Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) review

 

While the late August Wilson was responsible for several highly regarded plays, his most notable piece of work was The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of ten plays that, while not directly connected to each other in a ‘franchise’ sort of way, explored the lifestyles of African Americans throughout the 20^th century. Each play was set in a different decade ranging from the 1900s to the 1990s and all but one of them were set in Wilson’s hometown, the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And in 2016, the first theatrically-released film adaptation of these plays was made based on 1985’s Fences. The film starred Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, who reprised the same lead roles that they portrayed in the play’s 2010 Broadway revival, and was also notably directed by the former. And upon its release, it was a solid hit with critics and earned Davis an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. This would prove to be the first of Washington’s efforts to adapt Wilson’s work thanks to a deal made with HBO (which was then moved to Netflix) to produce adaptations of other Pittsburgh Cycle plays. Thus, we now have an adaptation of 1982’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which presents a dramatized tale about the titular legendary blues singer, Ma Rainey. But while this one also stars Viola Davis, Washington’s only a producer this time around whereas directing duties go to George C. Wolfe who, like Wilson, is also a highly regarded veteran of theater. And under his strong direction, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is another top-notch adaptation of a classic August Wilson play.

On a hot summer day in Chicago in 1927, blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her band partake in a recording session organized by her manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and Mel Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne), the owner of their studio space. However, Ma isn’t too keen on the recording process and would much rather stick to her touring performances down South. Thus, what should’ve been a relatively easy day ends up getting increasingly complicated by Ma’s frequent creative clashes with Irvin and Sturdyvant, from her preference over which version of her hit song ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ that they’re recording to her request to have her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown) perform with the group despite his stuttering problem. And if that wasn’t enough, some major tensions begin to develop amongst her band members. Down in their practice room, pianist Toledo (Glynn Turman) and guitarist and trombone player Cutler (Colman Domingo) find themselves butting heads with Ma’s trumpeter, Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman), who aspires to have a band of his own thanks to a deal with Sturdyvant to produce his own songs. And as the day drags on, all the drama that forms around those in Sturdyvant’s studio only proceeds to get worse and worse to the point where it all ends in tragedy. 

The one thing that surprised me the most about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was how drastically shorter it was when compared to Fences. Whereas Fences boasted a hefty 139-minute runtime, Ma Rainey’s is only an hour and a half long. Now admittedly, I’m not too familiar with August Wilson’s work so I don’t know how accurate this is to the play itself, but at the same time, I’m sure that it makes perfect sense in this instance since this is one of those ‘bottle episode’ type stories that takes place over the course of a single day in a single location. And with that in mind, I’d say that this helps make Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom just as sharply written of a play as Fences was even if it wasn’t a Pulitzer Prize winner like the latter. As strong as Fences was in conveying its themes such as the struggle to achieve the American Dream and to properly provide for one’s family, it did suffer a bit from the fact that, because of its ‘stage-y’ nature, you could often feel the brunt of its long runtime. Ma Rainey’s, by comparison, does have the same ‘stage-y’ feel to its proceedings but is arguably a lot more focused on portraying the struggles that African Americans faced in the years before the Civil Rights Movement. Whether it’s one of the band members telling a tragic tale of race-related violence or simply the whole premise of Black performers being exploited by their White managers, this film serves as a grim reminder of this country’s dark past… and, unfortunately, certain incidents from our current times.

Just like Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a premier actor’s showcase headlined by the phenomenal lead duo of Viola Davis as the titular Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as her ambitious trumpet player Levee. Davis, in her second leading role in a Denzel Washington produced adaptation of an August Wilson play, shines as always as the strong-willed Ma, although it is worth noting that, because of how this story is structured, she isn’t really the main character here even though said story bears her name. Instead, that distinction goes to Chadwick Boseman as Levee since much of the run-time is based around the conversations that he has with Toledo, Cutler, and double bass player Slow Drag (Michael Potts). Thus, the most talked-about aspect of this film has easily been Boseman’s performance, especially since it ends up being the last performance of his career in the wake of his tragic death last August due to colon cancer. Despite this, however, Boseman once again proves that he was truly one of the best actors of his time with a phenomenal performance where, despite playing an incredibly cocky braggart who frequently acts like he’s better than any of his peers, still manages to be rather sympathetic at times because of his tragic backstory. And while much attention has been placed on Davis and Boseman’s performances, their co-stars are just as great as well, especially Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts as Ma’s other band members.

Thanks to the one-two punch of Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, it’s clear that Denzel Washington’s role of being the key creative force behind the process of adapting August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle to the big screen means that this material couldn’t be in better hands. While Fences wasn’t exactly my ‘favorite’ film from 2016, it was still very much a well-made adaptation that was fully bolstered by strong lead performances and the undisputed brilliance of August Wilson’s writing. And sure enough, this also applies to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is arguably even better by comparison. Obviously, a lot of what I say here will ultimately come down to personal preference, but I feel that Ma Rainey’s manages to get its thematic points across better, namely because it’s a lot shorter. At just 94 minutes long, it never overstays its welcome, and while it may carry the same ‘stage-y’ quality that was heavily apparent in Fences, that doesn’t stop it from being a solidly engaging and wholly relevant story. And, of course, the biggest selling point of this film is the amazing pair of lead performances from Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It’s safe to say that the two of them will be attracting a lot of attention during awards season, and in Boseman’s case, it would be an incredibly fitting way to honor a bonafide cinematic icon in the wake of him being taken away from us way too soon.

Rating: 4.5/5

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) review

(Fear not, my fellow MCU fans who have yet to see this film, as this review will not (I repeat… NOT) be addressing any major spoilers from it. I mean, heck, who do I think I am? That guy from Forbes who spoiled the ENTIRE FILM before it even came out?)

(Seriously, though, what the hell, Forbes?)

In just a few days, Marvel Studios’ 2008 blockbuster Iron Man will celebrate its 10^th anniversary… and thinking about that is truly surreal as I still remember going to see that film in the theaters. And like many others at the time, I had no idea of what was about to unfold before our eyes. Back then, the live-action film side of the superhero genre almost entirely consisted of films based on a single character or a small group of heroes. At the time, no one had ever really attempted a massive crossover-centric franchise between multiple big-name comic icons aside from various animated films and TV shows. But after Marvel’s film division made a $525 million financing deal with Merrill Lynch in 2005 to distribute their own films instead of licensing them to other studios, a plan was put into motion to attempt a ‘cinematic universe’ featuring all the major superheroes whose film rights were still owned by Marvel at the time. In other words, they couldn’t immediately work with some of their biggest properties, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, as the former’s film rights were owned by Sony and the latter two’s rights were owned by Fox. Thus, they had to go with some of their lesser-known heroes to start off this new franchise of theirs… and yes, as crazy as it may seem, Iron Man was, technically speaking, a ‘lesser-known’ Marvel superhero prior to 2008. But, of course, that all changed when the character’s first feature film adaptation became one of the most critically/commercially successful films of the year. And it all concluded with a game-changing post-credits scene in which main protagonist Tony Stark was approached by Nick Fury, the head of the government organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. who came to talk to him about the ‘Avenger Initiative’. Thus, a cinematic universe was born…

Since then, Marvel Studios has continued to deliver top quality superhero flicks year in and year out. And while not all their films have been runaway hits, they haven’t necessarily made a downright ‘horrible’ MCU film no matter what directorial conflict or issue with the studio’s now-defunct ‘creative committee’ has ever occurred. And really, the main reason why this franchise has worked as well as it has is that studio president Kevin Feige and his team have made a considerable effort to ensure that the franchise takes its time to develop the universe and its characters before bringing them all together in one film. That was the case with Phase 1 of the franchise, which culminated in the genre’s then-latest landmark installment, 2012’s The Avengers. The heroes of the MCU were then subjected to some darker storylines in Phase 2 before reuniting again for the equally darker Avengers follow-up, 2015’s Age of Ultron. And now, as we near the end of Phase 3, the Avengers are back for Marvel Studios’ biggest endeavor yet, Avengers: Infinity War. A true cinematic epic that has been a full decade in the making, this film sees the Avengers taking on their greatest threat yet, Thanos, who has been continuously built up ever since he first appeared in the first post-credits scene of the original Avengers. And while Joss Whedon isn’t behind the camera for this installment, a suitable pair of successors are in Joe and Anthony Russo, who have already given us two of the MCU’s greatest installments to date in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Sure enough, they once again deliver with a truly jaw-dropping cinematic spectacle that pulls off some of the gutsiest moves that the superhero genre has ever seen.

Over the course of the past 18 installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its various superheroes have come across a variety of powerful objects that were spawned from a series of gems known as Infinity Stones, which were formed in the wake of the Big Bang. And it is these six stones that attract the attention of one figure, Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin), an alien warlord from the planet Titan who embarks on a mission to retrieve them all so that he can achieve his lifelong ambition of wiping out half the universe. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, all the world’s heroes unite to prevent the Mad Titan from getting his hands on the stones. In New York, ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) teams up with his teenaged protégé Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man (Tom Holland), sorcerers Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong), and scientist Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to safeguard the Time Stone housed within Strange’s special artifact, the Eye of Agamotto. In the African nation of Wakanda, fugitives Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and Sam Wilson AKA Falcon (Anthony Mackie) ally with Wakanda’s king T’Challa AKA Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) to protect the artificial being Vision (Paul Bettany), who’s powered by the Mind Stone. And in the far reaches of space, the Guardians of the Galaxy, consisting of thief Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Thanos’ adopted daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana), warrior Drax (Dave Bautista), weapons expert Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), tree creature Groot (Vin Diesel), and empath Mantis (Pom Klementieff) end up running into Thor the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), who managed to survive an attack by the Mad Titan himself.

Now at this point in the MCU’s run, I will fully admit that I’m just becoming a broken record at this point when it comes to listing all the great things that one can expect in an MCU film. And sure enough, that’s once again the case with Infinity War. You have your amazing action sequences that are bolstered by outstanding visual effects while also showcasing the Russo brothers’ growing strengths as action directors after they originally got their start in comedy. You have the franchise’s great sense of humor that produces an endless array of classic moments that never once take away from the dramatic context of the plot. And in the case of these Avengers films, this great humor is then further fortified by all the terrific character interactions between all the franchise’s great heroes, from Iron Man and Doctor Strange to the trio of Thor, Rocket, and Groot… and yes, that’s only naming a few of this film’s noteworthy combinations. But then the Russo brothers take things one step further by pulling off one of the gutsiest endings that the superhero genre has ever seen. Now, obviously, I won’t reveal anything about what happens in it for those who haven’t seen the film yet, but you could say that it’s possibly a response to the long-standing (and rather questionable) argument that Marvel films don’t have any real stakes in them. And with that in mind, while I know that this ending will probably get reversed somehow in next year’s fourth Avengers film, it is handled perfectly in this film with such a strong sense of emotional poignancy that it rivals any major ‘awards season favorite’.

Given that most of this film’s ensemble cast has already been in at least three or more previous MCU films, there’s really no need to talk about their performances because they’re all just as great as they’ve always been. From the original Avengers squad to the Guardians of the Galaxy to more recently introduced heroes like Black Panther and the MCU’s rendition of Spider-Man, Marvel Studios has managed to create one of the most legendary ensemble casts in film history. Now, admittedly, despite all that, it should be noted that you shouldn’t go into this film expecting a lot of new bits of character development for these heroes as it’s more about the battle against Thanos. And because Infinity War does boast the largest cast of heroes that has ever been seen in a superhero film, some characters do get a little more attention than others, like Thor (who was confirmed by the Russos themselves as having the most screen-time of any main protagonist in the film), Gamora (given her connection to Thanos), and Star-Lord (due to the romance between him and Gamora). This, in turn, could very much perpetuate the ever-growing argument that the MCU is getting too overcrowded. However, just like in Age of Ultron, this ultimately isn’t that much of an issue in the long run because of one simple reason, and it’s the one that I’ve been referring to time and time again. Because all these characters have been given great bits of character development in previous MCU films, there’s not that much of a need for a lot of that in this film as it’d just bog down its proceedings to the point where it ruins the pacing. And just like the previous two Avengers films, at the very least every major superhero gets to have his or her standout moment whether it’s via a hilarious joke or a badass action sequence.    

And then there’s the big bad of this film AKA the one that the MCU has been teasing for years, Thanos. Given all that build-up, along with all the jokes that were made about the character’s initial inactivity during his cameo appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and Age of Ultron, clearly expectations were high for the Mad Titan to truly leave a lasting impression on viewers. This was especially a matter of the utmost importance for many people after several past MCU villains have been heavily scrutinized by critics and audiences for not being as well-developed as the franchise’s protagonists. Thankfully, that’s not an issue here as Thanos does, indeed, live up to the hype as one of the MCU’s greatest villains. First off, the motion-capture effects used to turn Josh Brolin into the character are outstanding, truly showcasing how far the art form has evolved over the years especially when compared to Brolin’s previous appearances in the role. At the same time, Brolin himself is also phenomenal as one of the most emotionally-driven villains that the franchise has ever seen. Yes, there is quite a lot of emotional heft to Thanos’ arc in this film. Despite all the terrible things that he and his followers, the Children of Thanos (a rather underutilized but still all-around serviceable group of imposing subordinates), does to our heroes, much like Erik Killmonger in Black Panther you’re able to get a sense of how truly committed Thanos is to his goals. And as we soon find out, he ends up going to some incredibly dark places to achieve those goals. In other words, in a film that is full of so many great characters, Thanos might arguably be the most compelling figure of them all.

Anyone who knows me probably guessed beforehand that I was going to love this film seeing how I’ve never given any of the previous MCU films a negative review. But in this instance, I want to truly emphasize why this entry in the franchise is something special. Because for most of this film’s two and a half hour runtime, it gives us everything that fans of the MCU have come to love about the franchise. It has the great action sequences, the wonderful interactions between all its main characters, and an endless array of quotable lines. But then comes this film’s ending, which takes so many daunting risks for an MCU film and yet all of which end up paying off because of how well-handled it is. And even though it’ll probably get fixed somehow in the fourth Avengers film, and even though it comes in a film where character development for its well-established heroes is admittedly not its primary focus, it will still leave one hell of a lasting impact regardless of one’s overall views of the MCU. That is a testament to the phenomenal job that Kevin Feige and his team have done in creating a franchise that has taken its time when it comes to world-building. It is a testament to the amazing direction from the Russo brothers, who have given us three of the MCU’s greatest outings in just the past five years. And it is a testament to the sterling performances of the franchise’s top-notch cast of endearing main protagonists along with one of the best villains in the history of both the superhero genre and film in general. Simply put, for long-time fans of the MCU, Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of all-time.

Rating: 5/5!

Black Panther (2018) review

In 1966, Marvel legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the first African-American superhero that ever appeared in mainstream comics. His name was T’Challa, ruler of the African nation of Wakanda and its greatest warrior, the Black Panther. Half a century later, the character would make his official live-action film debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2016 release, Captain America: Civil War. In the film, T’Challa was played by Chadwick Boseman. Fresh off playing cultural icons like Jackie Robinson (42) and James Brown (Get on Up), Boseman added yet another cultural icon to his resume of film roles thanks to his excellent performance as the stoic regal warrior. And now, the Black Panther headlines his own solo film courtesy of director Ryan Coogler. Since 2013, the Oakland native has made a name for himself in the film industry with some of the most critically-acclaimed films of the past few years; and to put this all into perspective, Black Panther is only his third feature film to date. Prior to this, he directed the 2013 drama Fruitvale Station, which told the true story of the death of Oscar Grant III in the titular Bay Area Rapid Transit metro station, and 2015’s Creed, the unexpected continuation of the iconic Rocky franchise that ended up being its most critically successful outing since the original back in 1976. And with Black Panther, Coogler (and, therefore, Marvel Studios) ends up having yet another critically-acclaimed outing on their hands thanks to it being one of the most emotionally-charged outings of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In Captain America: Civil War, audiences were introduced to T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), prince of the African nation of Wakanda who also serves as its greatest warrior, the ‘Black Panther’. When his father, King T’Chaka (John Kani), was murdered in a bombing at the United Nations, T’Challa embarked on a quest for vengeance against his father’s killer Helmut Zemo, though he ultimately let him live when he decided that he would no longer be consumed by vengeance. Thus, as Black Panther begins, T’Challa returns home to Wakanda to prepare to become its new king. However, he soon finds himself having to deal with two major threats to the peaceful existence of his kingdom. First, there’s Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), a black-market arms dealer who has spent several years trying to find Wakanda and steal its most valuable resource, vibranium (AKA the material used to create Captain America’s iconic shield). The other big threat comes in the form of Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a Black Ops soldier (who, as it turns out, harbors a major personal connection to T’Challa that’s tied to a key incident of Killmonger’s past that T’Chaka was directly involved in), who arrives in Wakanda hell-bent on taking the throne and utilizing the kingdom’s resources to initiate rebellions all over the world. This, in turn, forces T’Challa and his main allies, including his ex-lover Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), his tech-savvy sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), and Okoye (Danai Gurira), leader of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s special forces group, to stand their ground to prevent Killmonger from taking over the kingdom and, subsequently, the rest of the world.

I’ve stated time and time again that the MCU has always done a fantastic job developing its main characters to the point where it results in some of the most effective emotional moments to come out of the superhero genre (e.g. the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the ‘big reveal’ in Captain America: Civil War, etc.). And with Black Panther, Coogler gives us one of the most emotionally-driven installments of the entire franchise. There’s a real spiritual sense to this film, and not just through its excellent portrayal of the world of Wakanda and its culture. Emotion practically drives everything in this film from character motivations for both heroes and villains to key moments in the plot that reflect modern race relations. All of this helps to make the film one of the most moving and culturally relevant films in recent memory while still being a fun and exciting blockbuster flick, a balancing act that Coogler handles terrifically. Because after all, this is still a Marvel Cinematic Universe film that we’re talking about here, and even at 18 films in, Black Panther still features everything that we’ve come to love from this franchise. Coogler and cinematographer Rachel Morrison (who previously collaborated on Fruitvale Station) more than deliver on the film’s solid action sequences, many of which are backed by the franchise’s consistently solid visual effects. And while Black Panther certainly doesn’t skimp on its emotional poignancy, it still finds plenty of time for the MCU’s trademark sense of humor.

Right from his first scene in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman proved to be a major scene-stealer as his iteration of Black Panther was full of powerful, emotional nuance. And now that he headlines his own film, that firm resolve is strengthened even further along with a solid arc in which T’Challa struggles to figure out his identity as the new ruler of Wakanda. But he’s not alone in this endeavor, as he’s backed by some of the greatest female leads in the entire MCU. As Nakia, Lupita Nyong’o has excellent chemistry with Boseman (effectively making them one of the MCU’s best ‘couples’) while still being much more than just a traditional ‘love interest’. As Okoye, Danai Gurira continues her recent track record of playing badass warriors (following her turn as Michonne in The Walking Dead) as the staunch leader of the Dora Milaje who is NOT to be messed with. And as Shuri, Letitia Wright ends up being the film’s biggest standout as T’Challa’s snarky but high-spirited sister whose technological prowess manages to give even Tony Stark a run for his money. Of course, like any MCU film, there are plenty more standouts from this film’s excellent supporting cast. Daniel Kaluuya plays a minor but all-around pivotal role in the film as T’Challa’s best friend W’Kabi, the head of Wakanda’s ‘Border Tribe’ who ends up getting into a rather tough personal conflict with T’Challa over his handling of Klaue. And as for Winston Duke as the imposing M’Baku, the leader of the Jabari tribe who is in constant conflict with T’Challa over his impending rule, he surprisingly ends up providing the film with some of its best humorous moments. Close it all out with some solid turns from screen legends Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker as T’Challa’s mother Ramonda and the sage-like figure Zuri, respectively, and you have one of the MCU’s best ensemble casts.  

Ultimately, though, one of the most well-received aspects of this film is something that you don’t hear of very often from critics and audiences when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its villains. And while I have gone on record stating that I don’t think that the majority of the MCU’s collection of antagonists are as bad as many claim that they are, I will openly admit that Black Panther features some of the franchise’s greatest villains. First, we have Andy Serkis reprising his brief cameo role in Avengers: Age of Ultron as Ulysses Klaue. Without giving anything major away, Klaue’s role in this film is minor but Serkis is clearly having a ball as the delightfully over-the-top arms dealer who gets plenty of the film’s best humorous lines. But, of course, the real star of the show is Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, who is hands down one of the most layered antagonists of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Keeping in line with the film’s strong sense of emotional depth, Killmonger’s backstory is steeped entirely in emotional sentiment, effectively making him a perfect foil for T’Challa in more ways than I describe here without delving into spoiler territory. His motivations are clear throughout as is Jordan’s fantastic, commanding screen presence in the role. Simply put, Killmonger is one of the prime examples of a ‘sympathetic’ antagonist; while he does serve as a major threat to T’Challa and company, there are instances where you do empathize with where he’s coming from. Not only that, but it’s also good to see Jordan get a top-quality role in a superhero film after his rather disastrous outing as the Human Torch in 2015’s Fan4stic. And for those keeping track at home, that makes two former on-screen Human Torches who ended up getting stronger material when they transitioned over to Marvel Studios (the first, of course, being Cap himself, Chris Evans).

Now, of course, anyone who knows me probably guessed beforehand that I was going to love this film given all the times that I’ve gushed about the MCU in the past… and they would be right. While I usually don’t like to lean so closely towards the film fan community’s consensus towards any given film, it’s hard to deny that Black Panther truly is a landmark installment of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the superhero genre in general. For lack of a better term, director Ryan Coogler infuses this film with so much soul that it ends up being an emotionally powerful cinematic experience. Whether it’s thanks to the film’s deeply-layered plot or Michael B. Jordan’s phenomenal turn as arguably the MCU’s greatest villain to date, Black Panther is sure to hit you with all the feels. And really, at the risk of becoming a broken record, this is just yet another testament to Marvel Studios’ dominance of the superhero genre since the MCU’s inception. For the past decade, they’ve provided us with well-written and well-directed superhero epics that have been highlighted by their excellently written characters, jaw-dropping action sequences, and in their greatest outings, a fantastic sense of emotional poignancy that has made their protagonists endearing icons in the world of pop culture for years to come. Black Panther boasts all those things and then some.  

#WAKANDAFOREVER

Rating: 5/5!

Captain America: Civil War (2016) review

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a decade since the release of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Iron Man, back in 2008. At that time, no one ever figured that this franchise would evolve into what it is today. After all, there had never been anything like the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to that point. And yet 8 years later, here we are… two whole phases into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 12 films, 4 TV shows, and much more on the way. Marvel Studios has pretty much established itself as the most prolific force in the superhero genre, so much so that pretty much every other studio has been trying to emulate their success. And sure, the studio has faced some criticism over the years. There are some who argue that their films are ‘all the same’, even though in reality Marvel has actually covered quite a few different genres over the years from heist films to 70’s spy thrillers. And of course, there’s that damn superhero fatigue argument as well as the fact that some people actually think these films are ‘ruining’ the film industry, namely the fact that other studios have tried to use the ‘cinematic universe’ formula with non-superhero franchises. But here’s the thing… it’s not like Marvel was directly responsible for other studios implementing this formula into other franchises. All they’ve been doing is just continuing to produce quality films/TV shows. And now that the infamous Creative Committee that was responsible for incidents like Edgar Wright’s departure from Ant-Man is no more, clearly it looks like things are going to continue to run smoothly for what is easily one of the most critically and commercially successful franchises out there today.

I apologize if that last part went a bit too far into rant territory. Anyone who knows me knows I can get rather irritated when that fatigue argument comes into play. Anyway, kicking off Phase III of the MCU is Captain America: Civil War. Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who prior to Winter Soldier had only been known for comedies, return to helm the final installment of the Captain America trilogy. And as some of you might have already guessed from the title, this particular entry takes inspiration from one of the most notable, and in most cases infamous, Marvel storylines of the past decade, Civil War. Written by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service), this seven-part series saw the heroes of the Marvel Universe split between those who supported and those who were opposed to a new government act intent on regulating superhero activity in the wake of increasingly catastrophic superhero-related incidents. Specifically, this storyline saw Captain America, an opponent of the act, face off against Iron Man, who to the surprise of many supported the act, with each leading their own ‘team’ to combat the other. This new film follows a similar plotline but bases it within the overall context of the MCU’s lore and, as a result, doesn’t feature all of the characters that were in the original storyline. In other words, no X-Men and no Fantastic Four because they’re still over at Fox. And without having read the original series, it seems as if this version is a much more toned down affair compared to the comics. But given the generally polarizing nature of the original story, that might be for the better. Because yet again the Russos deliver another action-packed and character-driven superhero epic that pulls a lot of changes in regards to what will happen next for the MCU and its heroes.  

Captain America: Civil War opens up about a year after the events of Age of Ultron. During this time, it is established that public opinion towards the Avengers has started to wane in the wake of the countless international incidents that they have been involved in. And unfortunately the situation only proceeds to get worse for the team when a mission in Lagos, Nigeria ends up causing even more collateral damage. This immediately leads the United Nations into setting up the ‘Sokovia Accords’, a new act that would put the group under the control of an international governing body. This proves to be a very polarizing point of debate amongst the group’s members. Specifically, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) AKA Captain America opposes it on the grounds that it hinders their ‘freedom’ while Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) AKA Iron Man supports it due to him taking responsibility for having started the whole ordeal with Ultron. The situation becomes even more complicated when Cap’s best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who following his supposed death in 1945 was revived and brainwashed into being the Hydra assassin known as the ‘Winter Soldier’, is suspected of bombing a peace conference. As Cap tries to protect his friend, who claims that he wasn’t responsible for the bombing, the Avengers soon find themselves on opposite sides of ‘the law’. On Cap’s side there’s Bucky, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) AKA Falcon, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) AKA Scarlet Witch, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) AKA Hawkeye, and ‘new recruit’ Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) AKA Ant-Man. On Iron Man’s side there’s Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) AKA Black Widow, Vision (Paul Bettany), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) AKA War Machine, Wakanda prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) AKA Black Panther, and ‘new recruit’ Peter Parker (Tom Holland) AKA Spider-Man.   

For the record, this is not a straight-up adaptation of Civil War, which is probably a good thing considering the storyline’s generally polarizing reception. As someone who hasn’t read that storyline, it seems as if the film takes on a less extreme atmosphere than the comics. Obviously the conflict between the Avengers is still there but in the comics, Iron Man apparently took on an extremely authoritarian role in order to hunt down anyone opposed to the registration act. Thankfully that’s not the case here. Despite what it may seem, Iron Man is not the ‘villain’ of the film and neither are the other members of his ‘team’. And that’s the cool thing about this story; the Avengers aren’t the ‘bad guys’ in this situation and yet it’s still interesting to watch them get into one hell of a moral debate over everything that’s happened since they’ve made themselves public to the world. Not only that, but both sides actually do have valid points to stand on instead of it seeming like the writers are favoring one ‘team’ over the other. Obviously that means that there are quite a lot of scenes where the protagonists talk with one another, perhaps more so than there are action sequences. However, the film is still a fun ride throughout and sports some particularly epic action sequences, once again highlighting the Russos’ talent for directing action with this film giving them the added benefit of having more characters to work with. Interestingly enough, while this did seem like it would be the most serious MCU film to date, it still maintains the generally light-hearted nature of the franchise in general. In other words, the franchise’s trademark humor is still there in droves, and I’m aware that this will turn some people off as there have been some who have been critical towards the MCU films for relying a lot on humor. However, I’ve never seen it as a problem with these films as there are plenty of great and emotional character moments in this film that are effectively balanced with legitimately funny bits of dialogue, mostly coming from the interactions between the characters. 

In the months leading up to the film’s release, there was some discussion over why the film was still being deemed as a Captain America story considering that almost all of the other main superheroes in the MCU (save for Hulk and Thor who, spoilers, are not in this film whatsoever) were in it as well. For those people, it seemed like Avengers 2.5 was a more fitting title. And yet, somehow, the Russos actually managed to make it all work. At the end of the day, Captain America IS the main character of the story. A lot of the plot revolves around him trying to protect his pal Bucky which of course brings him into a major conflict with Iron Man, something that has of course been previously teased in the Avengers films as a result of their numerous ‘squabbles’ with one another. Aside from Iron Man, pretty much every other ‘Avenger’ in the film is in a supporting role. But that’s totally fine because, just like what Joss Whedon did with the Avengers films, the Russos manage to give every major hero/heroine his/her own moment to shine. Also, similar to The Winter Soldier, this film actually does manage to get by without having a major ‘villain’, as the focus is more on the protagonists and their conflict with each other. With that said, this film does have a ‘villain’, Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) and, well… he really doesn’t add much to the story. So as far as that common argument that the majority of the MCU’s villains are weak is concerned, nothing here is going to change that for those who make that argument.

13 films in, there’s really no need to say much more about the franchise’s returning players; Evans, Downey Jr., Johansson, Stan, Cheadle, Bettany, Rudd, Renner, Olsen, Mackie, etc. They’re just as great as they’ve always been in these films, with all of them having played their respective roles at least more than once by this point. So moving on from that, this film introduces two new players to the MCU. The first is Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman. To put it simply, Black Panther is a badass and Boseman absolutely owns the role, both in terms of the action sequences and the character’s overall gravitas. But of course the most hyped element of this film was the return of everyone’s favorite web-slinger, Spider-Man. After being previously unable to join the franchise due to the fact that his character rights are owned by Sony, the recent deal between Sony and Marvel Studios has finally allowed the web-slinger to join the MCU. Now to be perfectly frank, as someone who did like the Amazing Spider-Man films (yes, even the second one), I was a little disappointed that they decided to reboot the Spider-Man franchise, for the second time in five years for the record, instead of just letting the Amazing series continue but with the added benefit of having Kevin Feige and co. in charge to make sure the franchise runs more smoothly in the wake of the second Amazing film’s mixed critical/commercial response. However, even with that said, I have to admit it… Tom Holland is a frigging excellent Spider-Man. Obviously Holland is the youngest onscreen Spider-Man to date as the new series is intent on focusing more on Peter Parker’s high-school years compared to the previous two series. And Holland absolutely owns it in the role, both in terms of the character’s natural wit and the fact that, at least in this story, he is a legitimate ‘outsider’ to the whole ordeal with the Avengers.

13 for 13 when it comes to ‘well-received’ films; there has yet to be an MCU film that has dropped below the fresh percentile on Rotten Tomatoes. Clearly that’s got to be a record when it comes to film franchises. And rightfully so as Captain America: Civil War is yet another sterling success for Marvel Studios. While the film does take inspiration from the Civil War storyline, it doesn’t strive to be a perfect adaptation, which I think many people will agree is a good thing considering the original storyline didn’t go over too well with everyone. By comparison, the film takes on a less extreme route in terms of its plot but still does a great job in conveying the moralistic conflict that the Avengers end up getting into. You actually do understand where both sides are coming from and neither side is meant to be seen as a ‘villain’ even though they are in opposition with one another. Pair that with some particularly excellent action sequences and plenty of great character moments, especially those involving the newcomers Black Panther and, of course, Spider-Man, and you have one hell of a superhero epic. Whereas Winter Soldier was proof that the Russos could handle an action film of this scale, Civil War is proof that they can handle a massive ensemble cast like this one even though the film is mainly focused on Captain America. And that’s very much a good thing because these guys are set to take over for Joss Whedon as Avengers directors with the upcoming two-parter epic that will be The Avengers: Infinity War. Clearly, that film couldn’t be in better hands.

Rating: 5/5!