My Captain America: Civil War reaction
Marvel, I still don’t see why a standalone Black Widow movie isn’t upcoming. I really don’t.
I went in wondering ‘How is Natasha on Tony’s side and opposing Steve, Clint AND Sam?’ So, that probably tells you a lot about my POV. I was somewhat aware of the length, but not ovely so, and on the whole I felt I followed most of it, even in the action scenes, considering how there were so many characters, which is some achievement. I mean it helped that I’d seen the previous movies (except Ant-Man) and was genned up by fandom and hype for the movie - Black Panther confused a lot of people sitting around me, but arriving on time and assigned seating confused some of them too. Only a few laughs, but some of the emotional stuff hit hard. I even got feels over Steve and Bucky’s friendship. But mostly WANDA! Natasha and Clint fighting! Steve being captain to his team. Saying goodbye to Peggy. All the wasted energy fighting each other. The ramifications of using their powers and people ending up dead.
Apart from one thing (women being main characters), DC could learn so much from Marvel, STILL.
PROs: Wanda’s development. Very much the new kid that the team were looking after (I could have watched a film where Steve, Nat and Sam were working and bantering together very happily also). And then in trying to save Steve, she killed all those innocents and had to live with that as well as Segovia for the rest of the film. I liked that we had a return of Clint being Mal to her River and helping her to choose for herself.
She’s so powerful! I liked how they used the telekineticism - I’d have taken her to Siberia if I could, too. (Did she mess with Vision’s head while pushing him down, down, down?)
And her relationship with Vision!? From how he’s been walking into her room unannounced on to him trying to cook for her, and all this ‘how I see you’ stuff to their mutual apologies and how his feelings for her distracted him, although it was also partly Falcon dodging the beam - it moved me from ‘that’s a ship I should look into’ which was my reaction on seeing fic for the pairing surface post Ultron to now, where it was the most engaging hetship coming out of the film, because they’ve got issues not only in who they are (a pressing question for poor Vision), but they took different sides and Vision was her gaoler at Tony’s behest...
I could stand to see more of them is what I’m saying.
Natasha was such a plus point. Her fighting! Oh yes, henchmen, Black Panther, Ant-Man and so on, she can take you. Specially with the new electrical wrist thingies. Her rationale on the taskforce made sense to me, and I loved that she clearly had torn loyalties about her people.
I love her relationship with Steve and am so relieved that it didn’t get entirely crowded out by the Steve-Tony, -Bucky, -Sam, -State Department... The moment where she let Steve and Bucky go made me literally sigh in relief and/or happiness that they were all right. I can/could ship them, but canon has deemed it’s platonic, which I can live with, because I saw the foundation for Nat/Bruce in Avengers, although they need to write it better in future. The references to how things were with Bruce worked. But that the phone call where he knew she probably knew he was in Vienna and the hug at the funeral was very Steve and Nat and made me happy.
But she's off on the run now, wanted by the authorities. They could totally do a standalone movie about her after this. But no. Why, Keving Feige, why?
Visually, the longer curls worked. I was also amused at the callback to Steve’s cap and glasses disguise when he called her in Vienna.
Oh, Steve. So there were many moments where he was basically just lickable. I liked that somehow in the midst of a dozen Avengers and near Avengers, it was mostly his film, because it was mostly about their relationship to him. He put his friendship with Bucky first, trusted him, but not blindly, and had a point about the agendas of the people who would seek to be their oversight. After all, not one of them paused and wondered why the Winter Soldier would attack in Vienna if HYDRA was ‘defunct’ (except on that TV show). Unlike us, Tony didn’t know Steve Rogers before he became Captain America or saw how that defined him.
Sam <3 did delightful sidekicking, and I enjoyed his little rivalry with Bucky. Generally glad to have him around.
HelLO Prince T’Chaila of Wakanda/Black Panther/Chadwick Boseman. I would still prefer there to be a Black Widow movie before the Black Panther one, but I will be there for your movie, sir. (And while there were two other black men in the cast, they were sidekicks, so it’s good to have a black character who is no-one’s sidekick.) He basically had a vigilante arc, where we understood why he was doing what he was doing, even if it was a set-up. It fed into the overall plot of what to do with the Avengers running off and using their powers like enhanced vigilantes. He made a good impression in a crowded field, and what was really fresh was seeing a man with feline superpowers - I loved his distinct fighting style. A LOT.
Though I was not excited about the Spiderman reboot, having been around for the two previous iterations, or Marvel celebrating they’d got the rights to do it right in this film when I heard about it the kid was fine and bounced really well off the other Avengers in the airport. Ditto Ant-Man. Clint got more than a cameo - speaking of cameos DEAN PELTON! Woo! Well done, Russos. And Rhodey’s riffing made the Stan Lee cameo. I was also relieved that Rhodey survived after the trailer tease. Yes, badly injured, but in a way that could be fixed.
Watching the boys pound each other in the last three-way fight was horrible: Steve’s indestructible, but the other two weren’t and for them to do that to each other was vicious. So, I was glad that there was a feeling of pulling their punches among all the Avengers (but most especially Clint and Tasha, OBVS). The stakes felt really high, because it was about their freedom, especially Bucky’s, and they were wrestling with the consequences of their choices, but you didn’t want anyone to hurt each other.
Bruhl’s baddie was a good representation of what they were wrestling with. And I rarely mind a bit of Daniel Bruhl on screen.
THE CONS: Eh, Tony. Donwey Jr. has been zingier. His daddy issues (even if it was Bucky killing his mother that got him fully riled) have been rehearsed before. I still blame him for Ultron. And HOW DARE HE order Vision to keep Wanda prisoner without discussing it with her!? And really, although he had superpowers and Tony tried to protect him, dragging Peter Parker into a fight with grown-up Avengers with dangerous powers and weapons struck me as way irresponsible.
I actually blame him for the break-up with Pepper based on what we know of it and am VERKLEMPT about it (because with the Thor casting news, that’s my two canon Avengers OTPs on rocky ground). Though I was glad he realised that they’d been set up and also unsurprised when he gave the least apologetic apology ever to Steve.
The lack of women. Twelve Avengers, sidekicks and enhanced people face off. Two are women. That’s pathetic.
Some of the stuff about Sharon is a pro - although I thought after Cap 2 that she was working with the FBI, not the CIA or whoever. She made her choices, she sided with Cap, who was more in the right and she could look after herself in a barney. But I’m so iffy on Steve/Sharon, I really am. The fact that he now knows she’s Peggy’s niece or great niece, to me, doesn’t offset the ickiness. I snickered at Sam and Bucky after the kiss, but the relationship had so much less emotional impact than several others. It’s disposable. (At least VanCamp didn’t do any whispering, but there was a lot of Emily Thorn in her performance, to me.) (If they’d cast Dakota Fanning, this would be an entirely different conversation.)
Her eulogy at Peggy’s funeral was so on the nose, though.
Alfre Woodward was underused. Why not at least bring her in to some of the scenes with William Hurt? Remember when Maria Hill was there to add some counterpoint to Nick Fury’s views. And the lack of Maria and Fury should be noted. (Full disclosure: I was shipping Steve/Maria after Ultron.)
THE STINGS: Presumably Bucky chose to go back under before Steve came and broke Sam etc out.
I am still not as excited as Marvel is about Spiderman coming soon.
I also wonder if they can find a way for Martin Freeman’s character - like William Hurt, there, fine, but underused - to appear in the Doctor Strange movie.
I saw the trailer for X-Men Apocalypsewhich gave us Charles in danger, Magneto looking moody - although they'll have to convince me how such a meglomaniac would yield to any other mutant, the kids, Apocalypse and his four horsemen. But mainly, lots of Quicksilver, generally the 'best bit' of DOFP. And lots of Raven/Mystique, which I hope is replicated in the film. The vibe I got was very much the film-makers realising the world loved JLaw playing Katniss/the Mockingjay.Must watch the Rogue cut of DOFP soon, then.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/234345.html.
I went in wondering ‘How is Natasha on Tony’s side and opposing Steve, Clint AND Sam?’ So, that probably tells you a lot about my POV. I was somewhat aware of the length, but not ovely so, and on the whole I felt I followed most of it, even in the action scenes, considering how there were so many characters, which is some achievement. I mean it helped that I’d seen the previous movies (except Ant-Man) and was genned up by fandom and hype for the movie - Black Panther confused a lot of people sitting around me, but arriving on time and assigned seating confused some of them too. Only a few laughs, but some of the emotional stuff hit hard. I even got feels over Steve and Bucky’s friendship. But mostly WANDA! Natasha and Clint fighting! Steve being captain to his team. Saying goodbye to Peggy. All the wasted energy fighting each other. The ramifications of using their powers and people ending up dead.
Apart from one thing (women being main characters), DC could learn so much from Marvel, STILL.
PROs: Wanda’s development. Very much the new kid that the team were looking after (I could have watched a film where Steve, Nat and Sam were working and bantering together very happily also). And then in trying to save Steve, she killed all those innocents and had to live with that as well as Segovia for the rest of the film. I liked that we had a return of Clint being Mal to her River and helping her to choose for herself.
She’s so powerful! I liked how they used the telekineticism - I’d have taken her to Siberia if I could, too. (Did she mess with Vision’s head while pushing him down, down, down?)
And her relationship with Vision!? From how he’s been walking into her room unannounced on to him trying to cook for her, and all this ‘how I see you’ stuff to their mutual apologies and how his feelings for her distracted him, although it was also partly Falcon dodging the beam - it moved me from ‘that’s a ship I should look into’ which was my reaction on seeing fic for the pairing surface post Ultron to now, where it was the most engaging hetship coming out of the film, because they’ve got issues not only in who they are (a pressing question for poor Vision), but they took different sides and Vision was her gaoler at Tony’s behest...
I could stand to see more of them is what I’m saying.
Natasha was such a plus point. Her fighting! Oh yes, henchmen, Black Panther, Ant-Man and so on, she can take you. Specially with the new electrical wrist thingies. Her rationale on the taskforce made sense to me, and I loved that she clearly had torn loyalties about her people.
I love her relationship with Steve and am so relieved that it didn’t get entirely crowded out by the Steve-Tony, -Bucky, -Sam, -State Department... The moment where she let Steve and Bucky go made me literally sigh in relief and/or happiness that they were all right. I can/could ship them, but canon has deemed it’s platonic, which I can live with, because I saw the foundation for Nat/Bruce in Avengers, although they need to write it better in future. The references to how things were with Bruce worked. But that the phone call where he knew she probably knew he was in Vienna and the hug at the funeral was very Steve and Nat and made me happy.
But she's off on the run now, wanted by the authorities. They could totally do a standalone movie about her after this. But no. Why, Keving Feige, why?
Visually, the longer curls worked. I was also amused at the callback to Steve’s cap and glasses disguise when he called her in Vienna.
Oh, Steve. So there were many moments where he was basically just lickable. I liked that somehow in the midst of a dozen Avengers and near Avengers, it was mostly his film, because it was mostly about their relationship to him. He put his friendship with Bucky first, trusted him, but not blindly, and had a point about the agendas of the people who would seek to be their oversight. After all, not one of them paused and wondered why the Winter Soldier would attack in Vienna if HYDRA was ‘defunct’ (except on that TV show). Unlike us, Tony didn’t know Steve Rogers before he became Captain America or saw how that defined him.
Sam <3 did delightful sidekicking, and I enjoyed his little rivalry with Bucky. Generally glad to have him around.
HelLO Prince T’Chaila of Wakanda/Black Panther/Chadwick Boseman. I would still prefer there to be a Black Widow movie before the Black Panther one, but I will be there for your movie, sir. (And while there were two other black men in the cast, they were sidekicks, so it’s good to have a black character who is no-one’s sidekick.) He basically had a vigilante arc, where we understood why he was doing what he was doing, even if it was a set-up. It fed into the overall plot of what to do with the Avengers running off and using their powers like enhanced vigilantes. He made a good impression in a crowded field, and what was really fresh was seeing a man with feline superpowers - I loved his distinct fighting style. A LOT.
Though I was not excited about the Spiderman reboot, having been around for the two previous iterations, or Marvel celebrating they’d got the rights to do it right in this film when I heard about it the kid was fine and bounced really well off the other Avengers in the airport. Ditto Ant-Man. Clint got more than a cameo - speaking of cameos DEAN PELTON! Woo! Well done, Russos. And Rhodey’s riffing made the Stan Lee cameo. I was also relieved that Rhodey survived after the trailer tease. Yes, badly injured, but in a way that could be fixed.
Watching the boys pound each other in the last three-way fight was horrible: Steve’s indestructible, but the other two weren’t and for them to do that to each other was vicious. So, I was glad that there was a feeling of pulling their punches among all the Avengers (but most especially Clint and Tasha, OBVS). The stakes felt really high, because it was about their freedom, especially Bucky’s, and they were wrestling with the consequences of their choices, but you didn’t want anyone to hurt each other.
Bruhl’s baddie was a good representation of what they were wrestling with. And I rarely mind a bit of Daniel Bruhl on screen.
THE CONS: Eh, Tony. Donwey Jr. has been zingier. His daddy issues (even if it was Bucky killing his mother that got him fully riled) have been rehearsed before. I still blame him for Ultron. And HOW DARE HE order Vision to keep Wanda prisoner without discussing it with her!? And really, although he had superpowers and Tony tried to protect him, dragging Peter Parker into a fight with grown-up Avengers with dangerous powers and weapons struck me as way irresponsible.
I actually blame him for the break-up with Pepper based on what we know of it and am VERKLEMPT about it (because with the Thor casting news, that’s my two canon Avengers OTPs on rocky ground). Though I was glad he realised that they’d been set up and also unsurprised when he gave the least apologetic apology ever to Steve.
The lack of women. Twelve Avengers, sidekicks and enhanced people face off. Two are women. That’s pathetic.
Some of the stuff about Sharon is a pro - although I thought after Cap 2 that she was working with the FBI, not the CIA or whoever. She made her choices, she sided with Cap, who was more in the right and she could look after herself in a barney. But I’m so iffy on Steve/Sharon, I really am. The fact that he now knows she’s Peggy’s niece or great niece, to me, doesn’t offset the ickiness. I snickered at Sam and Bucky after the kiss, but the relationship had so much less emotional impact than several others. It’s disposable. (At least VanCamp didn’t do any whispering, but there was a lot of Emily Thorn in her performance, to me.) (If they’d cast Dakota Fanning, this would be an entirely different conversation.)
Her eulogy at Peggy’s funeral was so on the nose, though.
Alfre Woodward was underused. Why not at least bring her in to some of the scenes with William Hurt? Remember when Maria Hill was there to add some counterpoint to Nick Fury’s views. And the lack of Maria and Fury should be noted. (Full disclosure: I was shipping Steve/Maria after Ultron.)
THE STINGS: Presumably Bucky chose to go back under before Steve came and broke Sam etc out.
I am still not as excited as Marvel is about Spiderman coming soon.
I also wonder if they can find a way for Martin Freeman’s character - like William Hurt, there, fine, but underused - to appear in the Doctor Strange movie.
I saw the trailer for X-Men Apocalypsewhich gave us Charles in danger, Magneto looking moody - although they'll have to convince me how such a meglomaniac would yield to any other mutant, the kids, Apocalypse and his four horsemen. But mainly, lots of Quicksilver, generally the 'best bit' of DOFP. And lots of Raven/Mystique, which I hope is replicated in the film. The vibe I got was very much the film-makers realising the world loved JLaw playing Katniss/the Mockingjay.Must watch the Rogue cut of DOFP soon, then.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/234345.html.