My Civil War Thoughts (no spoilers)

Several of you have asked me what my opinion of Civil War was. So here you go. No spoilers.

I liked it. I can't say that I loved it. I loved certain elements/things about it, which I'll mention (in a non-spoilery way), but there were also things that bugged the hell out of me. I can say with confidence that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still my favorite MCU film/Cap movie.

What I liked:

* Chris Evans/Steve Rogers. Bae is still bae. Still a precious cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure. Looked amazingly good. Like in a seat-squirming, how is this actually possible, I'm literally sweating, way. He is just the perfect Cap and he just keeps settling into the role and maturing it. * Team Cap was awesome. And by Team Cap I mean Nat, Bucky, Steve, and Sam. Barbershop Quartet was awesome. * I really liked how the movie really showed how the team's skills have improved since Cap 2. At least for Sam. Sam was *amazing.* The tech is WAY upgraded and Sam has clearly been training hard. * Civil War Team Cap was also good. Loved Wanda, Loved Scott (I can't wait for Ant-Man 2), first time I haven't hated Renner's Clint. * T'Challa was excellently introduced and set up for Black Panther. I can’t wait to see Wakanda. * The fighting was really, really good. For everyone. Though Natasha was a standout. Holy hell her fight scenes were amazing. Like more amazing than we've seen thus far and that's saying something. * All the Bucky/Sam scenes were hilarious. * RDJ definitely brought out Tony's tortured soul in a believable and moving way. * The emotional tone of friends reluctantly fighting each other in a "please don't make me do this" way was well done and felt real. Especially when that gave way to real anger and hurt. I was shocked by the ferocity of the Steve/Tony fight when it becomes "okay, I'm seriously, actually, really f*cking angry with you and I'm not holding back, pulling my punches, or simply trying to get you to give up." * There were good ship moments for all my ships.

What I didn't like:

* The whole premise of the movie is very shaky IMO. The justifications for the Sokovia Act do not make sense if you've actually seen The Avengers or Cap 2. And Steve and Co. not even bringing up those very obvious reasons is a glaring plot hole. * There is a relationship in the movie, which I have written about already, so most of you probably know what it is, that very much affected my enjoyment of the film. I was literally shouting "No. NO. NOOOOO! Stop this!!!" and my poor friend that I saw the film with was like "OMG Niala no" and I was like "Niala YES." * As much as I loved seeing all these folks and catching up with most of them, it was too many people. But also not enough. You'll understand what I mean. I wish they had saved this story, if they were going to do it no matter what, for farther down the line. It would have been a perfect opportunity to bring in characters that were a BIG part of the Civil War comic book story line. Particularly Carol Danvers, Luke Cage, and an ADULT Peter Parker. * This should have been Avengers 3. Not Cap 3. Cap 3 should have been a smaller story with just Team Cap. * Peggy's story (in this film) and everything around it makes me rage. * Captain America's most iconic speech, the one I post every year on July 4th, the one I have on my cell phone case, the one that is probably the most memorable single bit of dialogue from the Civil War comic, was given to another character. It was inappropriate, insulting, and I can't forgive it.

The Ant-Man trailer was mildly interesting. I mean, I do like Paul Rudd. But the best part was his little girl! I'm assuming she's Cassie Lang and I'm calling it now: Young Avengers movie in 2025!