As I have mentioned in my previous post, I've been working my way towards a deadline this week. That deadline was at 13:40 today as I entered the cinema to watch Captain America: Civil War. I've been catching up on the Captain's last two films to make sure I had all of my Steve Rogers facts straight. With a solid base of knowledge from these films and The Avengers films, I became increasingly more excited about Civil War's release. Other than this knowledge and the new film's trailer - I had no other information about Civil War or its contents. I avoided pre-release spoilers and only watched the film's first trailer.
So as it turns out, Captain America: Civil War is about a new law that changes the way superheroes are viewed, treated and accepted in society. As a result, a rift between The Avengers and their extended friends is made. With Captain America at the head of one side and Tony Stark/Iron Man at the head of the other, the disagreement is heated and becomes personal. The Captain believes that superheroes should be able to continue their work without restraint but Stark agrees with the government in that there was an oversight and that The Avengers should be held more accountable for their actions. Released internationally on the 27th of April, the film was released here in the UK today - April 29th. So I cannot comment on the film's success on opening weekend or it's initial feedback from critics and general audiences. Although, I'm pretty sure fan's will enjoy this one and wont be disappointed.
I've said before that I enjoy the crossover within the Marvel Universe. I feel that the constant appearance of other Marvel characters adds cohesion and helps reinforce the idea that they are all in the same Universe. So I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of Black Widow, Falcon, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Ant-Man among many others. The most notable guest in this film was the first appearance of Marvel's Spiderman. I've been waiting patiently to see how Spiderman would be represented in this new Universe and how they (the big bosses down at Disney) would handle his crossover. It's weird to me that they've just 'bought' Spiderman, but hey! it's Disney - they can do whatever they want! However, Spiderman in this film, played by Tom Holland, provided a huge portion of this film's comedy gold moments. His time on screen was limited to one of the major fight scenes between the divided Avenger team. He's an adorable character who has lots of questions. Regularly interrupting the flow of action to praise his opposition.
This film will clearly go down in the Marvel Universe as very important in the progression of many storylines. In fact, before the next Avengers film is released, many will have to go back and view this film if they haven't already. With the Sokovia Accords and the current status of Captain America and Iron Man's relationship this film has pushed several character storylines forward immensely. The film ends with hints towards a Spiderman film and perhaps a Black Panther one too. I look forward to the former but the latter doesn't interest me. In fact, when the Black Panther first appeared on screen (to fight Bucky whom he believed killed his father during the Sokovia Accords signing), I thought it was Cat Woman. Yes, I realise Cat Woman is DC not Marvel but there was a lot going on on screen and I think I was overwhelmed with love for Bucky who was trying so hard to disappear.
Anyway, the film was great. The story was interesting and although it didn't have the same shocking twists that the other Captain America film's have had, the plot was still interesting and kept audiences fully engaged throughout. Surely by Monday morning we'll hear that this film has broken opening weekend records and is on it's way to breaking the bank!
So in preparation for the Captain America: Civil War release on the 29th and my subsequent viewing of the film on that day - I thought it was about time that I gave the Captain a shot. Technically there have been seven Captain America films to date but I'm only focusing on the latest franchise starring Chris Evans. Evans made his debut as Steve Rogers in 2011 and has since appeared in two The Avengers films, two other Captain America films, Thor and Ant-Man as the same character. The Marvel Comics character (Timely Comics at the time) was conceived and published for the first time in 1941 and was unsurprisingly the most popular comic character during the wartime period.
Other than The Avengers films, I haven't seen anything or read anything about Captain America. So as I started to watch The First Avenger, I was truly experiencing the story for the first time. Therefore, I cannot judge or comment on how the film's character reflects or compares to its comic counterpart. But, there is no better place to start than the beginning! In The First Avenger we learn who Steve is as a person and how he came to be the Captain. We see his pre-Captain lifestyle and his drastic shift into the public eye after his transition. But this determined soldier could not be held back from fighting the good fight alongside his old friend and some new friends too.
What I love about origin stories is the introduction to these characters. I love the concept that the serum Rogers was injected with amplifies all of his existing traits - something that I'm sure will come into play in the new film. We were also introduced to 'Bucky' - Steve's best friend. As I've jumped on the Captain America band waggon a little late, and have seen the trailers for the new film, I KNOW that Bucky is/was/or soon will be very important. Although, I don't quite know how he could have survived his final scene... The heavy CGI used at the beginning of the film to make Chris Evans appear as a shell of his future self was a little extreme and not the least bit subtle. It was quite distracting during this important first quarter of the film where most of the character development takes place. However, the CGI blends more as the film continues and is significantly less annoying by the closing credits. As for the films love story subplot, the relationship between Rogers and Peggy Carter was sweet. There were references to this relationship during The Avengers films so I unfortunately knew what was in store for the sweet couple before their courtship even began. And secretly, I found myself rooting for the pair regardless! Overall, I felt like The First Avenger was a great introduction to another side of the Marvel universe that I had not yet explored. And considering his character doesn't get explored much in The Avengers - other than learning that he doesn't like bad language - it was interesting to see Captain America's full potential.
The second instalment of the franchise was entitled The Winter Soldier and was released in 2014 after the release of the first The Avengers film in 2012. Because of this there is a lot of character crossover - which I personally think keeps the universe feeling cohesive because characters are interwoven with each other's independent films. This film sees Rogers in the 21st Century joined by Falcon and Black Widow. They are working to uncover a mysterious conspiracy within S.H.E.I.L.D whilst fighting an equally as elusive assassin known as The Winter Soldier.
Rogers is back and his costume is significantly less corny than it was in the 1940s! (Although he does don his original get up during the final fight scenes) And Peggy is back too! But obviously, she's aged. A lot. So my hopes for the two to triumph together were crushed but an early scene in the film showing the two discussing life and the lessons they've learned was sweet. There love may never be but she's definitely been a huge impact on Roger's development. It's very clear even just one film in, that Steve's character is unlike his Marvel companions. He's pure and honest and an unfaltering loyalty. It's as if he has the mind of an innocent child in a body that grew up too fast - and actually, that's exactly what happened to him.
I felt like this film had a lot more humour than the first. As though the writers were finally comfortable with an established set of characters and felt like they were able to experiment more with the different aspects of their personalities. A lot of the humour is dark and satirical which isn't unusual in modern day actions and superhero films. It appeals to the target market the most. Dark humour has always been a speciality of characters played by Samuel L Jackson and Fury is no exception. After doing a bit of research, Jackson signed a nine film contract so hopefully this wont be the end of seeing Fury on screen!
But now. For the most important OMG moment of the film. BUCKY'S BACK - kind of. The mysterious Winter Soldier is unmasked at the end of a lengthy fight sequence with Captain America. And it's Bucky. Sebastian Stan is back starring as Steve Rogers bestie but this time he's moody, forgetful and quite the dark soul. With a mechanical arm replacing the limb he lost in his accident in the 40s, Bucky is clearly unstable and working for the bad guys. But when Rogers tentatively calls for his friend after he's unmasked, Bucky is Bucky no more. He has no memory of Bucky but as the film continues, small bits and pieces slowly come back to him. Now, I knew Bucky would be back because of the trailers for Civil War but I did not suspect that he was the assassin. I had assumed his return would be solely contained within the new film. But, this way the character has an opportunity for further development and a steadier introduction back into the franchise.
Having viewed both The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier now, I feel adequately prepared for my viewing of Civil War on Friday. From what the trailers have shown, this new film will be another Avengers fest and will include a further look at Bucky and his friendship with Rogers. I've deliberately avoided spoilers too, so I can be as surprised with any twists and turns as I was about Bucky being the Winter Soldier!
