be nice if conflicts could be settled with the shake of a hand and an understanding between the differing parties? History says that's not how it works, and no matter how many documents are signed, conflict resolution probably never will work quite like that. Somebody needs to stand up, and bad things will happen as a result, even at the hands of those fighting with the best intentions in mind. Guaranteed. No individual can legislate away the casualties of war, nor can any governing body. But that's what's happening in Captain America: Civil War, a story of a fractured Avengers, with one side willing to give up control of the group -- the decision-making process of who to fight, where, and when -- to a worldwide governmental body, while the other side would rather retain autonomy and take the fight to the enemy without any oversight beyond the group's innermost circle.

The Avengers have done their part to save the world on countless occasions, but the dirty truth cannot be ignored any longer: their actions are costing lives. Collateral damage has skyrocketed in each of their battles against impossible odds and challenging foes. The world is ready to put a stop to that. The United Nations has drafted a proposal that would place the Avengers under its own control, bureaucratically deciding when they fight, where, and against who or what. The team understands the destruction they've wrought, much of it inadvertent, and laments every loss of life under its watch. Some, like Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Vision (Paul Bettany), Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) sign off on the deal. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) stand against the idea and refuse to put pen to paper. With much of the group now under UN control, it's sent in to interfere with a mission Captain America, Falcon, and others have undertaken to track down The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) who is believed to be behind a bombing at the United Nations conference in Vienna, where the accords are to be signed, which killed the Wakandan king, father of the man known as "The Black Panther" (Chadwick Boseman).

Captain America: Civil War may be the smartest Superhero movie yet, building on the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe and dealing with the consequences of the Avengers' actions on a much larger scale. Other films -- from Marvel and DC both -- have not shied away from looking at the consequences of action, but it often seems on a more intimate, personal level, where soul-searching, not world government mandate, is at at the center of the conflict. Here, the movie presents two very disparate, yet related, ideas: give up control of oneself or maintain the very thing for which they fight: freedom. The film centrally pits Iron Man against Captain America, the latter long established as someone who has shied away from the weapons of war that made his company a fortune but who still, even through his wise-cracking antics, fights the good fight against evil and in the pursuit of the very ideals of freedom and self determination for which Captain America now stands against his friend. Captain America, easily the franchise's deepest and most fundamentally interesting character -- someone who may be out of time but whose ideals withstand the test of time -- leads the fight against governmental oversight, championing the idea that the world cannot afford for the politicians to pick and choose the battles they wage but, perhaps more important, the world cannot afford a governmental body dictating the actions of superheroes, particularly should they, as they always seem to do, choose to use their arsenal of champions for more underhanded operations. The film is very transparent in its commentary on bigger ideas like globalization and one-world government. Much like The Winter Soldier, the political overtones shape the movie but don't necessarily weigh it down, enhancing the deeper narrative while still operating under the general excitement the Superhero genre provides.

To be sure, Marvel hasn't shunned action in favor of intrigue. While broader political overtones and intimate personal details and crises define the movie in its broadest scope, this is still a Superhero film and there's no shortage of exciting action sequences in play, including a monster of a battle between the warring factions that's as creative as it is intense. The action flows from the cause-and-effect drama, as the sharply divided lines between them grow increasingly jagged and their allegiance to one another more fragile as their allegiance to ideals grows stronger than friendship and team camaraderie. The film, minus Thor and Nick Fury most obviously but plus relatively new franchise characters in Vision and Ant-Man, as well as a visit from their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, who until now had not been part of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" proper (at least in the Paramount/Disney iterations), puts together endlessly exciting action that sees each superhero living up to their full battle potential, each of them making unique contributions to battle that both play to their individual strengths and the larger group dynamics in play. As expected, the film boasts impeccable visual effects, top-end production design, and all of the holdover qualities -- beautiful costuming, consistency in cast -- that have made the Marvel films fluidly seamless and attractively dynamic as one of the most impressively constructed, thorough, smart, and enjoyable franchises in cinema history. Civil War may not be the best pure film of the bunch, but it's more than a worthwhile entry with plenty of good ideas and a storyline that's a game changer going forward.

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Captain America: Civil War's Blu-ray 3D presentation is very enjoyable but comes up just a little short of excellence in a few areas. Generally, the 3D effect is very well done. The film boasts plenty of screen-stretching depth, evident even in static or calm shots but also frenetic action. The finer point 3D effects, such as long-distance terrain presentations or even something as simple as someone sitting in a chair that shows a noticeable distance from knees to torso is very impressive. It's action, however, that stands apart. Some of the finest, and niftiest, effects come from Captain America's shield zipping around the screen, with the boomerang-like return to him, and the momentum of its movement causing his arm to push backwards upon delivery and seemingly out of the screen, amongst the most impressive 3D effects to date. Gun barrels frequently appear to extend beyond screen confines. The large-scale battle between the warring Avengers factions, which, in the 3D release, opens up the aspect ratio towards HD full frame, delivers several reference moments as characters fly, fling, zip, swoop, shoot, run, punch -- the entire action gamut -- with enough verve and depth for the 3D, and the larger format frame, to capture with often death-defying detail and true sense of space (and scale, as the case may be with Ant-Man). The core technical qualities aren't quite up to the same standard of excellence as the film's Blu-ray 2D counterpart. Detail and color saturation are a slight step down, the former leaving the movie appearing a touch smoother than ideal and the latter featuring colors that are a hair less punchy. Perhaps most distracting is the noticeable increase in aliasing in the 3D image. Much more frequent than the 2D image and popping up in places like straight-line seams on Iron Man and Captain America uniforms, as well as numerous background surfaces, it occasionally rises to the point of distraction, though more casual viewers may not find it quite so bothersome. Overall, the film is worth a watch in 3D, but videophiles will probably want to stick with the superior 2D effort on most occasions.

Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p 2D Blu-ray and do not necessarily reflect the quality of the 3D image.

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Captain America: Civil War boasts a very good, but not quite reference quality, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. Early on in particular, the track struggles to muscle up and produce the sort of deep, rip-roaring, foundation-shaking bass one would expect. Explosions and action chaos come across as a little timid, offering punch but not enough punishment to truly shine. Surround details and imaging are consistently strong, but lacking aggression. The track does gain some intensity as it moves along, or so it seems, featuring more dynamic bass and involved movement in some of the film's later large-scale action sequences. Crashes hit hard, explosions seem more raucous, and immersion is enhanced. Music comes through with excellent definition, wide-berth front stage coverage, and plenty of surround detail. Dialogue is fine, generally, though some hushed conversations can be a mild strain to hear at reference levels. The track is outstanding; it's just a push or light shove from greatness.

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Captain America: Civil War's 3D disc contains no supplemental content. Below is a list of the extras featured on the 2D disc, which is included with the 3D package.

• United We Stand, Divided We Fall -- The Making of Captain America: Civil War (1080p): A two part feature. Part 1 (22:25) features cast and crew looking back at the story's comic book origins and discussing the story's thematic depth and relevance, the large assortment of characters featured in the film, the directors' contributions, the casts' abilities to perform complex stunt work, making various scenes, character relationships and development in the film, shooting locations, key props, Ant-Man's role in the film, choosing which characters would side with which faction, and General Ross' part in the movie. Part 2 (23:18) begins with a discussion of Vision's role in the film and Paul Bettany's performance, the part Black Panther plays in the movie and Chadwick Boseman's work on the film, Tom Holland's performance and Spider-Man's part in the story, making the large-scale battle between the warring factions, the villain Zemo, a major revelation in the film, and more.
• Captain America: The Road to Civil War (1080p, 4:11): A more detailed look at Cap's role in the fracture and Chris Evans' performance of the iconic Avenger.
• Iron Man: The Road to Civil War (1080p, 4:27): Like the previous supplement, a closer look at Tony Stark, what influenced him to take his position in this film, and his relationship with Captain America.
• Open Your Mind: Marvel's Doctor Strange -- Exclusive Sneak Peek (1080p, 4:02): A quick look into the next Marvel film, with concept art, clips from the movie, and cast and crew interview snippets.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p): Extended Peggy's Funeral (5:57), Zemo Meets Doctor Broussard (0:33), "You Are Not Used to the Truth" (0:52), and "Gotta Get Me One of Those" (0:29).
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:53).
• Audio Commentary: Directors Anthony & Joe Russo and Writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely deliver a sometimes light, but usually enlightening and informative track that covers plot, film construction, story arcs, performances, character dynamics, and more. It's a good, balanced track, peppered with a few short gaps but a capable informer that hardcore Marvel fans should find worthwhile.

Captain America: Civil War 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Captain America: Civil War interweaves global politics, personal ideals, and impressively crafted action into one of the most complete Superior movies in the Marvel canon. It's deep, smart, and intense, a genuinely strong picture that seamlessly meshes high concept storytelling with near flawlessly crafted baseline excitement. It's sure to leave an indelible mark on the Marvel universe in the coming films, serving as, easily, the biggest game-changer yet in the series. Disney's Blu-ray 3D release is very enjoyable, featuring well-versed but slightly flawed video; great, but not quite reference, lossless audio; and a nice allotment of extra content. Currently, the 3D presentation is the only way to see the movie's signature action sequence at the larger format aspect ratio. Recommended.