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Captain America: Civil War: Mini-review

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Chris Evans

Chris Evans is all smiles after looking at Captain America’s box office totals

BLess that two months ago, Warner Brothers pitted the two greatest heroes in the DC Comics universe against each other in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Not to be outdone, Disney and the Marvel superheroes have fired back, and the result is a knockout. Not only does Captain America: Civil War have many more superheroes than does its DC counterpart, it has something much more important: a sense of humor.

Civil War has a detailed and, at times, cumbersome plot that basically serves as a device to eventually pit most of the superheroes in the Marvel universe against each other. After several civilians are killed when Captain America (Chris Evans) stops terrorists in Africa from stealing a biological weapon, the United Nations wants to put the Avengers under its direct control. The Captain refuses, and when it later appears that his friend, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), is responsible for a mass bombing, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) heads up a team of Avengers to bring the Soldier in, even if it means taking on Captain America to do so. 

Captain America: Civil War is divided in two roughly equal halves: brooding and fighting. The movie acknowledges the enormous amounts of collateral damage resulting from the finale showdowns in previous Marvel films, and several of the heroes, most notably Iron Man, are wracked with guilt about their involvement. But, much as in Batman v Superman, it’s hard for audiences to take this as anything other than a means to a spectacular end. And the end is truly spectacular, a terrific battle royal pitting a dozen heroes against each other in and above a commercial airport runway setting that conveniently allows them to toss jets at each other with no innocent bystanders in the middle. The two most noteworthy participants in the battle are a new, actually high-school-aged Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and an easygoing Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who reconfigures his suit to turn himself into a giant. There’s a light touch to the showdown, and, indeed all the set pieces, as directors Anthony and Joe Russo keep the quips flying along with the fists in all the action scenes. Just as important, they made a wise choice in centering Captain America around the more optimistic and youthful appearing Evans rather than the more world-weary Downey. The movie still feels a bit bloated and slow moving at times, but Captain America: Civil War is easily the most effective and entertaining of the Marvel superhero ensemble movies. 
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Ant-Man: Mini-review

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Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd looks much bigger in person

BMovies based on comic book superheroes often are so desperate to be taken seriously or so desperate to top each other in terms of spectacular onscreen feats that they are no longer much fun to watch. Fortunately, as a counterpoint to the parade of larger-than-life superhero films, we get Ant-Man, a movie about the smallest superhero ever. It’s also the best, and most entertaining, film in the superhero genre in a long time.

Like the highly popular Iron Man, the Ant-Man character is a product of high technology. In this case, it’s an invention of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), incorporated into an armored suit, that can enable people to shrink to an inch high. Pym abandons the technology after his death of his wife, but his former protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) uses it to create his own weaponized version of the suit, the Yellowjacket, that he plans to sell to the evil organization Hydra. Since Pym is too old to do battle with Cross any more, he and his daughter (Evangeline Lilly) recruit former burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to become the new Ant-Man.

Although Ant-Man‘s script is credited to four writers, including Rudd and Edgar Wright, who was formerly slated to direct the film, the movie plays surprisingly well, dodging a series of plot potholes. The writers know that the film’s basic premise is even more preposterous than usual for superhero flicks, so the movie has plenty of one-liners and lots of humor, thanks in large part to Rudd and Douglas. The early part of the film is still a bit ponderous, but when the action starts, the movie becomes a lot of fun to watch. The special effects are top-notch and are very different from the usual flying superheroes and widespread urban destruction usually showcased in these types of films.  Instead, director Peyton Reed shrewdly uses 3D effects to enhance the visual games he plays with perspective in Ant-Man.  Even though the action often involves characters changing size in an instant, the set pieces are easy to follow, and the ways in which Rudd as Ant-Man overcome the obstacles inherent in his size to bring down the bad guys are highly imaginative. Due to the nature of his powers, Ant-Man won’t save the world, but Ant-Man may wind up saving moviegoers from late summer superhero burnout.
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