Captain America: Civil War - 10 Biggest Last Minute Concerns
4. It's Not Brave Enough
Little White Lies' review makes a pretty pertinent point about what the Civil War is really being fought for:
"But what the film ends up being about isnt a choice between democracy and fascism, but between having Marvel movies and not having Marvel movies. If these characters suddenly accept that they should be fully accountable for their actions, they are accepting that they no longer want to be superheroes, but bureaucrats. Captain America isnt fighting for freedom hes fighting for the franchise."
That channels something that's been playing on some fans' minds ever since Civil War was announced: the idea that there's no way the stakes could ever be as high as they were in the comics. Even without sticking close to the source material, the MCU is shackled by its own success, and being brave at this stage - by killing someone big off or changing the make-up of the entire universe with one massive trigger - is largely impossible.
We can revel in the films' story-telling quality and in the familiar comfort of characters we've known for years now, but there's never going to be a flashpoint that changes everything as long as there are more MCU movies to sell. It's a double-edged sword and unfortunately it does invite accusations that the franchise is toothless by its own formula.