I enjoyed “Captain America: Civil War.” It’s a big, explosive superhero movie with lots of action and plenty of heart. It’s also fun, something DC has forgotten lately. Still, as much as I enjoyed the movie, there’s one huge hole right in the middle of the film: the central conflict makes no sense[1].

Secretary of State Ross opines how the Avengers have caused all kinds of collateral damage[2] in their forays to save the world, showing pictures of the destruction wrought as the Avengers fight invading aliens, Hydra, a runaway AI, and mercenaries stealing a biological weapon. Ross demands the enhanced individuals sign the Sokovia Accords, giving the UN oversight of the Avengers.

What is blatantly ignored by the pro-oversight crowd (Stark, Rhodey, Vision, and Black Widow) is the “save-the-world” part of the equation. When you factor that in, it’s hard to root against Team Cap. I get why Stark is personally invested in this; Ultron was his fault, after all. But the same government that is demanding oversight is the government that let Loki steal the Tesseract and unleash the Chitauri on New York; and, failed to recognize Hydra infiltrating SHIELD for fifty years. They’re idiots, and Cap is extremely rational in rejecting their oversight committee.

It is also really hard to root for Team Iron Man when Iron Man is psychologically broken. Tony Stark needs to have his suits taken away and be forced to seek counseling. That just makes the whole “Civil War” part of this movie even harder to swallow.

If you overlook that glaring inanity, the movie is a whole lot of fun. Every hero gets his or her requisite screen time, but this is very much a Captain America movie. He centers it, acts as the voice of reason, and gives the movie all its heart. And heart it has, in spades. This is a movie about friendships rekindled and friendships broken and the story is the kind of meaty character exploration that DC is only dreaming about right now[3].

One other disappointment is what they’ve done with Baron Zemo. I won’t spoil it, but he doesn’t make much of a villain and he’s nothing like his comic-book counterpart. On the other hand, Spider-Man and Ant-Man steal every scene they’re in, and we can all now have high hopes for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Ant-Man and Wasp.” The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting huge, and every bit of it is nearly perfect[4]. CACW kicks off “Phase Three” of the MCU with a bang and I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment. (“Doctor Strange” in November.) It’s going to be a wild ride…

[1] In the comics, the superhero registration movement gains steam after some young enhanced people blow up a school while filming a reality TV show. That seems a much more reasonable basis for seeking government oversight of superheroes.

[2] I’m going to ignore the politically-charged topic of how the USofA routinely ignores hundreds of thousands of “collateral damage” deaths in their military excursions, but it does lend extra weight to the hypocrisy on display.

[3] Unfortunately, such dreaming isn’t a part of Zach Snyder’s personality. The quicker they ditch him, the sooner DC can get their franchise back on track.

[4] Maybe not Thor.