Friends… The feeling after watching CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR on a great big 3D screen with a few hundred folks is 100% elation. I’ve been going to superhero movies with my dad forever. We’ve seen varying degrees of success. When I read a comic book, especially a Marvel Comic, they do this thing of being casually super. You know those moments. Everyone loves a good party scene with your favorite heroes, but now it’s time to scrap. And superheroes scrapping like a bunch kids playing in the backyard of Marvel Studios is just simply the best thing ever.
Everybody in this movie is giving a capitol effort to do what they feel is right. And I mean EVERYONE! Let’s take a look at Frank Grillo’s CROSSBONES. Captain America dropped a building on his head and made him the Phantom of the Opera, so he’s gone and had built a Beat the Fuck Out Of Captain America Suit. Now, this ass-whupping outfit is a bit of a compressed Alien Loadlifter, only if it had mechanical steel knuckles that could punch through rock and steel and Captain Americas. Frank Grillo is twisted fucking evil gone revenge crazed. He does it… Magnificently well. But ya get where he’s coming from. It’s simple. Now Captain America was literally built to take a licking and keep on ticking. He’s the Timex of Superheroes, kicking evil’s ass starting with Hitler! He’s also from Brooklyn. And was kicking the ass of evil before most of us were born, even my Dad. And I’m a good deal older than most imagined me.
Which leads me to the question… #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan -- Personally, I’m more #TeamBlackPanther after the film, but truth be told, I’m I’m #TeamCap. For me he’s everything I love about superheroes. Fighting for the greater good. The brash American ideal of if not us, who? But also being wary of the evil of evil men who could be at any station of life. Loyal to your friends and family. Investigating until it is time to act. Needing to be convinced into action with evidence seen with his own eyes. He was created to be more American than any American. Built to fight the dangers foreign & in our midst. But mainly… I can’t go with #TeamIronMan.
One of the things I always loved about the Marvel characters was their capacity to remain those characters drawn at different ages in their lives – yet remaining effortlessly that character. There’s a moment in this film where there’s a Tony Stark show off tech demo which you’ll think at the time, Wow, that’s seven sorts of neat and wow. Meanwhile, while you were thinking about the effect, you were just fed straight into the insanity of Tony Stark. Super Genius Neurotic Fruit Cake Mess Of A Man while also having massive guilt and as he’s exhibited from Favreau on, he has massive Daddy issues. I mean, that is how fucking Nick Fury recruited him, dangling the secret life of his father, his father’s research… And he’s spending crazy cash to get into his head so far that he can solve his own issues… And this is the Tony Stark we love. Lovable as all hell, crazy charisma… I mean Robert Downey Jr has never taken Tony Stark lightly, but here… They’re just showing off for the entire friggin movie. Tony is a mess, he’s got best intentions all over the place, but he’s a text book narcissist, self admittedly, and that isn’t the best thing.
His backing of the SEKOVIA ACCORD and being the kneejerk police of a reactionary Government organization that is named after TONY STARK’S HUGE FUCK UP OF CREATING ULTRON. Once again, Best Intentions. But he’s a hot mess in this film, unless he’s on a couch with Aunt May.
You know. I always loved it when Peter Parker came home and suddenly Doc Ock would be sipping hot tea with Aunt May. Tony Stark on a Couch with Marisa Tomei… And knowing Robert Downey Jr is in SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING – and thinking… Oh my, will Tony after doing intense aggression therapy issues over Dad, now try pretending to be a Dad and date / mentor young Peter Parker? Sorry. Minor geek out.
Now – let me exit Comic Geek mode and come in on Movie Geek mode…
The Russo Brothers. Disney should sign them to lifetime contracts. This was next level Superhero stuff. Just watch how beautifully captured all of this is. That’s Trent Opaloch as DP… We first saw his work working with Neill Blomkamp’s awesome TERMINUS short film, then DISTRICT 9, ELYSIUM, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER and CHAPPIE before this. Giving this guy material like this to capture magically with his lens…
Just watch how the camera follows Black Widow in that Nigerian Marketplace… hell, the whole movie. I can not praise Trent Opaloch high enough. And the idea of him and the Russo’s shooting AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Part I & II… THE AIRPORT SCENE is just a level of perfection of understanding the comic medium and the film medium at a level that is truly awe-inspiringly great. SPIDER-MAN. BLACK PANTHER… Forget about it. MARVEL can do anything better than everyone else. It’s like, if Marvel did Wolverine, they’d make him shorter, hairier and just costumed better. Speaking of greater costumes…
Sweater Vision becoming curiously charmed by a Scarlet Witch… It is every bit as adorable as Christopher Reeve pretending to be Clark Kent flirting with Lois. That, I’m not sure how to do this, but I kinda am turned on by this wonderous woman that is quite literally magical, talking about the efforts to understand existence and their powers and how they fit and my you’re simply wonderful, everyone thinks so. Paul Bettany was born to one day prove that Androids cry. There’s an exchange in the Avengers mansion with Hawkeye that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen executed on film before. It’s a Superhero dance that’s just magic to watch. These are characters that to their core don’t really want to KILL the other. They’re fighting cuz, well, that’s the aggression circle of superherodom. Every character fights from their own agenda and you kinda see where they’re all coming from and a part of you will like everyone, they knock the living hell out of SPIDER-MAN… but you’re like, HE’S JUST A KID! But I’m pretty sure Spidey could beat everyone cuz, well he’s Spidey.
You know how much you loved DEADPOOL? You’ll love Spidey like that. Maybe even a bit more if your nostalgia for Spidey runs as core as it does in me. Spidey’s in it for the money. Cuz that’s the only way to ever get a High School kid to do anything productive or useful. The scene of Tony Stark talking to Peter Parker in his room. It’s just… so crazy cool… It kinda felt like the best thing ever… but then that’s how the whole damn film feels.
I did wonder how Marvel would top the Airport scene… and that was raising the stakes in a great for the records… How to just break Tony Stark’s mind and turn him caveman? Just GREAT. GREAT.
And how Captain America handles the follow up with a great Stan Lee cameo and all… That’s why he’s the Captain. BEAUTIFUL! Just BEAUTIFUL!
Ok, I haven’t really lost my shit over Black Panther yet – and that’s cuz… MY GOD! T’Challa… Just typing that name and thinking about Chadwick Boseman’s just as perfect as perfect gets performance. There’s a moment in the film where I felt confident he could lift Mjölnir cuz he was so damn worthy it wasn’t funny.
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely really understand the essentials of these characters. The dialogue is the snappiest yet. Haiku when it needs to and smart enough to quote some great comic dialogue in beautifully new ways. Masterful really. They expertly juggle Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, War Machine, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Vision, Scarlet Witch Ant-Man, Sharon Carter, Spider-man, Baron Zemo, Crossbones, Aunt May and even Ol promoted Thunderbolt Ross. It’s amazing. Every character… Great. Just great. So amazing. Markus & McFeely wrote those characters for the likes of Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackey, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Rudd, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, Alfre Woodard, Hope Davis, John Slattery and friggin Stan “the man” Lee! Nobody short changed. All perfectly cast.
The Marvel Universe is really hitting a new stride. I have to admit, there was a scene, where Black Panther triple kicks Captain America that was so fucking perfect and exciting and jaw-dropping that I let out an excited “OOOOOOO” that I then put my hands over my mouth cuz, apparently the mouth involuntarily reacted to badassery I wasn’t expecting. SO COOL. You’ll see. You’ll agree. And it’s kind of in the midst of a volley of whupass T’Challa was cranking out.
Man I wish Marvel had THE FANTASTIC FOUR. I want their Victor Von Doom so bad. SO BAD.
About the point Zemo pulls a Mason Verger and lays it out for his limited audience. It’s real. You can feel the temperature in this Siberian pit go nuclear. It’s glorious to watch. It also hurts cuz well, all these characters are motivated by love turned wrong by the shit of life. Nobody is UnStanked here in those regards.
And Paul Rudd’s big scene is just the kinda movie magic I’ve been wanting forever. Even though his face is covered when he says the line, “Captain America, here’s your shield!” (note, I think that’s the line) but that moment. You can tell PAUL RUDD has an enormous geeking out smile while saying it. It’s like the height of his life at that point. I mean. Just imagine the awesome of handing Captain America his fucking shield. Shit of legend.
They get that. Proper respect and all. And that kinda drives Tony crazy too – cuz his whole life he’s been hearing about this guy and when… well it’s intense.
Also, the scenes in the end credits are not to be missed. The first is pretty awesome beyond words at every level – and the last one (at least on this print) It’s beyond perfect.
I’ve tried my best to tiptoe around big spoilers… But know, when you plop your ass down to witness this with your own eyes… You’re being transported into the MARVEL Universe – and it’s simply the happiest place on Earth right now.
After the film it made me think of the 1996 Chicago Bulls. Like everyone I knew, I was enraptured by Jordan, but that year was just magic, everyone was on fire. And I remember sportscasters just waxing poetically about how we may never see the game played this great again. Watching them play was a privilege on TV. I felt that way. The only difference is… I’m absolutely convinced, we haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait.
Little Kid minds will melt. Adult minds too. There’s a moment where Spidey reminds us older viewers how old we all are… the moment after you’ll go… “OHHHHHH YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!” and that feeling… that’s childhood dreams played out and good golly it’s super swell!
Man. I can’t wait. I’m seeing it again today!
Keep it cool,
Harry
