Wednesday, May 11, 2016

"Captain America: Civil War" is Marvel's latest Superhero explosion, even better than "The Avengers"



An Avengers Lite, if you will. Captain America continues to enjoy high quality writing in Hollywood, possibly more so than any other hero of the Marvel Comics universe. This movie delivers plenty of action, explosions, betrayals and deception to make its nearly two and a half hour running time worthwhile. The conflict at the center, between Iron Man and Captain himself, is well handled, and executed with conviction, and the battle scenes are definitely exciting. 

However, there's still plenty that's less than believable, even though it takes places in a world where suspension of disbelief should be in full effect (how does a man free-fall from high up in the sky, hits the ground flat, and survive? Not even Marvel can make this kind of preposterousness fly). Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans do a terrific job at conveying the inner turmoil that their characters are going through, and as such, they resemble two Shakespearean tragic (anti)heroes, albeit with bigger muscles and better gadgets. Another interesting factor is the introduction of the new Spider Man (the young Tom Holland) from a yet another upcoming re-boot; this kid is charming and much younger than the predecessors who played him, and should make a very effective Peter Parker and his alter ego.

All in all, this barrage of superheroes and superheroines will, of course, spawn even more sequels and spinoffs, until the franchise branches out and the Marvel Comics start publishing episodes based on the movies, instead of the other way around. Art imitating Hollywood, and the other way around. Circle of life at its most "super".
B

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