Trailer: Marvel Civil War (Teaser) [UPDATED 11/27]
See end of post for update!
Before anything, I just want to say that: yes, I know, who writes a review for a trailer? Well, me, since the movie happens to be Marvel's Civil War. (I refuse to call it Captain America: Civil War.) My feelings for the trailer have gotten so intense, I needed to lie down for a few hours before writing this all out, haha.
Disclaimer: Literally everything I'm writing here could be wrong since I have not read the official synopsis, and I don't plan to in case there are spoilers. My knowledge is limited to my familiarity with Civil War in the comics, and what the official trailer has shown. Speaking of which, here it is in case you haven't watched it, or you want to make yourself suffer through it one more time:
Great.
I know some people are kind of confused about it, so here's what Civil War will probably be about. In the comics, Civil War revolves over the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), which stipulates that superheroes must register with the government and be held accountable for their actions. Tony is pro-SHRA because of incidents that have enlightened him to the need for accountability, and Steve is anti-SHRA because he doesn't trust the government and thinks it will abuse its power over superheroes.
In the movie, there might not be a specific bill like the SHRA, but like General Ross states in the trailer, some people see superheroes as vigilantes. So it's probably still going to be about a governing body. Tony, following the events of Age of Ultron, might be understandably pro-registration (though they'll need to work this better into his character, imho), and Steve, following the events of The Winter Soldier, is understandably against governing bodies and so is anti-reg.
I've mentioned before that I've been somewhat skeptical of the MCU being able to pull off a story like Civil War. The trailer has not changed my position on this, though it has made me slightly more optimistic if only because the fight scenes looked incredibly well done.
The thing is, for me, they've already dug themselves into a hole by naming it Captain America: Civil War. The point of Civil War is the conflict and how it inspired discussion and people being passionate about whatever side they were on, if indeed they had a side. Slapping a Captain America in front of it kind of preempts all discussion and makes the regular movie-goer assume that, oh, okay, so Cap's in the right. Which... no. Not necessarily.
It's taken me a while to consolidate my thoughts about it, but despite my general sentiment that (a) Marvel's marketing scheme shouldn't be to tear their fanbase apart, (b) taking sides without being informed (aka I love RDJ/Chris Evans so I'll be on Iron Man/Cap's side!) kind of misses the point, and (c) taking sides is not necessarily the best way to solve a problem even if you were informed, I will state for the record that I agree with Iron Man's stand/principles - in the sense that I agree there should be a governing body overseeing superhero activity and holding them accountable for whatever they do. He had a dick way of going about it in the comics, but his stand itself wasn't something I disagreed with. Also in the comics, I felt Steve took his stand largely out of pride and his confidence that he himself could call the shots - and he could, he's Steve Rogers, but he's one man, and one man can't be in charge of everything.
What seemed to work in the trailer?
1. The emotions. They nuanced emotions pretty damn well in the trailer, from small things like how Steve's face goes all soft when Bucky remembers Sarah's name and the newspaper-in-shoes tidbit, to Tony's "So was I" dramatic climax. It was well done because it made you feel things.
2. The intensity/tone. This is not a fun-fun Marvel movie. This isn't Chris Pratt dancing around killing space-mice, or Paul Rudd quipping and being generally adorable - it's #seriousbusiness, and you know it. This was expected, but their execution was actually really well done - you could feel the tension, and even if you're unclear about why they're fighting, you know it's Something Big and Potentially Game Changing.
3. Fight scenes. Gritty, realistic, and incredibly well-shot - par for the course for the Russo brothers. They kept a lot of the fight elements from TWS, which I think makes it better and more entertaining to watch since it's more grounded. I am speaking of the footage shown not just in the trailer, but also footage shown in SDCC and APCC in the Philippines. Lots to look forward to in that sense!
What didn't work?
Okay, here we go. Haha.
1. Steve Rogers. Not Steve Rogers per se, but his questionable motivations. It seemed to me, based on how Natasha called him out for meddling and how Tony was interacting with him, that Steve is doing all this to protect Bucky. I want to make it very, very clear that this isn't a shipping thing - as much as I don't ship Steve/Bucky, this isn't about that. I just can't accept that Steve Rogers would throw anything away just to protect one person - especially if what he's protecting them from is due process. Literally, what?? That is an incredibly narrow-minded way of looking at the issue. You're Steve Rogers, you're supposed to do what's right because it's what's right, not because you want to protect a select few, in this case a singular person. The thought alone makes me really ticked off, and I love Steve. But this is not what I love about him.
2. Steve and Bucky double-teaming Tony. I am not exaggerating when I say that this scene inspired in me an actual physical reaction - I wanted to vomit. It took me a while to process why. Is it because I hate seeing Tony get hurt (a residual reaction of Tony always being hurt in the comics)? Is it because I feel protective? Is it because I'm a Steve/Tony shipper and I just dislike watching them fight?
Nope. It was because it was Steve and Bucky doing the beating up. Steve "I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from." Rogers. Steve Rogers, teaming up with another superhuman, to beat up an old guy in an Iron Man suit who wasn't even fighting back. The guy in the suit, I just want to remind everyone, whose deepest, darkest fear was Steve Rogers dying. Oh my god. Where do I even begin?? I don't know the context surrounding that fight, and maybe there's something that'll justify it, but just seeing them double-teaming him like that... it really makes me sick. :(
(Minor #3, though this is just me nitpicking, I guess. Tony's "so was I" was somewhat baseless in terms of the development of Steve and Tony's relationship in the MCU. They literally have only ever quipped at each other and fought a lot. Are they really friends in the MCU??? I don't even know. But Tony's "so was I" is helping people not hate Tony so I'm not going to complain. It seems Marvel has belatedly realized this story will only work if Steve and Tony ever had a relationship to fall back on; otherwise it's just dudes fighting. And Tony's already an assumed villain because of the freaking movie title, so gaining sympathy through this isn't something I'm against, haha.)
Simply put, I don't want the MCU to screw up Steve's character. Bucky as the main "reason" for Civil War kind of makes sense in the MCU, but it really doesn't hold water in the grand scheme of things. Civil Wars are supposed to be over principles, not over protecting a single person, no matter how "important" they are - and I get that this is a really great thing for Steve/Bucky shippers, I really do, but if you look past the ships, do you really think that's what Steve would do? He didn't even do it for Peggy. He still did what was right.
4. JAMES RHODES. Let me just say this: if any harm befalls Colonel James Rupert Rhodes, there will be hell to pay. This is the only guy Tony has learned to really, truly trust with his life. You will NOT take that away from him.
Okay. Even breathing. This has been a really emotional entry to write. These characters mean a lot to me, and I care very much that they are handled with care. While I am scared and, really, somewhat scarred after watching the trailer, I will continue to be hopeful about this movie. I really hope all my complaints are unfounded and I'm 100% wrong about everything I didn't like, haha.
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UPDATE 11/27: So, they've released an "updated" official synopsis. It's not incredibly spoilery, and if you've read this post, you really won't be so surprised haha. Here it is:
"Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability."
So basically what I said up there, hehe.
That there's "another incident of collateral damage" is good, because that means this whole issue is not coming out of nowhere. This will probably be similar to what happened in the comics with the New Warriors in Stamford. My money is that the governing body and accountability will be achieved through the Sokovia Accords, which Sam and Steve briefly reference at the end credits scene in Antman (they don't know if "the Accords" will "even let" Tony do something to help them). Notice though that there's no mention of General Ross or Baron Zemo, so my money is that they've screwed with the Accords in some way and Tony's possibly unaware of it (if here were aware of it, why would he side with Gen Ross after what he did to Bruce? HUHU Russos pls). Speaking of which, I'm really glad that they mentioned that Tony's decision is "surprising," which means we'll get some form of explanation instead of just Tony going along with things. Also, no mention of Bucky in Steve's motives which is very good as well. (But he's probably going to be framed for something, which is why Steve wants to protect him? I don't know.)
The synopsis makes me cautiously try not to be optimistic that the Russos might actually do this storyline justice. BUT I WILL NOT HOPE FOR MUCH. I WILL REMAIN CAUTIOUSLY NOT-OPTIMISTIC.
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