Taste is subjective, and just because a movie, TV show, video game or other kind of story is popularly received overall doesn't mean everyone will like it. Case in point, Captain America: Civil War. It was one of the most successful superhero movies of 2016, hauling in over $1 billion worldwide and now rests comfortably at 90% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, one of the film's detractors was comic book writer Mark Millar (who penned Marvel's original Civil War tale), as he didn't care for most of the third Captain America entry primarily because it lacked humor.
While listing off the 2016 movies he liked, thought were okay and disliked (and outright hated, which was reserved solely for Independence Day: Resurgence) on Millarworld, Mark Millar placed Captain America: Civil War under the 'dislike' category, mainly because he was expecting directors Joe and Anthony Russo to make better use of their comedy background helming the feature. In his words:
Civil War had a good opening twenty mins, but then I honestly can't remember what the movie was about. It's interesting the Russos have a background in comedy because it's really missing in these otherwise well-made pictures and very, very missed. I really hope this bleakness doesn't extend into their two Avengers pictures because what made that first Avengers work was the light as well as shade and I'll be sad if that's all lost like it was in this picture.
If Mark Millar thinks Captain America: Civil War didn't have a a lot of humor, someone should probably keep him away from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. (Actually, he later mentions that he didn't care for Batman v Superman's creative direction, but that's beside the point.) Anyway, while it is true that Captain America: Civil War didn't have as much comedy as previous Marvel movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, to say the movie was missing a lot of humor is an interesting take. In the midst of all the turmoil, there actually was some decent comedy. A few funny moments that immediately come to my mind include Falcon and Winter Soldier's griping at each other (like in that cramped car), Iron Man's interactions with Spider-Man and Ant-Man...well, being himself. Plus, a story about superheroes in conflict over registering with the government has to tackled relatively seriously, no matter which angle you're coming from.
The ironic thing about Mark Millar's Captain America: Civil War comments is that his original Civil War tale from a decade ago is actually much bleaker than the cinematic adaptation. Unlike the movie, some participating superheroes died, and the anti-registration heroes felt more like fugitives than the Team Captain America members did on the big screen. It's okay for one to not like Captain America: Civil War, but for Millar to specifically point towards lack of humor as the main reason he didn't care for it is unusual, especially when he wrote the darker story it was inspired by.
You can re-judge Captain America: Civil War for yourself if you want by checking it out on Digital HD or Blu-ray/DVD, and the movie will be available on Netflix starting Christmas Day.
