FILM REVIEW OF ''CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" (2016)

Walt Disney Studios should have changed the title from “Captain America: Civil War” (** OUT OF ****) to “Captain America: Stalemate” since none of the heroic combatants die.  Co-directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, who helmed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” have the two rival divisions, led by Captain America and Iron Man, knocking the shenanigans out of each other in this contrived, drawn-out, 147 minute epic.  Nevertheless, the worst thing that happens is War Machine loses control of his Iron Man style armored suit and makes an emergency crash landing in an open field.  Although he suffers spinal damage, Lieutenant James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is back up and walking around with some difficulty before fadeout.  Mind you, “Captain America: Civil War” amounts to a letdown when nobody puts anybody away permanently.  Ultimately, the two fractions emerge evenly matched.  Nobody like S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson is around to die and make a dramatic impact like in “Marvel’s “The Avengers” (2012).  At least the recent DC Comics movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” pretended to destroy one of the two title characters.  Of course, anybody with a grain of sense knows the adversary that perished in “Batman v Superman” isn’t dead.  Furthermore, the DC Comics extravaganza staged a funeral, and the characters engaged in a period of mourning. 

Although the premise that Captain America and Iron Man would clash is certainly provocative, the movie pulls its punches because the superheroes emerge with little more than either bruises to themselves or scratches on their respective armor.  Despite several competently orchestrated physical confrontations, “Captain America: Civil War” rarely generates a modicum of suspense.  Basically, the Russo brothers stage one spectacular smackdown at an evacuated airport, resolve the mystery behind the demise of Tony Stark’s parents, and introduce a new costume-clad crusader to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The Black Panther makes his debut, but he seems rather tame compared with the other Marvel champs.  At one point, “Captain America: Civil War” seems more concerned with rebooting the “Spider-Man” film franchise than doing something with its protagonists that its PG-13 rating would condone.  Sadly enough, the characters that stand out here aren’t the title characters.  Essentially, Spider-Man and Ant Man make a greater impression than any of the other Marvel titans, and Black Panther looks like Mardi Gras was his destination until he paused to participate.

Approximately five characters die on-screen in “Captain America: Civil War,” but are super heroic. United at the outset, our heroes descend upon Lagos and tangle with former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Brock Rumlow, (Frank Grillo of “The Purge: Anarchy”) a.k.a. Crossbones and his thugs.  These dastards want to hijack a deadly biological weapon.  Crossbones tries to kill Captain America with an explosion that obliterates his own life.  Miraculously, the telekinetic Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen of “Godzilla”) contains the blast and shifts it elsewhere to detonate.  Tragically, the blast demolishes a nearby building, killing many unseen, innocent bystanders.  The collateral damage fallout from this incident gives the Avengers some bad publicity.  Afflicted with a guilty conscience about the death of an African-American lad in Lagos, Tony Stark advocates the Sokovia Accords that the United Nations have drawn up.  Basically, the Sokovia Accords establishes a panel to oversee the Avengers.  Apparently, the indestructible Avengers may be responsible for killing more people than their own adversaries owing to the collateral damage that they have wrought during their escapades.  Captain America (Chris Evans of “The Fantastic Four”) abhors the Accords, and he refuses to ink the pact.  The death of Agent Peggy Carter solidifies his negative attitude toward the Sokovia Accords.  Longtime Avengers adversary U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt of “Dark City”) now enjoys a position with more prestige than power over them.  Ross, you may recall, hated the Hulk because the big green machine was in love with his daughter. 

Matters grow even more critical.  Steve Rogers’ World War II pal Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) is suspected of a igniting a deadly blast in Vienna where the Accords were being signed.  Surveillance cameras show that Bucky was in town when the incident occurred.  The blast kills King T'Chaka of Wakanda (John Kani of “The Wild Geese”), and his acrobatic son T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman of “42”) dons a black bulletproof suit, a mask with cat ears, and gloves with retractable claws and embarks as The Black Panther to avenge his father’s death.  One of the many problems with “Captain America: Civil War” is that it bristles with far too many characters who do far too little to each other.  Mind you, T’Challa will soon have his own stand alone movie, but he looks shoehorned into this film with nothing memorable to do.  Worst, the chief villain is a bland family-guy-turned-vigilante, Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl of “Rush”), who is a rather dreary adversary compared with previous Marvel villains.

Anybody familiar with the Marvel Comics graphic novel will tell you “Captain America” scenarists Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely have taken liberties with the source material.  In the Mark Millar graphic novel, lesser costume clad warriors destroyed an elementary school while a reality-TV crew photographed their endeavors.  This wholesale destruction prompted the President of the United States to enact the Superhero Registration Act to make superheroes more accountable for their actions.  Furthermore, the law required these costume-clad crusaders to divulge their true identities.  Now, these heroes face the prospect of serving as Federal employees or facing arrest.  Iron Man supports the act. “Becoming public employees makes perfect sense,” he proclaims, “if it helps people sleep a little easier.”  Captain America opposes it, “Super heroes need to stay above that stuff or Washington starts telling us who the super-villains are.”  Later, Iron Man tricks Captain America and his Secret Avengers into responding to a petrochemical plant fire where hundreds people could perish. Ultimately, Captain America surrenders after Iron Man batters him into submission.

 

Altogether, “Captain America: Civil War” isn’t half as good as the previous two “Avengers” movies.

FILM REVIEW OF ''CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER"

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (**** OUT OF ****) gives super-hero sequels a good name.  Not only is this$170 million blockbuster far better than its superb ‘origins’ predecessor, but it also is a real game-changer for the Marvel Universe.  Former Fantastic Four actor Chris Evans reprises the title role as Steve Rogers, a 90-pound weakling turned 240-pound heavyweight, whose exploits inspired millions in World War II.  Remember Rogers spent about 70 years in suspended animation in an iceberg after he contributed to the defeat the Nazis as well as Hydra.  Rogers maintains his sense of honor, or naivety, throughout all his trials and tribulations.  Evans makes his old-fashioned, nice-guy antics appear both convincing and charming.  Meaning, Captain America remains essentially a goody-two-shoes-bachelor with-a-shield.  Our hero takes a licking but keeps on ticking despite whatever adversaries he tangles with in the second, in-name-only theatrical Captain America feature.  Co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo of You, Me and Dupree let the action coast occasionally in this larger-than-life, two-hour-and-sixteen minute melodrama, but the combat scenes are staged with so much kinetic artistry that you will teeter on the edge of your seat during them.  Everything is still appropriately formulaic but entirely outlandish in the gravity-defying Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely screenplay that puts our hero early and often behind the eight ball.  My favorite close-quarters combat encounter occurs in the elevator with our hero cornered and outnumbered.  Later scraps on the three Helicarriers emerge as no less electrifying.  Predictably, everything is business as usual, but the Russo brothers and their scribes provide enough twists and turns to keep you interested in this noisy nonsense.  Mind you, one or two things won’t register as total surprises because you know some characters cannot perish.  Nevertheless, if you enjoyed the first Captain America with Chris Evans, you will probably love the second one as much if not more!

In terms of a chronological timeline, Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place two years after the cataclysmic New York showdown, but the action itself covers only three days.  Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) hasn’t totally acclimated himself to the 21^st century, but he refuses to let it interfere with his duty.  While jogging around Washington, D.C., the fleet-footed Rogers befriends congenial Air Force flyboy Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie of Notorious) who counsels veterans suffering from PTSD at the VA Hospital.  No sooner have they gotten acquainted than Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson of The Avengers) rolls up to whisk Rogers off onto his next dangerous mission.  Later, Sam Wilson joins Rogers in his capacity as the winged hero Falcon.  The first major action scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is designed to show how extraordinary our eponymous hero is under fire but also how vulnerable he remains.  Terrorists have stormed a S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance ship, and they are issuing outrageous demands for the release of the hostages.  Actually, this predicament reminded me of the first mission that Stallone and company embarked on in the initial Expendables epic.  Mind you, Captain America and his trusty boomerang shield clear the perimeter so Black Widow and Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo of End of Watch) can free the hostages and settle with the terrorists.  However, more than meets the eye occurs during this seemingly simple mission, and Captain America confronts his superior, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nicholas Fury (Samuel L. Jackson of Pulp Fiction), about Black Widow’s cyber-exploit.  No sooner have Rogers and Fury fussed at each other at the sprawling new island headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. than Fury briefs Rogers about the next best thing.  Project Insight will link three Helicarriers via spy satellites and to eradicate preemptively any threats either domestic or otherwise.  Naturally, Captain America doesn’t like Insight.  If he is shocked that things have changed so much that such a measure must be taken, he is even more shocked later when Fury shows up at his apartment with blood on his hands and an assassin lurking nearby.  Of course, D.C. Police are nowhere to be found when these imposters do everything except blast holes in either the engine block or the tires of his fortified SUV during a tense auto chase through D.C. streets.  If this weren’t enough for Captain America, he must go toe-to-toe with a mysterious combatant with a Six Million Dollar Man arm to save the day.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier makes several references to the previous film that strengthens its bond with it.  We get a glimpse of the girl that Steve loved and we watch as Steve’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, contends with amnesia.  The filmmakers not only bring us up to date about Bucky, but also we learn more about renegade enemy scientist Dr. Arnim Zola who collaborated with the Red Skull in the first Captain America.  Furthermore, Zola opts to become a ‘ghost-in-the machine’ like Johnny Depp in Transcendence.  The Russos and their writers keep hurling obstacles into Captain America’s path, and our hero doesn’t have an easy time conquering the villains.  Anthony Mackie gets to play the first African-American Marvel super hero, and he attacks the role with relish.  He wears a sophisticated set of mechanical wings that enable him to fly and perform far-fetched feats.  Scarlett Johansson is just as tough and sexy as she was in The Avengers.  Meanwhile, the best special effect in this special effects extravaganza isn’t a special effect.  Actor Robert Redford proves computer graphics stand no chance against the real thing.  Redford qualifies as the most distinguished silver-screen good guy to cavort in such a dastardly manner since Henry Fonda in Sergio Leone’s western Once Upon A Time in the West.  If you’ve never seen Redford in action, you owe it to yourself to check him out.  By his presence alone, Redford makes this action-adventure opus into a memorable experience.  Let’s hope that Marvel Studios can keep up with good work with the forthcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. 

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE AVENGERS" (2012)

Since the epilogue in “Iron Man” (2008) when Nick Fury broached the idea of the Avengers Initiative to billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist Tony Stark, Marvel Comics has been patiently whetting our appetites for “The Avengers.”   This imaginative ensemble epic assembles not only Iron Man and Hulk, but also Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Nick Fury.  Agent Phil Coulson returns, too.  Ostensibly, these paragons of virtue are all that stand between Thor’s scheming step-brother Loki and the fate of mankind.  Happily, Loki brings more to the table than he did in Kenneth Branagh’s anemic “Thor.” Indeed, Thor and Loki seem to have matured considerably during the interim.  Loki ranks as a first-rate, diabolical villain; he is ready, willing, and eager to kill anybody who confronts him, and actor Tom Hiddleston relishes every moment with glee.  Ultimately, “The Avengers” (**** out of ****) qualifies as Marvel’s ambitious attempt to deliver an all-star, no-holds-barred, alien invasion thriller to rival the “Transformers” franchise.  Of course, we know already that our heroes won’t capitulate, but this PG-13 extravaganza takes everything down to the wire.  Inevitably, the extraterrestrial villain--only hardcore Marvel Comics fans may recognize him—who boasts about subjugating Earth is as presumptuous as audiences who fail to appreciate the artistry of “The Avengers.” “Serenity” director Joss Whedon gives every super hero an opportunity to perform an integral role in this larger-than-life smackdown.  Reportedly, Whedon shot more footage of Captain America than reached the screen.  Nevertheless, the fish-out-of-water, World War II hero still participates in a major way.  Melodramatic, with more humor than you might imagine, but just enough tragedy to make things bittersweet, “The Avengers” doesn’t wear out its welcome.  Moreover, this 142-minute, far-fetched nonsense holds up under repeated showings.  I’ve seen it four times, and it loses none of its spontaneity.  The 2-D version is better than the 3-D version. 

“The Avengers” opens with audacious Asgardian exile Loki (Tom Hiddleston of “Archipelago”) cutting a deal with malevolent aliens elsewhere in the galaxy.  Afterward, he materializes on Earth and snatches a formidable source of energy, the Tesseract, from Nick Fury's (Samuel L Jackson) SHIELD outfit. If you’re interested, the Tesseract appeared initially in “Captain America, the First Avenger.”  Once Loki gets his power-hungry hands on the Tesseract, he plans to use it to unlock a portal in space.  Since science isn't Loki's strong suite, he recruits Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård of “Thor”) with the use of his glowing scepter to handle the mysterious cube.  Loki wants to open the portal so an extraterrestrial barbarian horde, the Chitauri, can storm Earth.  The Chitauri are merciless reptilian warriors who resemble humans but wear silver armor and careen across the skies in trios on chariots.  Before he leaves with the Tesseract, Loki also recruits Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner of “The Hurt Locker”) to do his evil bidding. Meanwhile, Fury sets out to recruit his own team.  First, he recruits Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans of “The Fantastic Four”) who hasn’t quite grown accustomed to the 21st century.  Chiefly, Captain America doesn’t know what most of the popular phrases mean.  Former Russian spy Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) lands in Calcutta to round up Dr. Bruce Banner whose alter-ego is the Hulk. Fury needs Banner because he is an expert in gamma rays. Agent Coulson calls on Iron Man with specific requests.  Eventually, Thor barges him when he learns about Loki's treachery.  Everybody boards a futuristic aircraft carrier that does more than ply the high seas.  Throughout "The Avengers," Whedon does a masterly job of interspersing comedy with suspense.  "The Avengers" contains some brilliant comic moments, but Whedon doesn't allow things to turn campy.  Moreover, Whedon manages to muster enough time for each hero to make a contribution as they contend with Loki.

 Whedon's “The Avengers” emerges as the climax to several recent Marvel Comics super hero escapades.  Thor and Captain America toplined their own respective origins stories and generated well over a $100-million in box office receipts.  If you’ve been keeping track of Marvel movies, you know the least successful super hero of the quartet is the Hulk.  Unlike “Iron Man,” “Thor,” and “Captain America,” the pugnacious green gargantuan never formulated the right mix of leading actor, atmosphere, and narrative tone.  Marvel’s two “Hulk” movies failed to forge a charismatic hero after Marvel’s major success with him on prime time television.  Director Ang Lee’s “Hulk” (2003), with Eric Bana as the title character, took itself far too seriously and tackled unpleasant issues such as child abuse.  Marvel rebooted the character with director Louis Leterrier’s “The Incredible Hulk” with Edward Norton as the eponymous character.  This adventure surpassed “Hulk,” but remained half-baked.  Unfortunately, actor Edward Norton feuded with the studio over the film’s interpretation of the material.  Happily, for Hulk, lightening strikes the third time.  Mark Ruffalo looks ideal as Dr.  Bruce Banner and Whedon literally has remade the Hulk in Ruffalo’s own image.  Hawkeye and The Black Widow aren’t exactly in the same league with luminaries like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, or Hulk.  These two are conventional agents of SHIELD with special skill sets. Neither, however, possesses Herculean prowess.  Lastly, ubiquitous Agent Phil Coulson hasn’t changed an iota.  Like Nick Fury, Coulson has appeared in most of the films.  More than any other character, Coulson makes the greatest impression in “The Avengers” when Loki throws down the gauntlet.

There are two kinds of super hero movies.  First, you have those brawny, exciting sagas, with sparkling verbal repartee, like “Iron Man” and “Captain America,” that are lightweight but suspenseful.  Second, like “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” you have those that are ominous, sophisticated, literate, and rely as much as possible on realism.  “The Avengers” belongs to the first category, and Whedon’s opus ranks as one of the best.  The action rarely sacrifices its momentum for expository information about either the heroes or the villains.  Iron Man has lost none of his quirky, irreverent personality. He has the best lines and his nicknames for his companions are hilarious.  He calls Thor “Shakespeare in Park” and refers to Hawkeye as Legolas. Captain America maintains his stiff upper lip.  Hulk acquires a mystique lacking in prior Marvel incarnations, and Thor becomes the hammer wielding equivalent of an intergalactic lawman.   Again, Loki’s evil machinations keep thing interesting.  “The Avengers” is the kind of movie where you need to stick around even as the end credits roll to learn more about the villains and the heroes. 

FILM REVIEW OF ''CAPTAIN AMERICA" (2011)

“Rocketeer” director Joe Johnston’s “Captain America” (**** OUT OF ****) amounts to a timeless David versus Goliath tale set in the Marvel Comics’ universe where good always trumps evil. Unlike “Thor” and “Green Lantern,” “Captain America” ranks as a thoroughly spectacular but larger-than-life extravaganza with a genuinely charismatic hero struggling against a marvelously malignant villain. Chris Evans’ engaging performance as the ‘First Avenger’ is something else, too! If you recall, Evans had the time of his life several years ago playing egotistical Johnny Storm, aka ‘the Human Torch,’ in the two “Fantastic Four” flicks. Make no mistake; Evans is nothing like he was in those two super heroic sagas. Indeed, “Captain America” boasts some amazing special effects, but its best special effect is the sincerity that Evans brings to the role of Steve Rogers. Whether he plays Rogers as either a scrawny, 98-pound zero or a brawny, fleet-footed hero, Evans imparts heart to this $140-million thriller. During the first half of “Captain America,” Johnston gradually builds the momentum to let us grow accustomed to Evans as a scrappy little fellow who suffers the wrath of bullies. This pathetic weakling refuses to let anybody keep him down, and it’s fun because Evans makes it look so authentic despite the obvious CGI effects. Hugo Weaving registers as the ideal villain who holds the upper hand throughout most of the supercharged shenanigans. Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell co-star respectively as Captain America’s superior and his love interest.

“Captain America” opens in the present before it reverts to the past. Typically, movies with contemporary openings and endings sacrifice any sense of suspense. After all, you know if the characters thrive in the present that they must not have suffered in the past. Basically, this constitutes nothing more than a narrative cinematic convention. The chief difference here is that we’re only given a glimpse of Captain America’s legendary star-spangled shield instead of the eponymous protagonist himself. Anyway, the film unfolds in the frozen wasteland of the Arctic Circle as a Russian oil expedition stumbles onto something buried in the ice. They contact the Americans who slice into the ice with a laser, find a commodious craft of unknown origin, and uncover a circular red, white, and blue shield with a star. The scene shifts to March 1942 as despicable Nazi officer Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving of “The Matrix”) and his men storm into Tønsberg, Norway, and confiscate an enigmatic tesseract. Essentially, this is a magical cube boasting incalculable power. Supposedly, the tesseract was a fabulous jeweled artifact that belonged to the legendary Norse god Odin. Once anybody lays their eyes on it, they are no longer the same.

Meanwhile, in New York City, the U.S. military brands Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) unfit for duty owing to a myriad of health problems. The resilient Rogers tries to enlist again when his buddy James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan of “Black Swan”) takes him to a showcase of futuristic technologies. Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci of “Easy A”) eavesdrops on Rogers' conversation with Barnes about his desperate need to get into combat. Suitably impressed by Rogers’ attitude, Erskine allows him to enlist. Moreover, Erskine recruits Rogers as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under the aegis of Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones of “Coal Miner's Daughter”) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell of “The Duchess”). Phillips displays considerable skepticism about Erskine's contention that Rogers qualifies as the ideal candidate for the procedure. One day during a training exercise, Phillips lobs a grenade among the recruits. Everybody but Rogers scrambles for cover, while he smothers the grenade with his frail body. Predictably, the grenade is a dummy, but Rogers’ act of self-sacrificing bravery convinces the colonel that he is the appropriate choice.

No sooner has Rogers emerged from the procedure as an entirely new man with a buffed up body than a Nazi saboteur steps in and kills Erskine. As it turns out, Erskine keep no notes except those in his head. After Erskine dies, Rogers experiences his new-found strength and captures the saboteur. The saboteur lives long enough to warn Rogers that he has to face more of his kind before he crunches on a cyanide capsule and croaks. Roger wins fame and acclaim across the country, but he suffers a setback because he is the first and only of his kind. Colonel Phillips reassigns him and Roger ends up at War Bond rallies where he acts like a cheerleader surrounded by dancing girls. Eventually, when our hero learns that his best friend has been caught, he disobeys orders and leads an inspirational rescue behind enemy lines. Now that Rogers has proven himself, he must face the Red Skull. The Red Skull is Nazi officer Johann Schmidt and he is so ambitious that he not only wants to crush America but also Adolf Hitler. Talk about a villain to end all villains!

Anybody who has read the reprints of the World War 2 era “Captain America” comic book should be thrilled with the way that “The Chronicles of Narnia” scenarists Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have handled the original material by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Of course, Johnston and his scribes have ratcheted up the hardware for the big transformation scene that turns Steve Rodgers into Captain America. In the original comic, instead of being injected with several drugs and sprawling in a large contraption, Rogers was given a vial of chemicals that he drank before he turned into the eponymous hero. Altogether, “Captain America” is a predictable but entertaining comic book movie with sensational special effects and a sympathetic hero. If you are a Marvel Comic fan, you should stick around after the lengthy end credits for a glimpse of the forthcoming “Avengers” film due for release in May 2012.