After a couple of days and two showings of this movie, I've had enough time to gather my thoughts about this movie. As if you might not already be able to tell, I loved this movie. There were so many little things about this movie that I loved. So let's get right to it. Slight spoilers may follow.
I will start off by saying any comic fans that were expecting this movie to be like the comic book event from a few years ago, prepare to be disappointed. This movie deviates from almost all facets of that story except for a central conflict between Captain America and Iron Man. I for one applaud that. I don't want a literal translation of the comic book pages to the screen. Also, let's be realistic. If you're paying attention, a lot of those characters in that story have not been introduced into the Marvel cinematic universe. Or they do not have the rights to those characters. I think people forget that the Fantastic Four was a big part of this event. Marvel doesn't have the rights to them. The X-Men were involved too. Guess what, Fox has them.
This movie does grab just about every hero we have seen so far and puts them into this movie with the exception of Hulk and Thor.
I won't go into a plot synopsis with this little review. Instead, I will talk about what I liked and what I didn't like.
Two of my favorite characters, Spider-Man and Black Panther were well represented in this film. Spider-Man is a revelation and the actor, Tom Holland gives us the best onscreen Spider-Man we've seen yet. His inclusion in this movie is bigger a bigger deal than most casual fans realize. To summarize, the film rights to Spider-Man belong to Sony, not Marvel. So for him to even APPEAR in this movie, some deals and money had to change hands. Going any further would be too inside baseball, but let's say they get the most out of it. His characterization was spot on and he didn't get lost in the shuffle. In fact, he probably shone brightest.
It was so great to see the Black Panther appear on screen for the first time. He was also well represented. Chadwick Boseman put on a great performance (and believable accent) into his version of T'Challa. We do not get to see the super intelligent, patient T'Challa that we see in the comics, but this movie is our introduction and that can be forgiven. He is probably the character that had the most personal stake in this movie and is arguably the most sympathetic character. He is practically pulled into this conflict due to forces out of his control.
I want to just take a moment and geek out about a few specific Black Panther items in this movie before I continue. When I heard that the character Martin Freeman was going to play in this movie was Everett K. Ross, I was giddy. He is a character that was introduced in the wonderful Christopher Priest run of the Black Panther comics that came out 1998. Also, they included the Dora Milaje, which are female warrior bodyguards of the Black Panther. Finally, they show a glimpse of Wakanda during the end credits. Needless to say, I'm super excited for the Black Panther movie.
Speaking of other characters who steal the show, I would be remiss if I also didn't mention Ant-man. Paul Rudd plays him with such an "Aw shucks. I'm glad to be included" vibe that you can't help but to root for him. He makes the most of every moment that he is on the screen.
To round out the rest of the characters, Falcon is great once again. I loved their interpretation of Redwing, his remote controlled drone. In the comics, Redwing is a falcon that he has a psychic connection too. So yeah, they made a much better choice here. Captain America, although outnumbered in this movie, still gets to be the central character in the story. Even if he does have to share some of the time with Iron Man.
I do like how they balanced the large cast that they had in this movie. Everyone gets to have a moment, which is more than I can say for Age of Ultron. I also love seeing how all the characters interact with each other in combinations that we normally don't get to see. It's good to see them all bounce off one another. The action was also great. I like that with the Captain America movies, we get a lot more hand to hand action, which is the stuff I love. You get pieces of that in the Avengers movies, but never to this extent. You get to see Cap really got loose in his own films.
If I have any gripes with this film, is that there is not really a villain for the heroes to fight. They just fight each other. This version of Helmut Zemo is not what we get in the comics, but he works for what they were going for here. He set up the conflict that will tear the Avengers apart. We get to see Crossbones, who was built up towards the end of the last movie, only to be dispatched within the first twenty minutes.
Speaking of villains, while I liked the twist at the end, I was a little disappointed that it didn't go in the direction that I was hoping. What happens is still satisfying.
Even though the movie has been out for over a week, I don't want to go into any more detail than I already have. I will have a supplemental post where I will cover some loose ends.
I liked Winter Soldier more, but this was a very strong entry into the Marvel Universe.
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