Captain America: Civil War [DVD]

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.

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.

This is a good movie, but I have noticed that Civil War and other Marvel movies that aren't bonus edition digital copies are visually distorted. My complaints to Amazon Prime have gone unnoticed. I am starting to think it is a better idea to invest in movies elsewhere. I'm pretty disappointed.