MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

After the horribly offensive mess that was Iron Man 3 and the experiment in utter boredom that was Thor: The Dark World, it was more than time for Marvel to get over the fact that it had produced one of the highest-grossing films of all time and get back to actually producing quality products. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking - "Hey, Madcap! Didn't you already review this film four years ago?" Well, you are technically correct. I did one of my "MadCap At The Movies" segments on it. But there's a fundamental difference between those and my "Reel Thoughts". "MadCap At The Movies" is set up to give my initial thoughts on a film right after I see it in a theater (a rare occurrence when you see how few I've done), while "Reel Thoughts" allows me to look at films with the benefit of time and more thought put into them beyond the initial hype.

So, does The Winter Soldier still hold up after four years? Is it worth the hype?

...well, obviously, yeah.

MadCap's Mad Rantings - "#SayNoToHYDRACap"

I don't know what to say about this.

Oh, wait, yes I do. And that's why you're here.

I'll make this brief for the TL;DR crowd: this is offensive and wrong and Marvel should be ashamed of themselves.  For those that aren't...read on.

Picture a time, 75 years ago.  Captain America comes into being from the pens of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. He is a staunch anti-Nazi propaganda machine. Over the years that followed, he became a symbol of truth, justice, and the American way.  He was a paragon, a light to follow that would lead us to better, and we could all sleep a little easier knowing that the Star Spangled Man with a Plan stood ever ready to defend the principals, not necessarily the flag, that he loved. For years, he's been the moral center of the Marvel universe (when written correctly).  Often I have said that when one is in a moral debate with Captain America, one is wrong. And, until today (canonically within the Marvel universe) I have been right.

...and then, they went and made Steven Rogers, the true All-American defender of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...into a goosestepping Nazi.

The paragon of all those virtues I just mentioned for 75 years and he's been reduced to just another HYDRA thug in a single sweep, thanks to Captain America #1. And it's not even that he's been reduced to "just another HYDRA thug", oh no sir...it's about the fact that Marvel is telling us point blank that every single thing that Captain America has ever down in the pursuit of those ideals that he has held so dear for so many years has been an absolute lie. A farce that was perpetuated simply to further the goals of HYDRA. And the worst part is that it's not a clone.

It's not magic or mind-control.

It's not an alternate universe.

No, Marvel is telling us right out that Steve Rogers of Earth-616 is and always has been an agent of HYDRA from World War II on.  It is one thing to have a heroic character turn evil, its happened dozens of times in comic books.  This, however...this is so offensive and wrong that it burns in my gut. I feel physically sick as I sit here even thinking about this. You have taken Captain America and turned him into exactly what he has been fighting for all these years, and I do not approve. And many, many other comic fans  are likewise not amused by this vile perversion.

Why don't you just dig up the bones of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and take a piss on them? Because that's clearly the level of respect you have for the two men who created a character that was supposed tell people that they never need to be afraid of the tyranny of evil men and that freedom and justice would always have its champion. A shining star in the sky that all humans could follow to help make the world better.  This man who has stood against evil time and again, both from the Earth and from realms beyond, and would stand against it all again just to keep the world he knew safe if only for passing moments.

...and you mean to tell me that this man has managed to lie to everyone for decades?

GET BENT, MARVEL!

I really cannot say anything about this just besides the fact that it's offensive and wrong.  I decried (and still decry to this day) the utter stupidity that is "One More Day". It was a complete and utter aversion of Spider-Man's moral of "with great power comes great responsibility". But it has those who will defend it, say it has some merits. I don't agree, but I can at least see some of their points (even if I don't agree).  This, though? This is absolute trash. This is a gigantic middle finger to anyone and everyone who ever cared about the character of Captain America. It is blatant and outrageous disregard for the very core of the character in question. And, worst of all, it is a slap in the fact to the legacy that Joe Simon and Jack Kirby left behind.

I do not advocate violence against another human being, at least never in any serious manner. However, it is clear that the people who came up with this incredibly disrespectful, vile, odius pile of clickbait bullshit is not human. Not of any sane mind or sound judgment, and I truly am amazed that someone at the writers' table did not immediate shoot that person in the face for even thinking of this idea. 

It is wrong, plain and simple.

It should not have been attempted.

This is beyond the rage about Fem!Thor or Falcon being Cap now (apparently at the same time that Steve is Cap, for maximum confusion). This isn't fanboy rage, Marvel. This is outrage that you have so completely failed to grasp the very core of one of your flagship characters, a character you claim to love and respect, and have lost all right to use.

Even a retcon won't save this at this point, because you have made the retcon. You have done the equivalent of sleeping with the Devil. To me, and to many others, Steve Rogers is dead. At long, long last, Captain America is dead for good. Even if they manage to retcon this, it won't save anything. The Clone Saga was eventually largely retconned, and it still sucks. One More Day got retconned by One Moment In Time, and it still sucks.  But, as I said, this is beyond even those atrocities.

I pre-ordered this comic, I admit it, but that was before I found out about this. I will not be reading this comic, I will be burning it. And, for those who did buy it, I encourage you to do the same thing.

If you haven't bought this comic, don't. It's that simple. Do not support this. At all.

Seriously. Don't.

MadCap's Trailer Reactions - "Captain America: Civil War"

Ohhhh, boy...this movie.

Anyway, you know the drill by now.  Watch the trailer, then read on...

Now, anyone who's been following my blog for a while, or who knows my general disposition towards Marvel Comics, or has a shred of common sense will know that I'm not a fan of the comic book storyline Civil War.

Short recap: The government wants register superhumans after an incident that killed a few hundred civilians. Iron Man says yes, Captain America says no, they fight and so do a bunch of other superheroes in the Marvel universe. In the end, Iron Man does a lot of illegal things, but in the end Cap and the Anti-Registration side are the bad guys so Tony Stark doesn't spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison.

Oh, and Spider-Man makes a deal with Satan.  Charming.

Needless to say, I don't have a very high opinion of the event and I don't know a lot of people who do. However, I've decided to not treat this film on the merits of the adaptation. After all, stupid ideas have been made to work in the hands of good writers. And even ideas that were good have been brought to new heights in adaptation - such as in Captain America: Winter Soldier. So, could that potentially happen for Civil War? Let's have a look at what we have so far.

First off: the bad. There's no Spidey in this trailer.  Yeah, I was disappointed, too. Especially since this is going to be his first appearance on the MCU scene, I figured there'd be at least something to show of him. Not showing their hand on him isn't a bad choice, however, especially after the previous two film adaptations of our friendly neighborhood snarky joke machine that have gone over as polarizing at best.

The final scene where Cap and Tony have the exchange about Bucky. "He's my friend" "So was I", doesn't...really work.

One of the very, very few things I will give the comic event Civil War credit for is in the fact that it used the long established friendship of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark as a point of conflict. Sure, they were now dire enemies, but they had been friends and respected one another a great deal.  In any other situation, as they had demonstrated many times in 616 canon, they would have stood back to back against any foe. Mind you, that friendship was used as a way to try to pull at our heartstrings for what was one of the stupidest Marvel crossovers in recent memory, but still, it was there.

In the MCU...they've know each other for all of two major events. While that's a big deal to some, it's not really when you compare it to the (at the time in the comics) 40 years worth of storylines that they had fought alongside one another in. The line "So was I" comes across as Tony trying to put himself up on the same level of Bucky...which is really just offensive when you break it down. Bucky, in the MCU, had been Cap's best friend since before he was ever Cap. Tony is a guy who, while he's fought in two major conflicts alongside Cap, does not have the same bearing with him as a man who he had known since boyhood and fought alongside for years in war against the Nazis/HYDRA.

Needless to say, I was immensely satisfied with the scene where Tony is getting wailed on by Cap and Bucky.

However, since we've gotten through the bad, let's get into some good: Black Panther. Sure, he has no speaking lines, but we do get our first good look at him and I have to admit, I do like how he looks. It's a problem in superhero comic movies to see translations of superhero outfits not come over so well. This has been seen in some films and television shows, as well as been made a joke in others (such as the recently released and quite excellent Jessica Jones). However, Black Panther doesn't seem to have suffered that fate, having a very sleek look to his black armor that is very fitting of the comics version of the Wakandan king.

And so far, that's really all there is to talk about. No Spidey, a little of a very good-looking Black Panther, and a conflict that literally no party involved is going to look good coming out of. Given the "realistic" version of the Marvel world that the MCU wants to present, perhaps we will actually see some consequences to people's actions.

Then again, somebody might want to bring up that whole "Stark's AI tried to drop a city on the world" thing...might help to paint things in a different light.

Captain America: Civil War will be released to theaters from Disney and Marvel on May 5, 2016.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011)

Yes, yes, I know you’re all as excited as I am.  Now, as I mentioned in my review of Iron Man 2 that I know you all read, this week I was going to do my review of the Thor film.  I’ll still be getting to that, so don’t you worry.  However, because of the timing of the film that is about to come out in a few days as of the time of this review being launched, I pushed it back in order to tackle the solo film of not only the First Avenger, but who I believe is the best of the Avengers.

Say it with me, kids.

As the man himself once said, “Damn, right.”

Really, this movie is awesome.  I honestly think, pre-The Avengers that there hasn’t been a more awesome movie brought out by Marvel.  And yes, this is me counting every other Phase One film.  And yeah, that’s absolutely right.  This one is the best of the bunch.

Iron Man?  Whatever.  Get that out of here.

Iron Man 2? In your dreams.

Thor? Close, but not quite there.

The Incredible Hulk? No.

This film is literally perfect.  Right down to even the fact that the last ten minutes are essentially a glorified trailer for The Avengers…including the post credits scene, which literally nothing but a glorified trailer for The Avengers.

Beginning in 1942, we are introduced to the main villain Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) as he recovers a mysterious artifact known as the Tesseract, a bright blue cube of unimaginable power that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen the post-credits scene of Thor.  On the other side of the globe, meek young Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is attempting to enlist in the military once again only to be denied.  Despite the insistence that he no longer attempt by his friend James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Steve attempts to enlist once more and, thanks to the wise German scientist Doctor Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), he becomes the American myth, man, and legend.

And that's not inaccurate.  I think Cap has gotten a bad rap over the last few years especially, due to the government that his country has, but the fact is that Steve is not like you would expect.  He's patriotic, but not to the point of douchebaggery.  He's polite around women to the point of shyness.  He wants to help everyone and do everything he can to do so.  At one point he's asked if he wants to join the war effort to kill Nazis and he says no, he wants to fight because he doesn't like bullies.  It's reinforced early on with Steve that he refuses to run away from a fight, despite the odds stacked against him, and Steve sees fighting the Nazis as no different.  Really, to put it basically, this guy is Superman if he had no powers of his own.  Just his own moral compass and determination...then you give him superhero steroids and...

Good golly Miss...err...Agent Carter...

...what does Captain America do with his newfound powers? Rather hilariously, to start, he becomes a USO attraction.  However, seeing what a symbol like Captain America can be – and with a few well-chosen words from his love interest Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) – Steve decides to undertake a solo mission to save a captured company of troops and quickly gains respect in the eyes of his fellows soldiers.  Afterwards, he spends the rest of the movie taking part in the common American past time in the 1940s – namely kicking ass and taking names.

Really, I don’t know what more I can say about this movie.  The story manages to be a sweeping war epic that somehow doesn’t lose its focus on the titular character, and provides enough of a floating timeline that other stories could potentially be told within its framing (I’m not on the up and up on all of it, but Cap did a lot during World War II…a lot).  It manages to have a well-developed and heartbreaking romance that fits in with the plot and doesn’t draw all the focus away.  Both the main hero and the villain are absolutely perfect and the rest of the cast puts in excellent performances as well, including Atwell and Stan, who are just fantastic in their respective roles.

And the score by Alan Silvestri is just awesome.  I’m not going to lie, there was a reason he was hired to score The Avengers.  Not even counting his other contributions to films throughout the years (Back to the Future ring a bell for anyone?), if Captain America:  The First Avenger’s score was all he had as a demo reel, that’d be enough.

I can’t say anything bad about the film, really. It’s perfect.  If you haven’t seen it, go nuts.  And go see Captain America:  The Winter Soldier when it comes out later this week.  I know I will.

…also, Marvel, if you want to send me money to advertise, I’m not going to say no…per se…

No? Eh...worth a shot...

Captain America:  The First Avenger is now available from Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is available wherever movies are sold.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin