SOUNDS LIKE JUST ANOTHER DAY AT MEDFORD CITY HALL WITH 5 LEAVING OR GONE, AND MORE TO FOLLOW....
Captain America: Civil War
By Joe Viglione
Captain America Civil War is the best Captain America and
Avengers movie yet. Ant Man and Spider
Man add a new, much needed, dimension while – conspicuous in their absence –
Quicksilver, Thor, the Hulk and Pepper Potts are intentionally M.I.A.
The key to the success of this film is the Marvel
formula. What sounds like it would be
cluttered, twelve heroes, six on each side bashing each other’s brains out, is
a smart new perspective on what is now a well-oiled machine. Where Iron Man 2 had robot vs robot, Captain
America III has fist pounding fist (and face,) which, of course, is better than
a plethora of bullets flying – the quick fix for most action movies these days.
Yes, there are bullets, but not at the frequency that we’ve
seen them of late and, as nice as the decrease in ammo may be, there’s the
bonus added extra of Ben Affleck not being in this movie.
With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice released on March
25, DC had a full six weeks to advance its mega battle prior to Captain America’s
May 6th date, but as of this writing on May 4th Civil War
has brought in over 234 million overseas prior to its American release (which
is, perhaps, why the embargo on this review in advance has been lifted, reviews
are coming in from foreign countries, of course, allowing us to release this essay
prior to May 6.) And while we are on the
subject, with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman fighting highly questionable
villains – Mark Zuckerberg (or the actor who played him) as Lex Luthor.
Really? - and a dark ooze creeping over
the stale film like Mr. Smith from the Matrix sticking his hand into the mix
and just draining it of all energy – the reverse happens in Captain America:
Civil War. The red, white and blue tones
of Captain Steve Rogers are bright, as are the sunlit battles, friend vs friend
as the villain stays behind the scenes manipulating the war from within.
It’s got all the elements of Mission Impossible, double
agents, and a flagrant nod to both The Manchurian Candidate and Star Wars. In fact, it is so blatant that Tony Stark,
synonymous forever now with Robert Downey Jr., just comes out and calls Bucky –
the Winter Soldier – “Manchurian candidate,” saying what the viewer is
thinking. It’s like the old Golden Girls
TV show, you saw the joke coming at you at 5 miles per hour and then Bea Arthur
or Rue or Estelle or Betty would repeat the joke you are thinking in your brain
– it was the delivery that made it so special and kept it from falling flat.
That same intangible works here, and that is why Marvel has it all over D.C. in
the film game. Oh, and did I tell you
the good news? Ben Affleck is not in
this movie.
There’s spectacular filming and great acting here, and the
film succeeds because it doesn’t travel into any of the minefields that Batman
v Superman jumped into with no sense of logic, good taste, or care for what the
audience wants (Exhibit A: Christian Bale as the Batman.) Precision acting from Scarlett Johansson as
Black Widow, Paul Bettany as Vision, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., William Hurt,
Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, all provide the story telling needed to keep your
attention for two and a half hours. Even
newbie Tom Holland, the actor a mere 19 and looking all of twelve years of age,
has Spiderman and Peter Parker down pat.
He actually looks like Tobey Maguire’s kid brother and the emphasis on
saving the Spiderman franchise (which Sony controls) gets its new lease on life
in this Disney/Marvel platform.
And Marvel knows
from experience to keep the genre exciting, each film is like another monthly
episode of the comic, with summer heightening the excitement. May 9 is the screening of the new X Men
Apocalypse, so the hits just keep on coming, though X –Men is a 20th
Century Fox – not a Disney/Marvel feature, the franchise is too important for
it to go the way of the Fantastic Four.
The scenery in Civil War is breathtaking, be it the “Perfect Storm”
waters where the United States government keeps its super hero prison or the
winter snows. William Hurt as “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Sam Elliott in 2003’s
Hulk, Hurt taking over in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk) goes beyond his usual
no-nonsense, let’s control this situation. Here he goes further than merely
engaging his obsession with Bruce Banner (who is not in this film,) here Ross
fixates on having complete power over every super hero, and Tony Stark caves
in, the complicated Stark played so eloquently by the complicated Robert Downey
Jr.
It is all the
contrasts that delight here, Marvel’s red white and blue Captain America
beating the all-powerful red white and blue of DC’s Superman. Again. And, along with being a terrific dawn of
summer film, there’s the added extra bonus that Ben Affleck does not appear in
it.
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2016/69905/review-captain-america-civil-war-its-got-all-the-elements
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2016/69905/review-captain-america-civil-war-its-got-all-the-elements
