8 Changes That Would Have Improved Captain America: Civil War

Similarly, the film would have benefited greatly from really getting under Steve Rogers’ skin and into his mind a whole lot more. As the film stands, Captain America epitomises all that is wrong with American foreign policy today. His pigheaded belief in his own perspective is ultimately proven to be wrong, and in stubbornly refusing to co-operate with the rest of the world, he causes a huge amount of damage.

This is a fascinating analogy, and it is particularly bold considering that he is the lead character of the film. The implications of his decisions are diverse, and the social commentary that could be drawn out would be incredibly rich for audiences to engage with.

Unfortunately, though, his motivations are barely even acknowledged in any shade of grey. He simply doesn't trust the government or any form of international co-operation, and the film feels that is enough motivation to drive his character. This kind of makes him an a*s, when he's meant to be a hero. A more nuanced exploration of exactly why he feels he knows best over the rest of the world, or perhaps some real hubris, would have helped us engage with his character on a more emotional and complex level.

His confidence in himself plays so well against Tony Stark's mental collapse and exploring that in more depth would have elevated the character development enormously.