So yes that's right, I've been to the cinema again and this time to see Captain America: Civil War. As with last time I thought I'd give my view on the whole experience and again split this into three sections, Trailers, Spoiler Free and Spoilers (Just a little). Similarly I'm not going into huge amounts of detail and I'm not going to write out the whole synopsis. So lets begin...
You've probably seen this before, Rogue One tell the story of the infiltration team that went undercover to extract the Death Star Plans referenced in Episode IV: A New Hope. Cinematically this looks really good, but will the story hold up to the hype. Will we get a better insight into the origins of Supreme Leader Snoke, is the hooded figure a younger Emperor Palpatine, we just don't know yet. This may be one to look out for if you're just now getting into Star Wars or reigniting your love after the debacle of episodes 1 to 3.
We all know the game, now its time for the movie. By all intents and purposes this is predominantly a kids film, with like Disney and Pixar, subtle references for the adults. If you're looking for a film with depth, you are really looking in the wrong place, its going to be slapstick, juvenile humour (but that is not to say childish humour) and silly and fun. Maybe worth a watch, I know I will.
The new Turtles sequel is almost here, but will it do well or follow the majority of sequels and fail to match their predecessor? This instalment sees the introduction of old favourites Bebop and Rocksteady and finally the grand entrance of Krang! Also starring The CWs Arrow, Stephen Amnell as Casey Jones and the return of Megan Fox as April O'Neill this film looks good on action and special effects and should be a good amount of jokes to keep you laughing throughout.
As a player of World of Warcraft, I have been looking forward to this movie since I first heard about it several years ago. Set in a fantasy world, this movie is going to involve a lot of CG, from sets, landscapes and charcters. Regardless, this looks great, however I would like to know more about the intended storyline. Will is follow establish canon from the series of games and MMORPG or an entirely new story. If the latter, fans will not be happy in a similar situation to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Here's to hoping it doesn't disappoint!
Again another sequel, and definitely with this one, will it match up to its predecessor? For first impressions, definitely not suitable for kids ( unless your THAT person that took under 15's to see Deadpool, shame on you!), it looks rude, crude, laugh a minute, and so far just as entertaining as the first. The fraternity from next door are gone, their looking to sell their house and now a sorority has moved in. From experience groups of girls can be worse than boys, so what are we in store for? Well a comedy film with drunken college girls so look for stereotypical titillation, exposed flesh, bad language and possibly a replay of the first film. Worth a watch? Maybe....it's a well used formula, but lets hope it's fresh enough to warrant a second watch.
I love the X-Men and have had a few reservations about this new instalment. Apocalypse was always one of the greatest foes for the X-Men other than the "PROPER" Phoenix Force and Jean's Dark Phoenix. When I first saw the first trailer I was disappointed with the appearance and sound of Apocalypse, he looked too human and the power of his voice was severely lacking. However it appears the studio has taken not of the fans outcry and as each trailer was released his appearance has subtly become more like the comics and the voice is gaining its power, depth and bass. !!LITTLE SPOILER!! With the appearance of our favourite X-Man at the end of the trailer, Wolverine is back, but this best kept secret we don't know how much involvement he will have. Now, I am looking forward to this film to see how they deal with Apocalypse's origin story and where the characters development will go.
First Impressions..... I really liked it!! Marvel doesn't disappoint with it's movies. With a runtime of 2 hours 27 minutes it is a long film, with great action sequences, good slow sections and brilliant visual effects. This film however does not follow the comic book storyline of Civil War, and I think with good reason. The comic book version already has a plethora of already established characters and events and trying to transition that into movie form would just be chaos. You'd have too many new characters with unknown backgrounds introduced and attempting to integrate them with the established movie characters wouldn't work, the film would be too complicated and leave viewers with too many questions. But that isn't to say this storyline isn't any good. We get 2 new character with and more character development for the known superheroes.
We have the initial introduction of the leader of Wakanda and the premier of Black Panther, which I can honestly say was amazing. Agility, strength and fortitude of this character comes straight through and does justice for me. The costume looks fantastic, with nice subtle details and is in line with comic book counterpart. Obviously they cannot give away too much of the detail and origins of Black Panther due to the upcoming movie set for 2018, but they give enough for you to want to see more!
Tom Holland's Spider-Man definitely does not disappoint either. The character is a bit more removed from it's previous incarnations of Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield but seems more like the comic book hero I remember. A lot more chatty and wise-cracking this Spider-Man is a lot more fun to watch and the new suit is closer to the comics and cartoons from my youth. The "weird eyes" that have made the rounds on the internet make more sense now but to me are more along the lines of Deadpool's animated eyes and give added expression to a character's face that once suited up is previously just an expressionless mask. This is a good move as in the comics Spider-Man's costumes eyes always changed size and shape to show a variety of emotions and it is great to see this feature has made it into the movie.
On a slightly different note, I did feel that in some of the action scenes; while brilliantly done, involved cuts from shot to shot that were a bit too quick to fully appreciate. If you blinked in the wrong place, you could quite likely miss a shot.
Paul Rudd reprises his role as Ant-Man and is just as good as part of the Avengers team and in his own movie. We see Ant-Man in a brand new updated suit, with a new shape helmet, different detailing and the addition of an on-board computer interface. We've seen him small, we've seen him tiny and now for the first time, we've seen him giant!! That's right, this is the first introduction of Giant-Man or Goliath and the comic timing was brilliantly done. Will we see more of this in the next Ant-Man instalment? This fan hopes so!
Additionally, the last words we see are "SPIDER-MAN WILL RETURN". Now, is this in reference to the new Sony "Homecoming" Spider-Man movie or another movie directly based in the Marvel Universe? Only time will tell!
If you managed to read all the way through, I really appreciate it and feel free to add comments below. I can only grow as a blogger with input from you guys. Remember, please be gentle I'm still new to the whole blogging thing.
Here's a potato!
Trailers
ROGUE ONE
You've probably seen this before, Rogue One tell the story of the infiltration team that went undercover to extract the Death Star Plans referenced in Episode IV: A New Hope. Cinematically this looks really good, but will the story hold up to the hype. Will we get a better insight into the origins of Supreme Leader Snoke, is the hooded figure a younger Emperor Palpatine, we just don't know yet. This may be one to look out for if you're just now getting into Star Wars or reigniting your love after the debacle of episodes 1 to 3.
ANGRY BIRDS THE MOVIE
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS
The new Turtles sequel is almost here, but will it do well or follow the majority of sequels and fail to match their predecessor? This instalment sees the introduction of old favourites Bebop and Rocksteady and finally the grand entrance of Krang! Also starring The CWs Arrow, Stephen Amnell as Casey Jones and the return of Megan Fox as April O'Neill this film looks good on action and special effects and should be a good amount of jokes to keep you laughing throughout.
WARCRAFT: THE BEGINNING
BAD NEIGHBOURS 2
X-MEN APOCALYPSE
Captain America: Civil War - No Spoilers
Ok so like last time, I'm going to tell you about After Credits scenes. There ARE 2. One mid credit scene and another at the very end, but more on those later.First Impressions..... I really liked it!! Marvel doesn't disappoint with it's movies. With a runtime of 2 hours 27 minutes it is a long film, with great action sequences, good slow sections and brilliant visual effects. This film however does not follow the comic book storyline of Civil War, and I think with good reason. The comic book version already has a plethora of already established characters and events and trying to transition that into movie form would just be chaos. You'd have too many new characters with unknown backgrounds introduced and attempting to integrate them with the established movie characters wouldn't work, the film would be too complicated and leave viewers with too many questions. But that isn't to say this storyline isn't any good. We get 2 new character with and more character development for the known superheroes.
On a slightly different note, I did feel that in some of the action scenes; while brilliantly done, involved cuts from shot to shot that were a bit too quick to fully appreciate. If you blinked in the wrong place, you could quite likely miss a shot.
Spoilers (Just a Little)
To be honest there are really no big plot points or character issues that popped out at me like in Batman V Superman. In essence there are no big shockers or dramatic changes to characters, well I say that. I'm only going to mention 3 points.ANT-MAN
Paul Rudd reprises his role as Ant-Man and is just as good as part of the Avengers team and in his own movie. We see Ant-Man in a brand new updated suit, with a new shape helmet, different detailing and the addition of an on-board computer interface. We've seen him small, we've seen him tiny and now for the first time, we've seen him giant!! That's right, this is the first introduction of Giant-Man or Goliath and the comic timing was brilliantly done. Will we see more of this in the next Ant-Man instalment? This fan hopes so!
MID CREDITS
The mid credits scene sees Cap and Bucky preparing for Bucky's sojourn back in to cryo-sleep at a facility within the borders of Wakanda, and our first but very brief view of the illusive country.AFTER CREDITS SCENE
In this short scene, we're back home with Peter Parker as he quickly explains his reasons for his bruises to Aunt May. We also see some Stark based Spider-Man tech projected from a wrist band. Is this a prelude to a more advanced tech spidey suit like the one in the comics? Who knows.Additionally, the last words we see are "SPIDER-MAN WILL RETURN". Now, is this in reference to the new Sony "Homecoming" Spider-Man movie or another movie directly based in the Marvel Universe? Only time will tell!
If you managed to read all the way through, I really appreciate it and feel free to add comments below. I can only grow as a blogger with input from you guys. Remember, please be gentle I'm still new to the whole blogging thing.
Here's a potato!
Great review! I thoroughly enjoyed Civil War, glad Tony Stark was played a bit more seriously like he was in Age of Ultron (RDJ is capable of much more than just firing off one-liners). Black Panther was awesome as was Spidey (although I'm actually a fan of the Amazing Spider-Man films and Andrew Garfield's portrayal, but, hey, it's Spidey in the MCU!).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about the action scenes, whilst they were generally great some of the hand-to-hand stuff moved a little too fast.
The Russo Bros are great though, glad Marvel have signed them on to tackle both parts of Infinity War!
Hey cevans1982, thanks for the comment and feedback! It was great that you get to see a bit more of Stark character, but I have to say Tom Holland maybe the Spider-Man for me. Maguire was good, Garfield better, but Holland just has that right amount of witty chat and banter delivery that was lacking in the other two.
DeleteIt is often the case with close action and hand to hand scenes, though they should take a leaf out of Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts films book. Fast action but the camera is steadier and the cuts are sedate in their speed.
Again thank for reading!