Captain America: Civil War - Avengers Crossover

[lapis molari]

In the run-up to Avengers 4 Endgame, I'm editing several Marvel movies. One of the things I enjoy in Marvel's movies, like in their comics, is that everything is connected. I make an effort to keep, and improve, continuity and connectedness.

Hulk: Daddy Issues (2003)
The Incredible Hulk: Struggle for Control (2008)
Avengers Prelude - Iron Man 2: At the Core of It
Avengers Crossover - Captain America: Civil War
Marvel Team-Up - Thor: Ragnarok


Here are the details for Captain America 3.


SYNOPSIS:

With friends like these, who needs enemies? This is the big AVENGERS battle you've been waiting for, a CIVIL WAR of Team IRON MAN versus team CAPTAIN AMERICA!

When the Avengers fight villains, things break and people get hurt. Do our heroes share the blame? Should, and can, they be held accountable? Many politicians think so and Tony Stark agrees.

The Sokovia Accords are the United Nations' response to the tragedies in New York, Sokovia, Korea, London, Washington DC, and Lagos. This will enforce registration and formal training of the super-human community, and establish accountability for their actions and operations around the globe.

Captain America disagrees. Steve Rogers will not relinquish his freedom to choose, nor hide his responsibility behind politicians' decisions. The disagreement is violently forced to a conclusion when Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, seems to bomb a U.N. meeting that kills the king of Wakanda. The Avengers must choose between loyalty to the law or loyalty to their friends.

Tony and Steve take a stand on conflicting principles. Tense and divided, everyone is distracted: Tony by people's pain and death he is (in-)directly responsible for, Steve by the explosive reappearance of Bucky, Black Panther by the death of his father, and Vision by Scarlet Witch. Nobody listens, culminating in a giant, spectacular battle of Avengers versus Avengers.


INTENTION:

This AVENGERS CROSSOVER focuses on the Accords and adds context to them. Revenge-seeking Zemo is minimized, as are the Winter Soldier's brain-washed actions in 1991. They are catalysts not causes. For narrative clarity, they should command less exposition than the enormously consequential Accords.

This is a light edit, it shift the screen time from Zemo and Bucky's past crimes to the Accords and the government's attitude to the growing concern over unconstrained super-powered individuals. The added clips also set up the re-introduction of then-general Ross as now Secretary of State.


CHANGES:

- Replaced Bucky's opening scene with WHIH Newsreport interview of President Ellis (from Marvel online promo campaign).
- When Cap and Scarlet Witch watch the news on TV about Lagos, inserted second WHIH Newsreport with President Ellis (different clip from Marvel online promo campaign).
- Cut Zemo torturing Hydra's Bucky handler. Dub the pertinent exposition from that scene over when he shows Stark the video of Bucky killing Stark's parents. With the remaining exposition, we're left to think Zemo got all his information from Black Widow's online data dump. Which is no less plausible then getting it from a book that's bricked up in an unmarked wall.
- Move Zemo in hotel room with electric-charge device earlier: into the slot that had the torture scene.
- Cut all instances of Zemo listening to voicemail.
- Small detail: cut Bucky's line "they can take... country down... wouldn't know it".
- Small detail: cut Zemo's line "there's green in your eyes...".
- Small detail: cut Zemo's line "Did it?".
- Moved mid-credits scene, Bucky in Wakanda, earlier: between Zemo in cell and Tony driving Audi.
- Replaced second half of credits music with part of Danny Elfman's unused "Inevitability, One Good Eye" from Avengers 2.
- Added FE logo and warning at the end.

SPECS:

1080p MKV
5.1 AC3 640kbps
Run time: 141 minutes (3 minutes added, 9 cut)
English subtitles

 

[Zarius]

Nice to see another Civil War edit on here (there may be another joining it in February once I iron out IH: CW), 

 

[lapis molari]

To wipe or not to wipe? That is my question.

The Wakanda mid-credits scene pans to the giant panther sculpture. That felt very promo / trailer to me. By moving the scene into the main story, it's more about the development of Cap and Bucky's story than about plugging the Black Panther film. Therefore I trimmed the sweeping pan: the shot ends faster, the pan accelerated by a wipe before the camera reaches the panther.
That downplays the Black Panther promo, and first-time viewers won't know to miss it. But I forgot to realize that the reveal's so iconic in the original that returning viewers may well miss it.

So here are two options: the trimmed version with wipe versus the maximum length version without wipe. Which do you prefer? pw: fanedit.org

 

[Zarius]

The second vid is MUCH better, you also don't have to deal with the music rather clumsily transitioning  into an altogether different score in the next scene.

 

[Cisco Andrade]

this looks awesome, can't wait to take a look!

 

[lapis molari]

I've updated my Cap 3 edit. The story is unchanged.

I only changed one transition. The wipe from Wakanda to Stark's Audi is replaced. Now the Wakanda pan plays in full followed by a simple hard cut (visually, there is some audio crossover for smoothness).


Thank you @"Zarius" and several (drafted) volunteers for pointing out that my wipe distracted instead of improved the transition.

 

[lapis molari]

I have an update on my Cap 3 edit, though only for people who are also stubborn perfectionists. I made a few tiny improvements:

- Transition from Avengers conference table to Zemo with book in hotel room: extended the audio of room service knocking on the door 2 frames earlier. Video unchanged.
- Transition from Cap and Bucky in Berlin pond to Zemo at airport: shifted newscaster's voice 6 frames earlier. Video unchanged.
- End credits volume: lowered Elfman's tune by 2dB, to better match preceding music. No video changes.
- Completed 1 subtitle when Tony visits the raft. No video or audio changes.
- Added 1 subtitle when Zemo introduces himself. No video or audio changes.

Like I said, this is only interesting if you're just as detail-oriented as I am (yes, there are other words for that too, but this sounds nicer ).