CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR; A Professional Scotsman Review #9

#MINOR SPOILERS#

I'm not sure I really like Marvel films anymore. In fact I'm not sure I particularly like superhero films anymore so maybe this review is pointless? They are getting visually dull as dishwater - really flatly shot and not very cinematic. The template of the first Iron Man has been used on reheat till it is now stale as old bread - it was very fresh originally but if Marvel refuses to let directors put their unique stamp on them then they are going to become redundant as cinema going experiences for neutrals. In fact I thought this one looked like it belonged on the telly for much of its run time. There's never any unusual dutch angles or artistic interpretation of any scene - it's all just basic shot/reverse shot whenever characters talk to each other. This is a shame when the framing or the shot choice could tell the story much better than the dialogue. Think of the opening shot of Star Wars: A New Hope. A tiny ship is being chased down by a larger ship. Boom! The Empire is massive, the rebels are struggling. Got it. Here I was tonally unsure of what I should be feeling for most of the time.

It's essentially a cynically timed red vs blue political punch up with Iron Man representing a conservative view of how superheroes should be policed (and apply their policing) whilst Captain America represents the rogue maverick view that they should be able to do anything. This is weird - surely it would be the devil-may-care Iron Man who is the maverick? Anyway a fight amongst the warring factions brews and peaks when they should really just have sat down and talked it out. Boring? Yeah, well, it's true. Another problem of the extended universe that these films are set in is that you kind of HAVE to watch all the other ones for it to make sense. What this film has going for it is a couple of superb set pieces which I'll get down to in a minute. But it seems like that's all I'm watching them for anymore. Say what you like about the much maligned Batman Vs Superman at least it tried to be a bit more daring stylistically and there was a genuine sense that both those characters could be at logger heads.

Anyway back to the set pieces: my word they're brilliant. The first is a reverse Raid-style escape from a building and I absolutely loved seeing the real world possibility of an 'enhanced' couple of dudes batter their way past a highly trained swat team. Magnificent. It felt real AND was highly inventive - even the shot selection was suddenly daring and vibrant. But then all of a sudden Black Panther turns up and I'm completely pulled out of the scene. So... Black Panther is just a guy in a suit? Then how can he run as fast as genetically and physically altered superheroes? It was ridiculous. Am I missing something? Also he's the son of a King and you'll have to forgive my Scottish anti-royalist streak when I suddenly realised I was supposed to be rooting for the on screen equivalence of a superhero version of Prince freakin' William. I thought Black Panther was both silly and unsympathetic - though he eaks it back with a little pathos in his confrontation with the final villain. But his Panther lair thing was laughable. Now, I'm not saying I'd like everything in these films to be grounded in some semblance of reality... actually hang on that's exactly what I'm saying.

Next great scene is the showdown between the two opposing factions - it's ridiculous - but so much fun! The best aspect is that the action is shot so cleanly that you can tell exactly what's going on and that the personality of each character is crisply defined. In this scene Spiderman and Ant Man are the clear victors - both hilarious and handy in a scrap. The acting in general is solid - but someone needs to get Don Cheadle on an all burger diet right now - dude looks painfully thin. And the film could go a little more sexiness - I mean no wonder they're all fighting constantly when no one ever seems to have any sex, right? I don't need to see this but it should at least be implied. In fact the only guy showing any infatuation at all is Vision - easily the best character though simultaneously the most ridiculous so maybe I don't know what I want to see in my superhero films? I think Paul Bettany plays Vision so wonderfully he kind of pulls off the dichotomy of making a mental character seem believable. He has the hots for the gorgeous Scarlet Witch - if only he'd ask her out. Who knows - she might even have said 'yes'? Then they wouldn't need to punch each other in the face so much (unless that's their thing of course).

FINAL ANALYSIS: It's fun. And it did win me over by the end. But it's also messily plotted and a bit rambling as these films always are, straining under the weight of the massively constraining extended universe. There are two breathtaking, wonderfully realised fight scenes which render the dull bits in between even more disappointing. And tonally I found it hard to accept the maudlin serious stuff along with the jokey stuff - though that might work superbly for others. I can see why people really dig it but stand back from it and view it purely as a movie and Marvel really has to start taking a lot more risks. If only they'd kill off one of the characters we'd actually feel like there was something at stake as opposed to watching the inevitable procession to the next film filled with the same characters. And Black Panther was really silly. Even by Marvel's increasingly silly standards.

FINAL SCORE: I'm slinging it a 7 for the fight scenes and acting alone. If you like this sort of film you'll love it. If you're not already invested you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

ALTERNATE TITLE: Iron Man 4: The Winter Soldier Part 2 - The Avengers 3