The New ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Trailer: Our Reactions

Nick Nunziata
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

The fantastic (and fan-serving) new Captain America: Civil War trailer (watch it here) has hit the web and if the hype machine wasn’t already at fever pitch it certainly is now. We’ve seen Spider-Man and the consensus has been almost uniformly positive. We shared the news here and our own Jorge Albor rocked the animated GIFs like a boss, but here’s a little more insight into what the trailer means to us:

Captain America - Civil War

Though the Avengers films are the pinnacle of the Marvel cinematic universe, Captain America: Civil War feels like what everything’s been building to. This time instead of fighting extraterrestrial villains or robotic monstrosities, the heroes we love are battling each other. Expect a film filled with drama.

But will there be TOO much drama? With so many heroes and so much plot, one worries that certain characters might get the short end of the stick story-wise. We hope that’s not the case but it’s happened before in previous superhero films. Can Marvel and the Russo brothers juggle all those balls? Can they create the zenith of comic book filmmaking? Will Spider-Man be as cool as promised? Most importantly, who will win the war? So many questions! [Brandon Marcus]

In 2006, when Marvel began the Civil War plot in its tentpole comics, many fans felt the run forced too many characters and storylines into the overall plot, making it difficult to keep up with. This looks as if it may be a problem in Captain America: Civil War as well, but a single movie is easier to process than the multitudes of Civil War comics that were released. Some key characters from the comics will almost certainly be left out (Daredevil, Punisher), which is a shame but should help streamline the whole thing.

One thing that Captain America: Civil War has going for it is a genuine connection to its characters. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is actually likeable, as opposed to his early-2000s comic-book counterpart. Captain America has been fleshed out and isn’t just an all-American boy scout unable to compromise his old-fashioned beliefs. It’s so much easier to care and get emotionally involved with the movie characters than it was for many of their two-dimensional versions, especially during the Civil War era.

It’s great to see the new Spidey here, and he looks pretty good and sounds great. He should help provide some needed comic relief on Team Stark, and Ant-Man can do that for Team Cap. If it’s anything like the comics run, the end of the film is going to really upset a lot of people, but maybe Marvel has decided to finally shake things up a bit. [Danielle Ryan]

Captain-America-Civil-War_Hero_Crossbones

Wow. I mean, WOW. Marvel is not holding back when it comes to their big superhero showdown. Although this is being labeled a Captain America movie, this is clearly Avengers 2.5. The cast is enormous, the stakes are deeply personal, and we have some awesome new blood to add to the mix. We’ve already seen Chadwick Boseman’s awesome Black Panther, but this trailer gave us our first glimpse at the MCU’s Spider-Man. And he’s PERFECT. A sleek and simple costume design, a jokey introduction, and the first time where it sounds like a kid is actually behind the mask. I’d be surprised if any other movie hits as big this summer, because Captain America: Civil War has proven that it’s the event you cannot miss. [Drew Dietsch]

Behind Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was my favorite Marvel film, as I was just stunned by the epic set pieces, the characters absolutely pushed to their limits, and seeing the strained relationship between Bucky and Rogers. I’m so thrilled to see Civil War is upping the ante on all of those things. As if I needed to be more hyped for a film with that many heroes in. I’m rooting for Team Iron Man, because him, Black Widow and the Vision are my favourites, and I can’t wait to see how Spider-Man does, but it looks like it’ll be a close call between who to root for here. [Joseph Miller]

Marvel’s doing this marketing thing right on Civil War. The past trailers for the film were great, but they gave us only a fleeting sense of the film’s premise and scope. This one, however, is the trailer we deserve, delivered at exactly the right time. That meeting with Thunderbolt Ross gives the trailer great structure, setting up the conflict perfectly, making sure we understand exactly why these erstwhile Avengers are fighting, and what the stakes are. The sense of betrayal is strong here, and Marvel is really milking these bromances for everything they’re worth. If anything, Civil War will be the movie that proves just how valuable the bromance has been (and will continue to be) to the MCU and its fans. I mean, just look at this smolder.

iron-man-civil-war

Other highlights include that motorcycle chase with Black Panther and  Bucky, that weird prison in the middle of the ocean, and that oh-so-brief reveal of our new Webhead, played by Tom Holland. I love that Spidey is finally a kid, a real teenager. I’ve got nothing against Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield and their portrayals of Spider-Man, but they were 27-year-olds playing 17, and that just doesn’t capture the character’s youth and energy. [Travis Newton]

Underoos! If the vibe this trailer foretells actually reflects the finished film, then the Webslinger will be just the shot in the arm that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs right now. A fresh, fun face at time when it’s all getting a bit dour. I appreciate that some fans are nonplussed by the obviously CG Spidey, but I’m glad that’s the direction they took if it helped preserve the “amazing” surprise. Marvel’s big-budget jamborees haven’t shined as brightly as their character-focused films of late, but it sure looks like the Russo brothers are setting things right. Let’s be honest though, if it’s just two hours of Ant-Man riding around on Hawkeye’s arrows, I’d happily watch that. [Brian Linder]

I know I’m not the only one who fought these battles in my backyard with action figures (mine were from the Secret Wars line from 1984 and yes I wish I still had them). Heroes against heroes, friends fighting friends and trying to figure out which superpowers or weapons counteracted the others. That’s what this trailer feels like, the culmination of a lifetime or reading comics and playing with toys. Of watching technology and talent catch up to my dreams. The cynics can talk about being burned out on these kinds of movies but the only real truth I care about is in seeing this stuff actually happening onscreen. The Russo Brothers look to have finally found a way to pay off all that has come before and it’s real hard not to fall in line. May can’t get here soon enough. [Nick Nunziata]


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Nick Nunziata
Nick Nunziata created CHUD.com.