Captain America: Civil War.

Another cracking superhero movie directed by the Russo Brothers Anthony and Joe involving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This latest action packed offering is almost a direct follow on from Captain America: The Winter Solider released in 2014 in which we had the emergence of an all-powerful villain who was originally Steve Rogers’s (Chris Evans) best friend Bucky Barnes who was thought to have been killed in action during World War 2.  Rescued by the Russians and taken to Moscow he is programmed to be a Soviet assassin under the code name of The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

This latest film involves not only characters from the previous outing including the good Captains love interest Peggy Carters niece CIA agent Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow with Anthony Mackie back as the flying machine Falcon but others that form part of the larger Avengers Assemble including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr), Iron Mans close ally War Machine (Don Cheadle), with Jeremy Renner returning as Hawkeye, Black Panther, a new character introduced for this movie played by Chadwick Boseman, Vision the Android (Paul Bettany) the lovely Olson sister Elizabeth is Scarlet Witch, also the super hero Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) whose suit allows him to shrink or grow makes an appearance - you may already have seen him in Ant-Man (2015), bringing  some welcome humour to the proceedings is Peter Parker better known as Spider Man (Tom Holland).

The plot of Captain America: Civil War (2016) involves the introduction of the Sokovia Accords which basically set out to kerb superhero involvement in operation’s they deem necessary i.e. to ‘save the world’ and protect the innocent’s against the villains, who these days tend to come in the guise of big business and corrupt authorities, forcing Captain America and his fellow crime fighters to accept political oversight – and we all know how dubious political oversight can turn out to be! When our superheroes can’t agree on the benefit of the Accords civil war breaks out forcing them to choose sides. Cue massive exciting and destructive battles between the two factions. “This is the cinematic superhero showdown you’ve dreamt of since childhood”[1] The franchise gets even better, great entertainment for children of all ages.        

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[1] Robbie Collins Daily Telegraph April 2016.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

My latest visit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe involves Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) a World War 2 veteran who was given an experimental serum to enhance his physical strength, frozen in suspended animation and revived to be part of modern day S.H.I.E.L.D, The Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) a former Russian spy that defected to the United States to become an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D and a new ally The Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) the first mainstream comic African-American superhero who was a former pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack. All of which face an unexpected enemy as they ‘struggle to expose a far-reaching conspiracy that puts the world at risk’. Also in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) we have the emergence of an all-powerful villain who was originally Steve Rogers’s best friend Bucky Barnes before he was thought to have been killed in action during World War 2.  Rescued by the Russians and taken to Moscow he is programmed to be a Soviet assassin under the code name of The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

 

The Black Widow

The Falcon.

Directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who manage to lay on the action thick and fast in this attempt at a hi-tech political conspiracy thriller involving the Marvel characters. To a great extent they succeed in producing a character driven, suspenseful, modern day politically astute drama that certainly does not lack what a die hard fan would expect from their superhero movie. Also involved in the very enjoyable nonsense are Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury director of the international force, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce a member of the Worlds Security Council and a cameo from both Toby Jones as Dr Armin Zola’s ‘face on the computer’ and Jenny Agutter who scene where she morphs from a Security Council member into the Black Widow is hilarious. An entertaining and worthwhile follow up to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

The Winter Soldier.

The Iceman.

Richard Leonard "The Iceman" Kuklinski (April 11, 1935 – March 5, 2006) was an American contract killer who worked for both the Newark's DeCavalcante crime family and New York City's Five Families of the American Mafia. The 6'5" 21.5 stone Kuklinski claimed to have murdered over 100 men between 1948 and 1986. Kuklinski claimed to have committed his first murder at the age of 13. He lived what seemed an ordinary family life with his wife and children in the suburb of Dumont, New Jersey. His story has been documented in two documentaries, two biographies and a feature film. The feature film has been directed by Israel born film director Ariel Vromen and stars the superb Michael Shannon as Richie Kuklinski an actor that I have much admired since his appearance as Peter Evens in William Friedkin's horror/thriller Bug in 2006 a part he incidentally played in the play of the same name, described as ‘probing the blurry lines between paranoia and nightmarish reality, an intense mind bending psychological thriller.’ 

 

How many people did they kill between them?

Based on the book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno and the documentary The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer by James Thebaut the story of The Iceman (2012) starts around 1992 when we witness a heavily bearded man in what appears to be a prison where an unseen interviewer asks the question "Mr Kuklinski do you have regrets for the things you have done in your life?"  Before he can answer we are taken back to the 24th April 1964, Jersey City, New Jersey and Richie Kuklinski is seated at a table in a restaurant opposite his future wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). Within 10 years he has two children, a big house in a decent neighbourhood and became, unbeknown to his family, a professional killer for Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta) a member of the Gambino family who leads a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering between 100 and 200 people between 1973 and 1983. Its when Kuklinski’s killing spree connects with an ice cream van driver and fellow hit man called Mr Freezy (played by Captain America himself Chris Evans) that the bodies really seem to mount up, freezing to obscure the time of death and then months later dismembering them as a method of disposing of their victims.

 

The Iceman and Mr Freezy join forces.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler when I tell you that Richie Kuklinski was sentenced to two life sentences and thereafter never saw his family again! In 2006 aged 70 he died in Trenton State Prison New Jersey coincidently just before he was scheduled to testify at the trial of a Gambino family underboss.  Its Shannon’s performance as one of the most prolific contact killers in American history that really carries this film and makes it a genuinely good reason to see it but I must say that the role would have benefitted from a little more in-depth character study.

Avengers Assemble.

All credit to Joss Whedon’s writing and direction on what amounts to his first Hollywood blockbuster, a sequel to the proceeding five Marvel Cinematic Universe movies Iron Man (2008),  The Incredible Hulk (2008)  Iron Man 2 (2010) Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Avengers Assemble (2012) is an absolute dynamite adaptation of a comic book action adventure and one certainly worthy of the description of ‘action movie’ with CGI that is more than impressive with its post 9/11 imagery and references. It also includes, in abundance, one of the most important ingredients of any comic book movie: humour.

Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow.

Hawkeye.

The plot involves our collective superheroes, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America and the lesser known Hawkeye and the ultra sexy Black Widow, battling a supervillain, well actually a Norse God, who has stolen an energy source resembling a blue translucent cube called a Tesseract, which is powerful enough to destroy earth.

The Norse God Loki.

One of the great strengths of this movie is its villain Loki, played brilliantly by Tom Hiddleston, who you will remember from Thor as the crown prince of Asgard’s adopted renegade brother. The cast’s commitment to their particular character’s help to conjure up a totally realistic Marvel world, Robert Downey Jr as the heir to the Stark dynasty giving the role the eccentricity it deserves, all American hero Captain America is again portrayed by Chris Evans, with Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Thor and Mark Ruffalo finally giving the kudos that the role of Bruce Banner deserves. Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye a S.H.l.E.L.D agent whose skill with a bow and arrow gives him the title of the world’s greatest marksman. Scarlett Johansson brings superspy Natasha Romanoff, better known by her code name Black Widow, to life. Also involved is Samuel L. Jackson who plays the director of S.H.l.E.L.D Nick Fury responsible for bringing the superheroes together to help fight world domination by the evil fascistic Loki. To all Marvel Cinematic Universe virgins I challenge you to watch this film and not fall in love with the whole comic book concept.

Commander Nick Fury.

Will the Hulk save the day?

Captain America: The First Avenger.

Captain America.

Timely Publications started in 1939 and was one of the earliest publishers of comic books, by 1961 it had evolved into its modern incarnation: Marvel Comics. It was at this time that they created various superhero characters with the help of the legendary trio Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Most of their fictional characters operated in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, set in real-life American cities. Correspondingly Marvel Studios developed the Marvel Cinematic Universe based on characters in the comics but sharing plot elements, settings, cast and characters. To date there have been four movies set in this collective, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008, Iron Man 2 (2010) the Kenneth Branagh vehicle Thor (2011) and the latest addition Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Our story starts during World War Two with the Americans entering the war. Young Steve Rogers is deemed unfit for military service and is persistently turned down when he tries to volunteer. One day at the recruitment office he meets scientist Dr Abraham Erskine who nominates the undersized Rogers to be part of his “super soldier” programme, an experiment that is said to enhance human potential. He is injected with a serum and subjected to an electric treatment by Iron Mans father Howard Stark. He emerges from the experimentation twice his original size and with superior reflexes, ready to do battle with Adolf Hitler’s head of advanced weaponry Johann Schmidt, who as the Red Scull and commander of the terrorist organisation HYDRA has his own plan for world domination.

Red Scull.

Directed by Joe Johnston, whose last two films were the disappointing Wolfman (2010) and the rather better Hidalgo (2004) a film based on the legend of the American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo. He also won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Chris Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Touch in the Fantastic Four films, plays Captain America with just the right amount of irony. English actress Hayley Atwell plays an officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and the love interest of our hero. A scary Hugo Weaving portrays Red Skull very convincingly, with man of the moment Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark. Two other roles are worth a mention Stanley Tucci as the German refugee Dr Erskine and Tommy Lee Jones as Col Chester Philips, Steve Jones commanding officer.

Peggy Carter with Captain America.

As usual with the super hero genre the film is slightly corny and certainly camp especially in the scenes which involve Steve Rogers as a US propaganda tool appearing at war-bond rallies dressed in his Captain America garb and resplendent with shield. Like the afore mentioned Raiders of the Lost Ark it’s a good old-fashioned blockbuster. Its story, and in particular its ending set things up nicely for the forthcoming modern day sequel. At times it did feel like we had entered the realms of Inglourious Basterds (2009) but that’s no bad thing. Great fun and very entertaining, for comic book lovers of all ages. Use this and Iron Man as a template for further Marvel Universe films and I for one won’t complain.

Marvel Cinematic Universe