2016: The Year in Film: "Captain America: Civil War" Review

Every single person who's ever read this blog is surely aware by now that I'm a Marvel nerd of the highest order. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, a shared universe where events and characters reverberate across different characters' films in the same way that comic books have operated for 50 years is by far one of the coolest developments in popular culture in the last few decades.  Through films featuring Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant Man (so far) and team up films featuring the Avengers, Marvel studios has created a rich universe full of interesting characters and shared threats. Most importantly, they've shown an ability to greatly expand the universe by bringing in new characters, as each new character has served to enrich the greater universe. Of course, this expanding universe serves to complicate matters for new and/or casual fans, but it is incredibly rewarding for those nerds among us who really care about these things. Last year, Sony and Marvel FINALLY signed an agreement to allow Marvel to use Spider-Man in its films, and with Doctor Strange and Black Panther movies on the horizon, the MCU promises to get much, much bigger.

Thus far, Tony Stark/Iron Man has been the star of the MCU. In what I would argue was the single best piece of casting in the history of film, Robert Downey Jr., who was such a risk at the time that he was cast as Tony Stark that he was literally uninsureable due to his long and troubled history of criminal behavior and drug addition has become the highest paid actor on the planet largely on the back of his charm, charisma and wit in turning Iron Man into one of the most bankable characters on the planet. However, through two Captain America films and two Avengers films, Chris Evans' Captain America has become its heart and soul. Inspiring and fundamentally good, decent and kind, through Captain America we're given a glimpse into what makes superheroes popular in the first place. They are myths for our time and cultural touchstones in an age where little ties large segments of our population together the way that religion and culture did a century ago. Through the MCU thus far Cap (who always had a rebellious streak if it meant doing what was right) has transformed from the loyal soldier to someone who will fight anyone and anything that stands in the way of what a less cynical person might call Truth, Justice and The American Way.

Enter: Civil War. Following the events of the second Avengers film, where the Avengers' battle against Ultron resulted in a city falling from the sky, the original lineup has been scattered. A new lineup of Avengers, funded by Tony Stark is protecting the planet from threats great and small, but there is growing concern over the collateral damage from their battles.

The Good: Chris Evans has turned himself into just maybe the best part of the MCU and a bona fide star. He simply IS Captain America at this point and his decency, charm and resolute sense of wrong and right makes it easy to see why people would follow him through the fires of hell at this point. The rest of the cast is just as good. Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark has an edge of mournful humanity to him that hasn't always been there, and given the tragedy that he's endured through 5 films, it's easy to see why. Other MCU veterans like Scarlett Johannson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle and Paul Bettany are getting better as they grow more confident in their roles, making the most of their opportunities to flesh out supporting characters. There is a TON going on in this movie, with the location bouncing from Nigeria to the United States to London to Berlin and back again, when, coupled with the sheer number of characters, could have easily sunk this picture under the weight of all it was trying to accomplish. The fact that it services so many existing characters (Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, War Machine, Hawkeye, Ant Man, Winter Soldier and Scarlet Witch all return from at least one previous Marvel film appearance) while simultaneously introducing new characters and hitting so many locales with a dense plot is a testament to the skill of the filmmakers involved. The Russo bros. cut their teeth on TV comedies, having worked on shows like Community and Arrested Development, and their experience there surely guides their ability to service a massive ensemble cast so deftly. Marvel's films have always excelled at fan service, and Civil War is no exception, giving the many Marvel nerds in the audience plenty to cheer about at numerous points in the film. Every single character is given at least one moment to shine, with two newcomers given several. NOT ONLY does Civil War manage to service nearly the entirety of the existing MCU, it also introduces Black Panther and Spider-Man (!!!) who is finally a part of the MCU. Both of these characters are done so damn well that I'm not sure how they could be improved upon, and the only reason they don't each steal the whole movie is that there is so much good stuff going on everywhere else. Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, is amazing. He has his own self contained storyline within the larger plot, and every aspect of the character is knocked out of the park. He's going to be a lot of fun within his own film and within the larger MCU moving forward. Spider-Man is Marvel's premiere hero and has existed within his own separate movies up to this point. He's had some pretty darn good movies on his own.... but there's never been a Spider-Man that felt this TRUE and honest to what the character is and means to so many people until now. Every aspect of this Spider-Man is pitch perfect and every single moment he's on screen is an absolute blast. Marvel's action sequences keep getting better too, as they keep managing to top themselves by mixing huge effects and spectacle with good character work and plenty of fun fan service. The largest set piece in this film is just maybe the best superhero set piece we've seen yet, and there are at least 3 separate set pieces in this film that are simply as good as anything that's ever been in a superhero movie. The climatic fight sequence is harrowing but EARNED, which is something Snyder/DC never figured out. What makes action scenes great isn't the spectacle alone, that's what video games are for, it's the personal stakes. Marvel keeps raising the bar and I can't wait to see what happens next. Finally, decent villains have been a problem for the MCU. The films ultimately service the characters so the villains tend to be one-off throwaway rivals with the exception of Loki of course. The villain here is comparatively solid, with Daniel Bruhl (of Inglorious Basterds fame) playing an embittered, calculating Zemo, quietly pulling the strings. Ultimately, this is a movie about superheroes and friends fighting, and to pull that off you risk making everyone involved looking stupid and/or unreasonable. The fact that Marvel largely avoids that with the stakes escalating in a germane and believable way is a testament to what they've built and the quality of the actors, writers, and filmmakers involved. Thumbs up, guys.

The TL;DR version of the good: Chris Evans' Cap is amazing. Spider-Man & Black Panther are perfect. The action is great. An absolute joy.



The Bad: the first third of the film is a little bit of a mess. The action is jumping from location to location very quickly and sometimes abruptly, and there are a few points where the whole thing risks falling off the rails completely. It doesn't, but it's close, and there's definitely a little bit of location fatigue while all the film's pieces are being assembled. There are some head-scratching character moments as well, but to be honest that's going to be necessary to get heroes to fight each other.

Ultimately, this is one of the top 2 or 3 Marvel movies yet, and considering how many legitimately great Marvel films already exist, that's quite the compliment. Cap 2 changed the MCU fundamentally, and Cap 3 does so again, with several new characters to play with. Once you reach the halfway point, there is nothing NOT great about this film.

8.5/10.

2012: The Year in Film: "Avengers" Review

The wait is over folks. The comic book movie to end all comic book movies is upon us, the culmination of a grand experiment begun by then upstart Marvel movie studios in 2008 that resulted in 5 separate and surprisingly, consistently strong movies culminating in the first grand comic book "event" movie. 4 separate characters that have each anchored successful films independently come together in the ultimate "team" movie, in an event that promises to change comic book movies forever, either for the better or for worse. Basically, Marvel Studios has run their film franchises like a comic book universe.. with a consistent continuity where each individual hero has their own storylines that overlap in particular instances resulting in occasional "events" where the heroes come together to face a threat they cannot face alone. Who better to handle such a task than Joss Whedon, the nerd-tastic mind behind "Buffy" and "Firefly" (shows renowned for their strong ensemble writing), who also penned a legendary run on "Astonishing X-Men" in comics? As someone who's read Marvel comics for basically his entire life and nerded out over every single movie Marvel has put out so far, I'm more or less their target audience.. please keep this in mind while reading my nerdgasm/review. So let's talk about the movie already, shall we?

First, I feel like this is the perfect, quintessential comic book movie. It encapsulates perfectly what makes comic books so fun and popular. The sense of wonder, the bold, soundbyte-ready dialogue, the high stakes, the epic personalities, if you're wondering why comic books have continued to be so beloved and popular over decades, look no further than what Marvel's managed to do here. This flick could have been an absolute mess. Take a look at the middle third of Iron Man 2, all of Spider Man 3, or any number of crappy DC adaptions over the years to see how superhero movies end up when they drift too far into campy silliness or neglect character in favor of action. Marvel has done something truly remarkable here.. they've made something that successfully builds on every single one of the prior films while also working effectively as a stand-alone film. That is no small feat. Of the 5 prior Marvel films (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton version), Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America) I would say that watching at the very least "Captain America" and "Thor" will greatly aid in your enjoyment of this one. Of course, I watched and nerded out over every single one and have grown up as a total Marvel nerd, so the richness of the world created by Whedon for this film is just rewarding on multiple levels. You can get as into this one as you'd like.

Thor's brother Loki, Norse "God" of mischief, returns to earth seeking to harness a source of great power in order to conquer the earth. Top secret intelligence division, S.H.I.E.L.D., finds themselves overwhelmed, and in response to this great threat to the planet, seeks to "assemble" "Earth's mightiest heroes". Introductions ensue, and the group seeks to gain some common ground in order to counter Loki's threat.


What makes this movie great is the characterization.  Something that could easily have felt stuffed, confusing and crowded instead feels rich and full, with very little fluff and wasted time even despite a runtime nearing 2 and a half hours.  Every single character gets at least one moment to shine and they almost all get more characterization than many comic book characters receive in entire movies.  As is to be expected with Whedon, the film is very, very funny.  There were several moments where the crowd was laughing so hard that I actually missed bits of dialogue.

Iron Man is the star of this one.  Tony Stark is given the strongest material to work with, and his arc actually seems richer than Stark's did in either one of the Iron Man flicks.  We may have just seen the definitive Bruce Banner as well.  Ruffalo knocks Banner out of the park, and this version of the Hulk is by far the best of the three we've seen in the last decade.  Captain America's arc is extremely effective as well, and he emerges to take his proper place among the group.  If I have knocks, they are thus: Thor wasn't given as meaty an arc as the rest of the super-powered Avengers, and ScarJo simply played the Black Widow too flat.  But these are minor, minor criticisms.

Whedon directs a hell of an action scene and writes incredible dialogue.  The effects are pitch-perfect, and the interplay between characters is everything you could possibly want from an Avengers movie.  As should be expected, Robert Downey Jr is simply great.  His version of Tony Stark is so damn smart, witty and charming that it's simply not possible to find yourself glued to him when he's on screen.  Ruffalo and Chris Evans are right there with him.  Hemsworth, Renner and Sam L. all are very effective and hold their own.  As Loki, Tom Hiddleston had a crucial part, interacting with virtually every other major character, and if he had fallen flat, the movie would suffer hugely.  Rest assured that he does not. ScarJo had some strong scenes.. I think the problem may be that Black Widow is simply not as interesting as Joss Whedon thinks she is.  But that's seriously my only criticism.  That Thor's part isn't as meaty as Cap's, Iron Man's or Hulk's, and that ScarJo seems to be comparatively distant, considering how all-in everyone else seemingly is.  When we're talking about a 145 minute movie with at least 8 major characters, massive effects and the seemingly impossible task of balancing characters that each are beloved and designated franchises in their own right, the fact that those are seriously the extent of my criticisms is down right incredible.

Make no mistake, this isn't "The Dark Knight".  It's not a dark, metaphorical look at philosophical ideas.. it's a comic book story written and developed for the screen.  The stakes are high, characters are given moments in the sun, and there's a whole lot of fun to be had.  This may well be the most entertaining movie I've ever seen.  I saw it at midnight in a theater full of dressed up nerds.  We laughed, we cheered, we enjoyed the hell out of it. 

9/10.  We now have the definitive Summer Blockbuster.  Couldn't have happened to a better group of people.  Oh, and more than half of the flick was filmed in Ohio.