Captain America – Civil War Blu-ray Release (Jason’s 1st Impressions)

Marvel’s latest installment of Captain America is now available on Home Video in various format combinations – Digital HD, DVD,  3D Blu-ray & Blu-ray   For full details on the release here is the original press release.

If you have not seen the film here is a quick overview – It picks up right after the Avengers.  Governments around the world are deciding what to do with the Avengers in the wake of collateral damage and their history.  They draft the Sokovia Accord and give the Avengers a choice to sign on and work within the system or to retire.  This furthers a wedge between Captain America and Iron Man that explodes into a fight that turns these two friends into foes.  The Avengers side with one or the other and battle each other throughout the film.   For more on the film here is Maggie’s Review  as well as Press Conference Coverage  from earlier this year.

I had the opportunity to watch the standard blu-ray package for this release. It consists of a single Blu-ray disc.  In addition to the film there are a half dozen bonus features plus a full audio commentary by the directors and screenwriters.

• United We Stand, Divided We Fall is a two part feature that runs over 40 minutes. It takes a look at the characters and some of their motivations as well as introducing the new comers and showing a little of what it took to create this blockbuster.   This is the primary bonus piece.  It provides an in depth look and is put together nicely.
• Captain America: The Road to Civil War and Iron Man: The Road to Civil War are both approx. 4 minute pieces exploring the path Captain American and Iron Man took to get to this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• A Gag Reel is included, a teaser video is above this list.   As usual with these I always feel like I am missing something.  Some are hits but more of the gags seem to be misses to me.  It clocks in at under 3 minutes.
• There are four extended/deleted scenes included. These have a total running time of just over 7 minutes and almost 6 minutes of that is for one scene.  So most are very short.  No context, introductions or other information is provided for them.  I always like when they provide an introduction or explanation of the clip and some insight into why it did not make the final cut.
• There is a nearly 4 minute sneak peek of Marvel’s Doctor Strange out in theaters later this year.

Overall the bonus material was average in my opinion.  The two part United We Stand, Divided We Fall Featurette was interesting to watch and delve a little more into the characters.  I thought it was nice that it was a longer format piece vs a series of very short packages.  That made it much more enjoyable to watch.  The rest of the bonus material was lacking to me. I would have liked to have seen a couple medium length ones verses this collection of short pieces.

If you enjoyed the film and want to revisit the Civil War you will not be disappointed with the movie, but the bonus material may seem lacking.    I am not sure if the bonus material by itself is enough to justify buying the movie, but it is a nice plus to an entertaining film to add to your library.