Four stars. Rated PG-13, for intense action violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.6.16
Official title notwithstanding,
truth in advertising suggests that this film should have been called The Avengers: Civil War.
 |
| Much as it pains him, Captain America (Chris Evans, second from right) and his like-minded allies — from left, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) — realize that the only way to complete their mission, is to wade through Iron Man and his comrades. |
Although Steve Rogers’ Captain
America (Chris Evans) endures a fair amount of angsty indecision in this rather
busy chapter of the Marvel Universe saga, it’s nothing compared to the
emotional battering suffered by poor Tony Stark’s Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.).
We’ve definitely left the larkish adventuring behind; although this mash-up is
far more palatable than last month’s unpleasantly grim Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, the core storyline borrows from
the same somber, real-world textbook.
Which is to say,
superhero/supervillain battles — even those that conclude successfully — result
in considerable collateral damage and civilian casualties. Where, then, does
responsibility lie ... and does the end always justify the means? Should
superheroes be subject to national or international oversight?
Popular comic book writer Mark
Millar’s Civil War storyline, which
occupied numerous Marvel titles during 2006 and ’07, was a direct response to
U.S. government overreach with respect to post-9/11 citizen surveillance. (And
some people still dismiss comics as being trivial?) The argument divided
Marvel’s characters, with Iron Man leading a faction that supported a
“Superhero Registration Act,” and Captain America and various followers
refusing to submit to what they regarded as a dangerous police state.
Scripters Christopher Markus and
Stephen McFeely have modified this premise slightly, in keeping with events in
recent Marvel movies.
This cinematic Civil War opens as Captain America and a
few colleagues — Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson); Sam
Wilson, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie); and Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch
(Elizabeth Olsen) — track a terrorist to Lagos, Nigeria. It’s a crackerjack
prologue, crisply choreographed by directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, and
editors Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt.
But although our heroes
successfully prevent a bio-weapon from being unleashed, Wanda’s powers
unintentionally backfire, resulting in numerous civilian deaths. Back home,
this proves one calamity too many for U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross
(William Hurt), who convenes an emergency meeting of the available Avengers,
forcing them to watch video footage of the city-leveling events from earlier conflicts
(lifted from both Avengers films and
the previous Captain America entry).
If this feels similar to the way Batman V Superman opened, it’s only
because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (In fairness, Marvel’s
comics struck first.)
The countries of the world,
increasingly concerned by the activities of unsupervised American heroes who
cross borders with impunity, have drafted a resolution that will place all
Avengers under United Nations supervision. The bill is to be introduced by
T’Chaka (John Kani), ruler of the mysterious African kingdom of Wakanda, the
world’s sole source of the rare vibranium metal used to construct Captain
America’s indestructible shield.
Stark, recognizing that his own
recent failings — notably in Avengers 2
— have contributed to such devastation, views this as an acceptable alternative
to more draconian sanctions. Rogers, pure of heart, is deeply troubled by the
(quite likely) possibility of Avengers activities being subject to political
whim and expedience.
But that isn’t Cap’s only
problem. Former WWII sidekick Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), revived a few
films back as the berserker “Winter Soldier,” has been spotted again. Ross
wants him captured, if not executed; Rogers is convinced that Barnes’ misdeeds
resulted from brainwashing, and that he shouldn’t be held responsible.
This becomes a philosophical
impasse, since Stark agrees with Ross, albeit reluctantly. Cap is determined to
find Bucky and protect him; Iron Man, now a government agent, is tasked with
stopping them.
And, so, the battle lines are
drawn. Iron Man is joined by longtime friend and similarly suited colleague
James Rhodes, aka War Machine (Don Cheadle); the android-esque Vision (Paul
Bettany); and, somewhat surprisingly, Black Widow. Their side is augmented
further by the arrival of a mysterious, cat-like figure in black; comic book
fans in Monday evening’s previous audience cheered this debut of the Black
Panther (Chadwick Boseman), known in civilian life as T’Challa, son of T’Chaka.
On top of which, Stark goes “hero
shopping” in New York, and — thanks to real-world corporate cooperation between
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment — returns with another
crowd-pleasing surprise.
Cap, feeling a similar pinch,
supplements his side with Falcon and the Scarlet Witch; Clint Barton, the
bow-and-arrow-slinging Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner); and smart-assed Scott Lang, the
diminutive Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). The latter, in another nod to established comic
book lore, eventually unleashes a hitherto untapped aspect of his unusual
powers (the results of which are a hoot).
That, in a nutshell, is what
makes this film so enjoyable. Despite the unhappy circumstances that lead to
this team fracture — and despite a massive cast of characters that’ll require a
score card for casual viewers — Markus and McFeely’s script takes pains to
establish that all concerned really, really
dislike what they’re doing.
“We’re still friends, right?”
Natasha asks Clint, as they face off.
“Depends on how hard you hit me,”
he replies.
This is an important touch, in
the realm of crowd-pleasing entertainment. Batman
V Superman made no such distinction; Batman hated Superman from the get-go,
and their eventual clash was fueled by genuine rage ... simply unacceptable, on
all sorts of levels. In Civil War,
Cap and Iron Man never shed their firmly established basis of friendship, and
they agonize over what blossoms into a physical clash; their respective
comrades, on both sides, sorta joke their way through half-hearted skirmishes.
For the most part, anyway. All
emotionally powerful stories need to bare their teeth at some point, and that definitely occurs here.
As has become the case with the
best Marvel movies, Downey Jr. capably carries the emotional gravitas, his Tony
Stark always an intriguing blend of cocky self-assurance, smug sarcasm and —
during quiet moments — agonized self-doubt. More than any other character,
Stark worries about the causality suggested by Vision, with his computer brain:
that the mere presence of superheroes serves as a lightning rod for
ever-more-ferocious opponents, with exponentially proportionate devastation.
At the same time, nobody can
match Downey Jr.’s delivery of a withering put-down; he’s a delight to watch.
Evans, in turn, radiates the guileless,
true-blue sincerity that we’ve not seen since Christopher Reeve first donned
Superman’s cape, back in 1978. Evans’ impassioned belief in mankind’s nobler
instincts rings true, and that’s no small thing; a lesser actor would look and
sound ridiculous, trying to wring earnestness from Cap’s dialogue.
Boseman is solid as the noble
T’Challa, embodying the aristocratic dignity of this reluctant warrior. (According
to plan, we’ll be getting his character’s back-story in an early 2018 solo
outing.) Johansson and Renner make a good tag-team, both relying on athletic
grace and clever technology to level the playing field with their more powerful
colleagues.
Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter,
introduced in 2014’s The Winter Soldier,
gets an expanded role that cleverly dovetails with events in TV’s Agent Carter. Olsen is persuasively anxious
as Wanda, still sussing out the actual extent of her abilities (which, frankly,
would seem to make her more powerful than any
of the others). There’s also a nice dynamic introduced between Wanda and
Bettany’s coldly analytical Vision: something I’m sure will be explored further
in upcoming films.
Daniel Brühl is appropriately
sinister as Zemo, a mysterious individual with evil intentions, which remain
shrouded until the third act. In an ironic twist, given the hyper-powered
antics involved, Zemo’s motivations are unexpectedly uncomplicated. And
personal.
The production values are
top-notch, as always, with plenty of action-laden sequences. High points
include a vehicular street chase involving Cap, Bucky, Falcon and the Black
Panther; and — most particularly — an airport melee that pulls out all the
stops.
As has become customary, this
saga’s open ending foreshadows events (and five other movies) to come, between
now and the summer of 2018, at which point all hell will break loose in The Avengers: Infinity War.
And as long as each installment
continues to bring so much popcorn pleasure, we’ll all be along for the ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment