Marvel Melodrama not for the Uninitiated
May 10, 2016
Captain America: Civil War (2016).
D: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo. DP: Trent Opaloch. W: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. Starring: Chris Evans/Robert Downey Jr./Anthony Mackie/Scarlett Johansson/Sebastian Stan/Don Cheadle/Paul Bettany/Elizabeth Olsen/Chadwick Boseman/Emily VanCamp/Tom Holland/Daniel Bruhl/William Hurt/Martin Freeman/Marisa Tomei.
I know you probably feel like you just sat down to watch a Marvel movie only a month ago because, well, you did. Deadpool can still be heard laughing at the X-Men who incidentally have another theatrical installment of their tale in theaters this weekend. Yet this month we return to the world of Captain America in Chris Evan’s third stand alone film as the flashiest boy scout there ever was.
2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger laid most of the groundwork of who Steve Rogers was before and after the creation of his war-time costumed hero. Moving the timeline forward 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier sees the return of Steve’s friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan) whose ampted assassin status has him become a fugitive from justice. Now in Captain America: Civil War we find Steve and his Avengers friends grappling with consequences of their well meaning interventions in world catastrophes. Given the chance to sign over their duties to the government, Steve’s stance on this becomes more complicated when Bucky resurfaces. Will vigilante behavior ensue?
Is that a lot to follow? Maybe. At this point if you have not seen an Avengers or Captain America film I would not start with this one. However, if you are not into Marvel then you probably will not bother, right? In essence though Civil War is more like Avengers 2.5 and less like a Captain America stand alone film, which actually makes it stronger. Steve’s goody-two-shoe quality is best when balanced with other characters, especially the complexity of Bucky. Addressing the same issues Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice attempted to discuss, as a group Steve and more Avengers cope with the personal and public fallout of violence. Who can make the call to step in and whose agenda does this powerful group adhere to. Rather than be clunky about it the film splits the group keeping the internal threat to friendship and loyalty the focus of the drama and action.
Bucky’s reappearance luckily means more Stan onscreen. His Winter Soldier is greasy and sullen, the thankful opposite of clean-cut Evans. The distaste he has for Falcon (Anthony Mackie) injects humor into their not so bromance friendship triangle. Mackie takes on a larger role as does Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow. Clearly the Marvel heads heard the shouts about her needing her own film as one of the few female Avengers. Here she has some great fight sequences–twisting the necks of most of the men she fights. Other Avengers do appear, but I have left them out to not spoil the make up of the competing parties. Civil War does its diligence in introducing not one, but two additions to the Avengers world. Tom Holland is a rightfully youthful Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. He brings new energy and has a nice dynamic with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). But don’t forget that Columbia Pictures owns the rights to Spider-Man, hence why there will be another set of films so they can retain those rights. Chadwick Boseman also appears for the first time as Black Panther. Boseman’s own Black Panther film will not hit theaters until 2018 and has Creed director Ryan Coogler on board.
Civil War is directed and shot by the same team behind Winter Soldier and it clearly shows. Lightness and humor are not lost amidst a plot that grapples with serious ideas. The Avengers team essentially works as an extended family for its characters whose abilities isolate them from the general population. It is the perfect recipe for melodrama and the familial showdown and closer hand-to-hand fights are woven well into the personal conflicts. There are surely weaknesses like Emily VanCamp’s silly appearance or Elizabeth Olsen’s inconsistent accent as Wanda aka Scarlett Witch. Yet, ultimately the film is a solid addition to the Marvel world for those already indoctrinated.
Man on a Planet
October 6, 2015
The Martian (2015).
D: Ridley Scott. DP: Dariusz Wolski. W: Drew Goddard (Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name). Starring: Matt Damon/Jessica Chastain/Chiwetel Ejiofer/Jeff Daniels/Kristen Wiig/Kate Mara/Sebastian Stan/Michael Peña/Aksel Henne/Mackenzie Davis/Donald Glover/Sean Bean.
Ridley Scott’s newest venture has sky rocketed in the box office over the weekend. The Martian will probably put Scott back on the sci-fi map, which is a credit to its source material and its star, Matt Damon. Even at nearly forty-five, Damon’s boyish charm and Jason Bourne determination make him an enjoyable force on screen.
I skipped out on Scott’s directorial effort Exodus: Gods and Kings last year and feel confident in that decision. Yet I did make time to see 2012’s Prometheus and even 2010’s Robin Hood. For me Prometheus was a mixed bag, but the lore of the Alien franchise was not something I was deeply connected to. Here in The Martian Scott is free from any baggage and seems to have a clearer hold on the story he wants to tell.
Based on Andy Weir’s initially self-published novel, The Martian is the story of astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Damon) who is stranded on Mars following an injury during an emergency planet evacuation with his fellow crew-members. Thought to be dead, the crew starts their return home and he wakes up to the daunting task of feeding himself until the next Mars crew arrives in four years. Back on earth NASA eventually figures out Watney is alive and how to communicate with him and the rescue mission plans begin. The novel is a science heavy survival story with loads of humor that thankfully makes it into the film.
A difficult adaptation, Drew Goddard’s script does well in trying to balance Watney’s computer diary with the real rescue plan at home. Goddard previously adapted World War Z for the screen and co-wrote with Joss Whedon the fabulous Cabin in the Woods. Goddard’s script cannot match the wit of the novel, but that is simply because we cannot have a two hour film of just Damon making jokes. The best stick around, but the conventionality or studio glossing as I see it comes in back on earth, especially in a silly coda ending. The momentum is lost with Dr. Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofer) and a lot of the tension between the higher ups is diluted to humor and actor Sean Bean being able to say the Lord of the Rings joke from the book. Same can be said about the Mars crew, they aren’t given a chance to shine really, acting more as a catalyst for Watney’s escape possibilities.
The Martian however overcomes this with a visual palette that reiterates why mankind is so obsessed with space travel. Mars and Watney’s gadgets are a great backdrop for Damon’s exploration into how to really survive on the planet. Ultimately that is the joy of the film and the book. To see this character really figure out all the technology and science he needs to try to make it home. The Martian will surely continue to do well and makes me hopeful that Scott’s next movie might be even better.
A Villian’s Movie
April 12, 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
D: Anthony & Joe Russo. DP: Trent Opaloch. W: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. (Based on the Marvel comic books by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.) Starring: Chris Evans/Samuel L. Jackson/ Scarlett Johansson/Robert Redford/Anthony Mackie/Sebastian Stan/Cobie Smulders/Emily VanCamp/Hayley Atwell/Toby Jones/Frank Grillo.
This will be a season of sequels, now to be expected from American movie studios. As comic book movies get bigger and louder and more expensive, is there really anything left to see?
Like with most sequels, comparisons to the first movie are inevitable. So when my younger brother got super pumped about watching a double feature of Captain America I went along. So not only would I compare the two movies, but was encouraged to do so. The verdict? I liked the second more.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier picks up where The Avengers left off, sort of. Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers is acclimating to his life in Washington DC, working for Shield, and building a tense rapport with Natasha (aka Black Widow) played and pouted by Scarlett Johansson. Evans’ moral compass continues to wreck havoc on his relationship with Shield and his boss, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Which ultimately becomes the driving question behind this movie, who is good and who is bad and the company you think is good may in fact be bad. Total snoozefest.
However, what saves this boring basic plot line is the silent, conflicted, and menacing presence of Sebastian Stan as the winter soldier. Without giving anything away that the promos haven’t, his relationship with Evans’ Captain America brings this action movie into a more personal space. What is boring about Steve Rogers is his lack of any sort of inner conflict or darkness. Even if something is morally grey, everything is processed externally for him and quantified. This makes him feel outdated and forces the script to fall back on silly fish out of water jokes to build his personality. Rather Stan’s performance is everything non existent in Evans and is not only the perfect foil for the hero, but much more fun to watch. Not nearly as creative or as fleshed out, the winter soldier is akin to Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight in plot functionality and narrative dimension.
What is also very successful here is the hand to hand combat. Although there is far too much excessive violence, much like last summer’s Man of Steel, the non CGI fighting between Evans and Stan is tense, intricate, and masterful. Clearly the Russos knew that this story would have to be fought differently than its predecessor. There is one sequence in an elevator that is action movie fighting at its best and most fun. Thankfully Anthony Mackie’s Falcon was also there to bring some color and freshness to the world along with a impeccably wardrobed Robert Redford as a Shield big wig. I consider this an improvement over the first film and not a waste of time, so a win?