Yeah, keep that feeling in mind. I've not wrapped my head around the movie Captain America: Civil War just yet, but that's not the point. I have to strike while the iron is pretty hot.
This is a nice find, as if out of the blue.
Disney has pretty much given up on advertising, when you think about it. They have so many shitty little bloggers (ahem, see recent post) out there they don't have to pay for a single commercial if they don't wan to. The trolls devour all of their tidbits that it saves cash and let's Disney/Marvel actually do stuff. Heck, even this blog post is a bit of an advert. This movie, I don't recall, really had an advertising push, not unlike the recent Batman v. Superman, so when I finally found time to head to the local flicka, it was, well...
....like finding that twenty dollar bill.
A nice surprise. The Disney machine has been marching on for some time, but, like all good soap operas, the comic book empire they purchased pretty much writes itself with an intertwining, multi-plot story. Heck, they just announced a Black Widow possible spin-off movie. Does it fit in the canon? Nope. But it does line the pocket.
And I'm one of those bloggers, so I'll go see it too.
This movie is part of the universe that is Marvel, if ever there was such a movie. Nothing character wise is emphasized here. Instead, the movie, like a good sequel should, carries a full storyline about all the previous movies.
No, really.
It's about how the world is starting to react to the saturation of heroes on Earth and the violence they are carrying out. In fact, after a particularly jarring opening act catching supervillains during a heist, goes sour and it suddenly makes sense. The Avengers are starting to feel some form of remorse. New laws are being made, sponsored by the UN and will hold all heroes accountable from here on out. Captain America, played again by Chris Evans, believes they should operate freely, instead of a political entity or a policing agent. Iron Man, played once more by Robert Downey Jr., feels guilt when a specific death is brought to his attention and believes this might be the way to remove himself from a certain culpability and agrees to oversight.
The ruse works to making a full movie. It's surprisingly lavish production, with a few dozen of key players from several of their titles. This is the same team that constructed Captain America: Winter Solider, which I consider one of the best in their canon, and I'm starting to think that Disney might want to consider paying them more.
This movie is long, but it doesn't feel long. Nor is it designed, in any manner, to get your goat and have you cheer for the four seconds your favorite character is on the screen. They did what a movie should do-every character, and I mean EVERY character has an agenda and it plays to a specific and logical end, success or no. Even brief cameos, with Ant-Man and Spider-man, are not forced in any manner, but, instead, feel like they should be there and fit in like a missing puzzle piece.
I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers here, and, luckily, the plot is complicated, but not contrived or wooden. More like clockwork. And because of that, trying to summarize it would be like trying to review the last 20 years of the comic books itself.
I think it's interesting that it comes on the heels of the Batman/Superman fiasco (okay, sure, I didn't think it was bad, but next to this? It's bad). Warner Bros is so scared of opening up their property that it comes off as a cold art movie. Here? The movie's pacing is like a decent novel, with a plot twist at the end of every chapter. That movie was massively awkward. Two heroes fight. A villain is rewritten. But the concoction comes off as maladroit. This movie? Totally opposite.
I am being really vague, aren't I? Sorry, but if you like the MCU, you'll like this movie, but, believe it or not, there's something to be said about the quality-this picture moves like the Winter Solider and should be recognized as something slightly above the genre. The only drawback? Well, it doesn't really work if you're not sure what's going on with previous ticks. Of course, that can only happen if you live under a rock or you have little exposure to popular culture. That's where this movie does fail. It's like starting StarWars at the Empire Strikes Back level.
I also have to point out, as I have numerous times, I'm a strong believer that art reflects life reflects art. I think it's fitting that we're seeing two heroes go head to head in an election year. No one can be sure that one or the other is worthy and the fight ensues. I'm also drawn to parallel the recent transphobic bills that are splattering all over the place. Where people are trying to legislate even there's no need or no ability to do so. How, in Fate's name, are they going to keep heroes in check? More heroes, which seems kinda wrong. How are Earth are they going to keep bathrooms checked? By putting police in there to look under stalls? Sick. Weirdness.
Go, enjoy.
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