Walk into your barbershop, casually sit down and say……
“You know you can make a case Kobe is better in Jordan in these ways…”
You will spend the next 2 (or 10 hours) where no one is actually getting a haircut, but everyone having a discussion where no one is really wrong or right, but just bringing up both realistic and ridiculous points.
As I watched Captain America: Civil War, that is what I kept thinking. There is no right or wrong, there is no clear bad or good guy, just a bunch of friends arguing if LeBron is clutch or not.
Like most things in life, there are a lot of gray areas and how you see certain issues is different than how others see them.
That is what Civil War gets right and Batman v Superman got wrong. Batman v Superman tried to have that conflict but with a specific and traditional good guy vs. bad guy format.
It has been a couple of days since I have seen Civil War and I still not sure what side I am on. That is what makes it a great a movie, it isn’t complicated, but it still makes you think.
The plot is really simple. The Avengers while saving the world several times have caused a lot of collateral damage. It is something that isn’t spoken about in a lot of Superhero movies. Superheros also act on their own and unilaterally, which if you think about it makes no sense, when our government hovers over every little thing. Yes, they are trying to do the right thing, but what about all the lives they destroyed in the quest of that?
Here is when the light spoilers come into play, so you might want to stop here if you haven’t seen the movie.
Both Captain America and Iron Man have that collateral damage get very personal for them, it affects Iron Man in a way that he feels like superheros do need oversight. Captain America feels like damn if you do, damn if you don’t. It’s either save millions and lose some lives or do nothing and guarantee you lose millions of lives.
It is tough position for both and all heroes. When The Winter Solider is framed for a murder he didn’t commit it sets things in motion to superheroes taking sides.
One a side note, Black Panther is brilliant in this movie and is really the glue that makes it all work. While the actual villain in the movie is just more of a plot mover, it is Black Panther passion for what he thought the Winter Soldier did that makes things click.
Many of you know that I am big Spider-Man fan, so I was very much interested in how he would be portrayed in the movie.
I think the big thing is that Marvel uses logic. If you were thinking where in the hell has Spider-Man been while all this stuff been happening in the Marvel universe, they address that by making him 15 and him just getting his powers 6 months ago. His origin is implied (so no more origin story, thank God) and his reason for aligning with Iron Man is simple, he is 15, a nerd and Tony freaking Stark is in his living room. Of course, he is going to listen to whatever Tony is telling him.
I was worried about a younger Spider-Man, but he acts and talks like the young Spider-Man we all grew up with in the comics. You won’t be disappointed.
In the end, Marvel took a barbershop style conflict and made it make sense. Just like the barbershop, even after you leave, nothing is actually resolved, but you had fun and enjoyed your time in the shop.
Nothing was resolved in Civil War, the questions are still out there, the sides are still drawn. There was no winner or loser and that is ok, because it makes you want to go back to the shop in a couple of weeks.
I felt no need to want to see what happens next with Batman and Superman, but I can’t wait to see what happens with all the Marvel superheroes going forward and there is no debate about that.