Doctor Strange Comic Con Trailer Breakdown and Review

After DC released the debut trailers for their next two cinematic events, Marvel took a swing with the second trailer for Doctor Strange, and it is something to behold!

Those who say that every super-hero film looks the same may have had a point, up until now, as Doctor Strange looks like Marvel’s game changing Winter blockbuster.

Watch it now:

 

Opening through an establishing shot, it introduces Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game, Star Trek: Into Darkness) as he washes his hands, lifts his hygiene mask, plays the piano and crosses his suit in a full suit. As he does this, the sound of his piano is layered underneath a voice-over of The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton – The Chronicles of Narnia, Moonrise Kingdom) saying “Doctor Strange, you think you know how the world works.” The scenery then changes to a shot of him in his Lamborghini, crashing into another car, followed by him laying in a hospital bed with a damaged face, but absolutely crushed and destroyed hands. At this point, his wife Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams – Spotlight, Red Eye) is sat heartbroken next to his hospital bed. The Ancient One continues, “What if I told you, the reality you know is one of many?” At this point, Strange is seen with long hair and a beard, inside a dojo in front of The Ancient One. As she approaches him, with him stepping backwards for every step forward she takes, part of the reality behind him opens, with him backing through it. As he realises what has happened, he states “This doesn’t make any sense” to which The Ancient One immediately replies “Not everything does. Not everything has to”. Just as the camera is about to pass through the reality, it fades to a newly styled ‘Marvel Studios’ title with a kaleidoscope-esque background.

With another establishing shot of the city it returns to the mountain top dojo with another voice-over of The Ancient One, as she stands central in the courtyard “Through the mystic arts, we harness energy an shape reality.” As the sentence closes, a monk in yellow robes stands in the middle of the street waving his hand, causing the buildings begin to change and manipulate their exterior form. An orange portal then forms around him, before cutting to The Ancient One and Strange walking through a similar portal on top of snowy mountains, “We travel great distances in an instant.” Impressed, Strange gazes over the mountain scape. Returning to the dojo, Strange asks “How do I get from here to there?” as the courtyard is seen to be full of monks doing martial arts, with Strange amongst them, learning. The Ancient One responds, “How did you become a doctor?” as she grabs what can only be assumed to be an Encantus, as Strange opens it, he replies “Study and practice. Years of it” With The Ancient One agreeing, it cuts to a shot of Strange’s hand over the Encantus, casting a spell, causing a mystic wall to be placed in front of him. Asking “What the?”, the wall retracts and disappears.

For the first time, Baron Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave, The Martian) enters the screen stating “There’s a strength to him”, to which Wong (Benedict Wong – The Martian, Prometheus) asks “But is he ready?”.  As if to suggest that he is, Strange approaches a glass cage holding the characters iconic red cape. Upon Strange looking out of his window, it cuts to Wong warning him “Be careful which path you travel down Strange, stronger men than you have tried.” As he says this, it shows Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen – Hannibal, Casino Royale) with two henchmen, amongst a destroyed street, signifying their power. After  announcing its release ‘This Fall’ it shows a birds-eye-view of a city under attack, to which Kaecilius announces “I am death and pain” after which he performs a spell similar to that of the monk in the middle of the street earlier in the trailer. Showing Christine to be vulnerable, it briefly shows a close up the city under attack, followed by her in a hospital attending to a patient as the equipment sparks around her. Returning to Kaecilius, as he walks through a church he states “You will die protecting this world”, before a rotating shot of a city with buildings bending and another orange portal. Strange (now in his red robes) claims “I can’t do this” to which Mordo warns him “There is no other way.” It then displays Strange against one of Kaecilius’ henchmen in a battle of sorcery.

After an intertitle telling you to ‘Question Reality’, it shows Strange casting a spell, reversing the destruction of an area, fixing buildings, as another title says to ‘Change Your Destiny’.   Strange and Mordo are side by side as they run down the street, before we see a bending building with Kaecilius and his henchmen jumping over it towards the camera, landing on another building, causing a ripple down it, followed by an incredible shot of a triad of the same city, each opening up on itself. The Ancient One then delivers the graviy of the situation by telling Strange that “I’ve spent so many years, hearing through time… Looking for you.” As the sentence closes we witness Strange throwing his cape onto himself in an impressive manner, before he runs alongside a building with Mordo, watching it unfold. Literally.  Cue the title, ‘Doctor Strange’.  Once the music has calmed through the title, it shows Mordo handing Strange a piece of paper reading ‘shamballa’, causing Strange to ask, “What’s this, my mantra?” As he leaves the room, Mordo simply replies, “It’s the wifi password. We’re not savages” before closing the door and briefly cutting to Strange in full power.

That is an incredibly difficult trailer to comprehend as it unfolds and is full of mind-meltingly impressive visuals and concepts.

The first major thing you may notice when watching this is it’s very impressive cast line-up with Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, as well as Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor who have been nominated for academy Awards, on top of other cast members such as Benedict Wong and Mads Mikkelson who are likely to bring in audience members on their own.

A thought that came to mind, as well as being the leading thought of others is how similar this seems to be to Nolan’s masterpiece Inception, on the basis that there are bending buildings and manipulated earth-structure, and rightly so as it is incredibly uncanny. On the other hand, it is clear that this film’s likeness to Inception will most likely only be through the previously stated factors, and the certainty that it will force you to make full use of your brain to make sense of it as it plays out. One thing is for sure, and that’s the fact that this is going to be even more mesmerizing in 3D.

An intelligent piece of editing (apart from the entire trailer) is at the very beginning and the emphasis on the use of Strange’s hands, given his occupation as a surgeon, before they are seen to be destroyed. It’s very subtle yet very obvious at the same time, and is clearly shown to be why he can no longer continue as a surgeon, eventually causing him to go on his journey to attempt to fix them, staying true to the comics.

A growing complaint people have had with Marvel films is the level and quantity of humour within their films, and the ability for the humour to retract the intensity of the situation. However, there is only one piece of humour in this trailer, and it is placed right at the very end after the intensity and power of the action packed trailer, as to not ruin the momentum and rhythm of the editing. As for the amount of humour within the film itself is yet to be seen, but by the looks of the first two trailer, Marvel appear to have perfected the balance.

This is also supported by the fact that it is written and directed by Scott Derrickson. Derrickson currently has 7 feature film directorial roles credited on IMDB (including Doctor Strange), 5 of which are horror films with the other two (including Doctor Strange) being sci-fi. Although this does not mean that there won’t be any humour, it means that it is likely to be a lot more serious, as well as the chance of prolonged suspense and edge of your seat moments.

Doctor Strange is set to be released on 28th October in the UK, and 4th November in the US.

 

X-Men: Apocalypse Review

 

Despite being the fourth (and certainly not last) superhero film of the year, it is the first team based flick in which they have not turned on each other.

Bringing most of the original X-Men squad together from the sequel series, but this time as teenagers, they form to fight their most dangerous enemy yet.

Set 10 years after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters has acquired some new students, as well as the progression of other mutants, the relationship between man and mutant was at an all time low, but still not quite perfect. However, after sleeping for over 4000 years, Apocalypse rises and gathers four horsemen with a plan to not only take over the world, but to cleanse it of all undesirable beings. With the X-Men being out of action for a decade, the newest additions to the group will have to utilise their powers to save the world.

With the some of the actors returning from their war against the sentinels, the main characters should be familiar to audiences, including Charles Xavier (James McAvoy – Filth, Wanted), Magneto/Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs, Prometheus), Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games, Joy), Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult – Mad Max: Fury Road, Warm Bodies), Alex Summers/Havok (Lucas Till – Walk The Line, Stoker) and Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters – Kick-Ass, American Horror Story).

Out of these returning characters, a particularly increased role goes to the previously fan favourite, Quicksilver. Further exploring his lightning speed abilities and the different ways of displaying them, it brings a new and refreshing style to it whilst maintaining the style seen in its predecessor. Along with the new talent and superpowers that are brought into this super-show, you’ll never get bored of watching the characters show off their skills, including a special guest appearance to round it off.

The newcomer ‘good-guy’ roster includes Cyclops/Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan – Joe, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner – Game of Thrones, Barely Lethal), Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner (Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Road, Let Me In) and Jubliee (Lana Condor).  On joining his brother Alex, Sheridan executed an emotionally engaging portrayal as Scott Summers, finally giving fans insight into his origins and gain a better understanding of him. The same can also be said for Turner as Jean Grey, bringing a similar style to that previously seen. Together they created a certain, more innocent chemistry than the first time around, not only due to the fact that they’re younger, but still trying to figure out their powers as well as who they really are. Continuing the portrayal of innocence, McPhee has brought a confused and reclusive mutant who desires to see the world. Jubilee on the other hand didn’t quite receive the screen time deserved for a character with such potential of which the studio decided to release the name of. Overall, the rookies brought a specific ‘coming-of-age’ quality to the film.

For the villain roster however, there are four significant newcomers, some of which would only be recognisable to fans of the franchise, with the main attraction being Oscar Isaac’s (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ex Machina) unrecognisable transformation as the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, an all powerful, increasingly growing in strength being with extinction level plans for the world. They say a film is only as good as its villains, and in this case Isaac gave his all to deliver the best possible performance. The first of his horsemen is a young Storm (Alexandra Shipp – Straight Outta Compton, Drumline: A New Beat), this time of an Egyptian nationality and fiery personality. This is followed by another debut, this time of iconic mutant Psylocke (Olivia Munn – Magic Mike, Deliver Us from Evil), who delivers the portrayal that fans could only hope for. Whilst she too did not receive the screen time that she deserved, what we received was worth it. The final new mutant villain is another familiar face and wings, (Arch)Angel (Ben Hardy – Eastenders), also making use of the minimal time received.

With the return of Magneto, once again turning to the dark side of morality, Xavier once again must turn to him, debating his decisions to do so. Despite having seen this before in every X-Men film, the portrayal of questioning the differences between right and wrong, and just how far your patience can be stretched until you snap, there is a distinct desperation and purpose towards Magneto’s character to make this even more emotive and effective.

With the new arrivals, it gave the studio the opportunity to give some characters a makeover, this time with a little more comic accuracy, definitely to the relief of die-hard comic fans.

As expected from the trailers, there is a huge amount of special effects within this film, with multiple scenes relying solely on them. Whilst some work beautifully and extremely effectively (such as buildings being disintegrated, and cities being torn apart), some don’t quite match up to modern expectations, however the majority enhance the experience to a new level, potentially to be viewed in IMAX for maximum enjoyment.

One of the hardest things about making a film that’s set in the past is ensuring the accuracy of every single detail matches and is time accurate. This is was requirement for it to be a convincing setting was met in true style, going that extra mile. Not only did it contain the right cars, box-ey television sets, cubist computers and costume, but included a bit of era-accurate pop culture, including the famous Michael Jackson Thriller jacket, as well as a nod to Return of the Jedi, showing how that little extra effort makes a film that bit more enjoyable. It also functions as a little treat for the adults in the audience growing up or living through the early eighties.

With a running time of 2 hours 24 minutes, it sometimes felt as if it was being dragged out to match the length of other hero films. This is due to the fact that it went through stages of being exciting, then dragging slightly, then exciting, then dragging slightly, then exciting. One thing that can be said for certain is that it not only had an incredibly strong opening, but also closed in an equally epic fight, combining a concept of Inception meets Armageddon, leaving you in awe.

As always with recent superhero films, the soundtrack packs just as much power as the narrative itself, with John Ottman returning to do so. With situation appropriate tones and timbre, each scene, and particularly the fight scenes, are made even more powerful and engaging by the atmospheric sounds that accompany them. Once again, there is even some nostalgic pop music, including a particular hit of Eurythmics.

Overall, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse is a fun and emotional ride of special effects and historic nostalgia, whilst also giving the true fans the close comic accuracy they finally deserve.

 

7.5/10

 

Watch the trailer here:

Captain America: Civil War Final Trailer Review and Breakdown

It’s here. At long last, the second and final trailer for Captain America: Civil War is here, and it’s beautiful.

It’s been nearly four months since the first trailer was released and this takes a slightly different approach, now focusing on the two teams; Team Cap vs Team Iron Man.  Watch the trailer here:

 

So, where do we begin? Let’s start with the breakdown:

It opens to a snowy landscape and a mountain range in the background, immediately establishing the enigma codes for the audience. As this shot transitions to a shot of two men opening a secure vault door, Steve Rogers’ voice overlays, “In this job, we try to save as many people as we can.” The following shot is what appears to be a style of cryo-chamber opening, revealing The Winter Soldier, with Steve continuing “Sometimes that doesn’t mean everybody.” A cut to black is the followed by a shot of Steve himself as Captain America as he finishes with, “But you don’t give up.” The introduction is then completed with the Marvel Studios titles. The trailer then returns with camera footage of the events that occurred during Avengers Assemble in New York, Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier in Washington D.C. and Avengers: Age of Ultron in Sokovia. As the footage is played, it is revealed that General Thaddeus Ross is showing a select amount of heroes (Team Cap) reasons as to why they should be put under legal watch and guidance. As the Sokovia footage is shown, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch turns away upset. Witnessing her reaction, Steve acts by demanding “Ok, that’s enough,” to which General Ross replies, “Captain, people are afraid.”  As he finishes the sentence it shows a building being blown up, as well as a shot of T’Challa on the ground in a suit, amongst the rubble and falling ashes. It the cuts to a shot of Iron Man falling out of a helicopter and flying away, layered with Tony’s voice, “That’s why I’m here.” This shot is followed by a close up of Tony telling Steve that, “We need to be put in check.” It then returns to the setting in the previous shot, no revealing a helicopter flying over a massive wave, before revealing a secret base as Tony continues “And whatever form that takes I’m game.” Steve then replies, “I’m sorry Tony. If I see a situation pointing south I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.” To which Tony says, as shown in the previous trailer, “Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth.”

It then cuts to an action sequence of Cap chasing Black Panther, who’s chasing Bucky (who’s riding a motorbike) through a tunnel. Black Panther leaps off of a cars bonnet to swipe at Bucky’s wheel, causing them both off to slide down the road. This is then followed by Tony forming an ‘Iron Glove’ to block a point blank shot by Bucky. Over the top of these is Steve, “I know we’re not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”  Cap can then be seen running through a building that’s being attacked. After is a shot of Bucky as the Winter Soldier taking a shot at War Machine, scraping his armour and destroying his arc reactor, causing him to fall to the ground, to which Tony screams “Rhodes!”  As Tony removes his mask, revealing an unconscious/dead Rhodey, his voice-over to Steve announces, “I was wrong about you. The whole world was wrong about you.”

Next is a shot of a SWAT team exiting a van, before a civvie Natasha Romanoff takes them all on, successfully. After is a conversation between her and Tony at what appears to be the new Avengers facility (as seen at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron), to which he says “They’re coming for you.” “I’m not the one he needs to watch their back,” she replies before walking away.  Next is a shot of Cap in an apartment saying “This doesn’t have to end in a fight Tony,” before cutting to an internal location, appearing to be Bucky’s cryo-chamber room, in which Tony slowly turns his head to Cap, revealing a black eye, then knocking Cap down, closing his helmet and saying “You’ve started a war.” Cue the action shots:

• Iron Man flying whilst shooting from his shoulders.
• Cap runs through a building and gets carried by an explosion.
• Black Panther fights Bucky on a roof top, whilst being rained on by a helicopter turret.
• Black Widow witnesses a huge explosion on what appears to be an airfield.
• Scarlet Witch uses her powers to pin The Vision
• Hawkeye fires a cluster arrow towards in-flight Iron Man and War Machine, on an arrow is Ant-Man, who lands on Iron Man’s arm.
• Crossbones punches Cap, sending him flying.

After this, in the same location as the fight at the end of the previous trailer, Iron Man holds his hand up to Cap saying, “Stay down. Final Warning.” to which a beaten and bloody Cap squares up and says “I could do this all day.”  This is followed by multiple musically timed punches and hooks from Cap to Iron Man. Finally are three shots, the first displaying Cap’s team running to fight, the second being Iron Man’s team running to fight, and the final shot being the two teams about to clash. Cue the Captain America: Civil War title/logo.

Then, as an added treat, and in true Marvel style there is an after scene taking place in the main battlefield, which is introduced by Tony’s voice overlapping from the logo, in which he says “Alright, I’ve run out of patience. UNDEROOS!” From this a web comes down onto Cap’s shield before taking it away, revealing Spiderman landing on a van with it, “Hey everyone.”

 

Right, so that’s the breakdown complete, now to look into more detail.

A few characters have appeared in this trailer that either didn’t appear at all, or get much screen time in the first trailer.

1. The first of which was Scarlet Witch. Her reaction to the footage being shown by General Ross was short, but was hugely effective. Despite the fact that she changed direction and sides in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it shows how she has developed as a human being and that even though she assisted in saving the people of Sokovia/the world, she still dreads even thinking about the event. She can then be seen again when she is maintaining Vision. The fact that she is simply holding Vision in place instead of crushing him may hint towards the concept of their feelings towards eachother, and their relationship that was within the comics. This was hinted towards at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron when Vision saves her from being disintegrated on Sokovia. She will undoubtedly play a significantly bigger part this time round.
2. Next is Black Panther who made a couple of brief encounters last time, but can be seen to be making a bigger disruption this time when he is fighting Bucky and knocking him off of his motorbike. As it stands, it is likely that he will be the rival of Bucky, causing him quite the problem.
3. Vision only makes a quick appearance as stated earlier when he is being held down by Scarlet Witch. Whilst it is unclear how big a role he will play, he is rumoured to be a significant piece.
4. Crossbones finally gets to show his input into the beatings bank of Captain America, and although it’s only a brief shot, it is seen to be in the middle of a town, surrounded by a lot of civilians. This could suggest that either Crossbones or Cap will be in the town (most likely Cap) when the other appears out of nowhere causing a fight to begin before the crowd can escape safely.
5. Ant-Man is yet another who was suspiciously absent from the previous trailer, but has made his mark with the awesome moment where he rides an arrow that Hawkeye fires, as also seen within the comics. From this he seems to have settled into his team to the point that he’s discussed tactics. His new helmet style shows that he not only means business, but is preparing himself for some Avenger grade duty.
6. Back to the other team with War Machine. Not having much part in the trailer, his dilemma from the first is explained, whilst maintaining enigma codes for the film, especially whether or not it will be his last appearance.
7. Finally and by no means least is Spiderman. With his MCU debut long over due, his cameo trailer appearance confirms his allegiance with Iron Man, which means that there is going to be an origin of their alliance, so prepare for a lot of Spiderman!

 

With the character posters released, the simple direction of which they are looking tells of their team, as shown in the montages below:

   vs  

(left – Team Cap: from top left to bottom right – Ant-Man, Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, Winter Soldier)

(right – Team Iron Man: from top left to bottom right – War Machine, Iron Man, Vision, Black Widow, Black Panther (Spiderman’s poster was not created as his first appearance was in this trailer))

Overall, Captain America: Civil War is looking to be an enormous hit and incredible addition to the MCU. Directed by the Russo brothers who brought us Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it is sure to have you on the edge of your seat.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Don Cheadle as Col. James Rhodes/War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Paul Bettany as the Vision, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/?, Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spiderman, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones and many more characters to be revealed on release.

Captain America: Civil War releases on May 6th 2016 in the US, and April 29th 2016 in the UK.

 

Deadpool Review

Imagine Kick-Ass meets Ted meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Kill Bill, then you have an idea of what Deadpool is like.

From Marvel and 20th Century Fox comes the first R-rated superhero film of the decade, and the first of its kind altogether. From the humour, to the combat, to the lack of fourth-wall maintenance, Deadpool brings a whole new level of superhero film, and it was a risk that paid of significantly.

Brought into the X-Men universe comes the final antagonist of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, however this time he stays completely true to his himself and his personality. Whilst it may seem irrational and completely poor continuity to just change a characters origin, the events of the most recent instalment X-Men: Days of Future Past allowed for change in future events, such as a different (and better) Deadpool origin.

(Left: Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Right: Deadpool in the comics, Right: Deadpool in Deadpool)

Although his story changed, Ryan Reynolds returned with the anti-hero’s humour, skills, style, swords and mouth. And whilst his representation has progressed perfectly, he hasn’t necessarily done so without first acknowledging his previous adventure. And it doesn’t stop within the X-Men universe, and that’s where the fourth wall breaking begins, it also goes on to mock Ryan Reynolds’ super-outing as the Green Lantern, and his title as ‘Sexiest Man Alive 2010’.

Not fully explained or portrayed in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds – Blade: Trinity, The Proposal) is mercenary with an extremely large mouth, and a whimsical approach to his job. Known well amongst his fellow hitmen, he encounters Vanessa (Morena Baccarin – Gotham, Homeland) a fellow hitman with a similar personality. Due to their ‘creative’ mindsets they very quickly become close and learn to value one another. Soon enough Wade is hit with the news that he has cancer in his liver, lung, prostate and brain. Unaware of what to do, Wade is approached by a secret organisation that can cure his cancer. In doing so, leader Ajax (Ed Skrein – The Transporter Refueled, Ill Manors) turned his life upside down, whilst giving him ultimate cell regeneration. With his hitman personality, Wade, now Deadpool pursues Ajax with everything he’s got and nothing held back.

As to further create superhero films, its narrative structure is refreshingly creative and works surprisingly well. Starting in the middle of the film, then returning to the beginning, then returning to the middle, then back to the beginning, then back to the middle, only to follow through to the end. The non-linear storytelling brings a new angle to the genre, which is also assisted with the breaking-of-the-fourth wall.

With Reynolds helming the lead, there really was no-one else to play the merc with a mouth. There have been only two people to play him, Reynolds and Nolan North, with North taking the voicing roles.  With Reynolds’ tendency for comedic roles, the opportunity to release his darkest possible humour was more of a holiday than a job for him. Chasing this film for 11 years, he put his heart and soul into this as if it was a free project to do as he wished, and this was noticeable in his engagement with the role. If it weren’t for the fact that Deadpool perfectly resembled that of his comic counterpart, it would be easy to assume that Wade was based off of Reynolds himself.

As stated earlier, Deadpool himself and the film itself break-the-fourth-wall frequently, referring to actors, other films, the studio, real life and indeed the audience on occasion. This concept was thought to be very risky, with many questioning its effect on the film and if it would ruin the film altogether. However, those who maintained faith were ultimately rewarded as it enhanced the film beyond a point expected, where it also made the audience feel even more engaged.

The score matched as perfectly as the found music that was used within it, including the recreated hit by DMX, ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’, and the oddly fitting ‘Shoop’ by Salt N Pepa. The main score however was created by Tom Holkenborg, or as he is better known, Junkie XL, also responsible for the killer soundtrack that was of Mad Max: Fury Road, one of the best scores of 2015. Returning to Deadpool, the score was subtle in places, yet always effective, however the rest of the songs, including those creating the fight atmosphere not only create one with the audience trapped inside of it, but also manage to get you pumped to join in. There’s also a special rap included about the man of the hour (or 1hr 48 mins, but we’ll get onto that next), which you can listen to here (explicit lyrics warning).

As mentioned, Deadpool lasts for 1hr 48mins, one of the shortest feature length superhero films to date, with only a handful falling short of said time. However this is not a problem whatsoever as it is barely noticeable due it being packed with jokes, jumping time-frames, fight scenes and broken fourth-walls.

Overall, Deadpool is a refreshing take on a consistently growing genre, but does so without betraying its source material (looking at you X-Men Origins: Wolverine). The humour is mature yet beautifully immature at the same time, brings a more realistic combat mechanism to the big screen and allows you to forget the rules of cinema for a while and just enjoy yourself. Oh, and you might want to know that Deadpool loves chimichangas!

8.2/10

Disney announce film scheduling

 

It appears that Disney have revisited their scheduling as they have recently announced a little shuffle around their calendar for 2017, and here’s the latest:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – May 26, 2017
• Spider-Man Reboot – July 7, 2017
• Star Wars Episode VIII – December 15, 2017

So, three very different films from completely different franchises, all announced with a reschedule on the same day. Interesting to say the least. Now, whilst it could be a case of them simply deciding that the original dates weren’t appropriate, or that they wouldn’t quite be ready in time, just take a closer look at the dates. If you think about it, the three months are the perfect times to release films. May, just after Easter, around exam time, the perfect opportunity for people (students especially) to distress or take a break. And what better way to do so than indulging into the swashbuckling world of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Also, with Guardians of the Galaxy: vol. 2 dropping May 5th (late April in the UK), perfectly spreading their viewings across the month. Fast-forward 2 months, into the beginning of the Summer holidays and you’ve got one of, if not the biggest Marvel character in history making his solo debut for his second (and hopefully final) reboot into the MCU. Finally, fast-forward another 5 months into the Christmas holidays and you’ll be watching Star Wars: Episode VIII, the sequel to the latest addition to the franchise.  So, why have I laid it out like this? You may have noticed that they have all been positioned in time for the holidays, prime position for the audience to deflate into some escapist pleasure.

First up is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, 6 years after the release of the latest adventure, involving mermaids, zombies and the Spanish, it certainly went further afield (or sea, as it were), and not quite to everyone’s pleasing. However, it still became one of the all-time highest grossing films, maintained another outstanding score by non-other than Hans Zimmer, and a delivered bottomless list of glorious Jack Sparrow quotes. If you’re wondering where it’ going to go from here, Sparrow and his crew are off to find the ‘Trident of Poseidon’. It is yet to be officially announced why said journey is going to made, but certain familiar faces have been announced, including the return of a much-loved blacksmith.  May 26, 2017

Second, for the third time, is Spider-Man. After two attempts under the control of Sony, it is finally being helmed by Marvel, under a deal made between Sony and Marvel, allowing him to become a part of the MCU, this time in the form of upcoming star Tom Holland. There was a lot of talk of this, even since before Avengers: Age of Ultron, attracting the prayers of the hard-core fans (myself included), as well as raising the question of whether or not he would be making an appearance in the much anticipated Captain America: Civil War. Whilst it may not seem like that much of a big deal as it is already full of important and entertaining characters, in the source material Spider-Man actually has a considerably important role within it. It also means that as his debut into the MCU, he will not be shown through his long-winded and twice observed origin, not that it isn’t intriguing, but that Marvel know that they can spend his 2 solo hours in a more original and refreshing way. Whilst the narrative and/or villains have not yet been announced, there have been multiple theories that seem promising.  Due to Marvel’s more than impressive ability to create a great solo outing, even after an all-star team-up, it is likely to become the blockbuster of the summer.  July 7, 2017

Last but by no means least is the enormous Star Wars: Episode VIII. After The Force Awakens currently being the third biggest film of all time (soon to be the second), taking the world by storm, Episode VIII has a lot to live up to. Despite there being a 2 year gap between them, Disney are filling the gap with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, on December 16, 2016. This time going back before A New Hope, it will centre on a group of Rebel spies who set out to steal the plans for the notorious Death Star, so expect references galore. Although, once more, the official plot for Episode VIII has not yet been announced, there are many theories as to what it will be exactly. however, if you’ve seen The Force Awakens, it pretty much sets it up perfectly. Almost certain to once again rule the holidays and dominate the box office, catch it on December 15, 2017.

Captain America: Civil War Trailer Review

Marvel takes a new turn and faces off it’s heroes against eachother.

Team Captain America vs Team Iron Man

Superhero films are known (whether correctly or not) for being simple and unintelligent with their narratives. And now Marvel are packing this narrative with two triggers and an entire nation against the protagonist, Captain America.

The following paragraphs are a breakdown of the entire trailer, including descriptions of most of the shots:

The trailer opens with Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Sam Wilson (The Falcon) approaching a weak and spiritless Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) in what appears to be an abandoned garage or sorry looking apartment. As Rogers and Wilson stop and stare at him, Steve says, “Buck do you remember me?”  With only his head moving to look up at Rogers, Barnes feebly replies “Your mum’s name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.” Whilst Rogers sympathetically watches him, confirming each detail he recalls.  Steve then follows up by saying, “You’re a wanted man” as it cuts to a shot of a building being blown up. As it follows up showing Wilson surrounded by public panic, Barnes defensively replies with “I don’t do that anymore”. As the shot returns to the room, Rogers explains, “Well the people who think you did are coming right now” and the shots change to a SWAT team gearing up and storming a building. Rogers continues, “And they don’t plan on taking you alive.”  From this the music speeds up as the two scenes combine with Bucky, Steve and Sam fighting their way through the building, followed by Barnes jumping off of the building as it cuts to the Marvel Studios title banner.

On the trailers return it fades into an upward panning shot of a helicopter flying over the ocean before cutting to General “Thunderbolt” Ross (back from The Incredible Hulk) addressing Rogers, “Captain, while a great many people see you as a hero, there are some who’d prefer the word vigilante” whilst it shows Rogers, Wilson and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) sitting at a table in front of him, “You’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision, that’s something the world can no longer tolerate” as it shows Barnes’ attempts to blend in, before returning to the table as Ross hands them a file entitled ‘Sokovia Accords’ (in reference to the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron), and a shot of Rogers staring at the file.  The next shot is Bucky speeding a bike down the ride, followed by a high angle shot of a secluded Rogers, as Romanoff’s voice then enters, directed towards Rogers, “I know how much Bucky means to you, stay out of this one. Please! You’ll only make things worse!”  The last line then layers over Romanoff on the phone to an undercover Rogers in a cap, aviators and leather jacket, asking “Are you saying you’ll arrest me?”  It then cuts to black, before fading into Captain America surrounded by multiple blacked out police trucks and a dozen men holding him at gun point as Ross’ voice re-enters, “There will be consequences”  The next shot then opens with Iron Man (in a new suit known as the Bleeding Edge suit) forcing open a door, approaching Cap (with Bucky standing sentry behind him), “Captain, You seem a little defensive.” “It’s been a long day.”

The conversation then transfers to a facility, “If we can’t accept limitations, then we’re no better than the bad guys”, says Stark. It cuts to Cap and Bucky gearing up as he replies, “That’s not the way I see it.”  The shot returns to the facility with Stark standing next to Rogers, “Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth”, with barely even a reaction from Rogers.  the action the begins to build as Falcon jumps off of a building, engaging his wings before hitting the floor. A shot of Falcon combating two enemies is preceded by Wilson and Rogers in a bar, as Wilson says “I just want to make sure we consider all of our potions, as people who shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me too”.  The trailer then begins to start filling up with action shots as Black Widow asks Cap, “You know what’s about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?” as he infiltrates a building via smashing through a window. The shot is then followed up with Iron Man and War Machine standing side-by-side, as well as a shot of ‘Team Cap’ (Captain America, Falcon, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye).  Multiple fast shots are then presented, of Iron Man and War Machine flying upwards, Bucky in civilian clothes running through the streets, and missiles crossing what looks like an airfield. Falcon then asks, “What do we do?” as the trailer reveals one of the new characters, Black Panther, as Cap answers “We fight”, as Team Cap run forwards in synchronisation. It then reveals which side Black Panther is on as it shows him fighting/beating Bucky.  The enigma codes then begin to pile up as Cap and Bucky chase Black Panther through a car park, as well as Rogers holding a helicopter to a helipad, Black Widow overlooking the explosions on the airfield and Bucky attempting to remove the arc reactor from the Iron Man suit.

The trailer is then drawn to a close with a slow-motion shot of Cap running through explosions, and Tony in his suit, sitting over a defeated War Machine, as Rogers says to Tony, “I’m sorry Tony, you know I wouldn’t do this if I had any other choice.” It then looks to Bucky as Rogers continues “But he’s my friend”. It then fades into a shot inside of the Iron Man helmet, revealing a scarred and emotional Stark, quietly responding with “So was I.” The music then returns once more as Cap finds strength as he gets up, before it shows Cap and Bucky double-teaming against Iron Man, who is unable to land a hit. The final shot is Cap jabbing his shield at Iron Man. The trailer then cuts to black, fading into the Captain America: Civil War logo.

As shown by the trailer, there is a lot to this film, however only a portion of what’s to come has actually been delivered. The main trigger for the narrative can be seen to be Cap’s loyalty to and determination to defend his friend Bucky, no matter who or what stands in his way, even if it means fighting those who stand alongside him.  However, in the comic Marvel’s Civil War, the reason for the civil war was the Superhero Registration Act, a government law whereby all superheroes must register their alter-egos so that they can be traced by the government. In the comic this act was opposed by Captain America and the rest who followed him, whilst it was supported by Iron Man and the rest of the heroes.  In the comics however, the civil war involves every single hero, including the X-men, Fantastic Four, etc. however due to studio rights, this was not possible, although an agreement was conveniently made between Fox and Marvel, allowing Spider-Man to make his MCU debut in this feature.  Whilst the Superhero Registration Act was not mentioned explicitly in the trailer. The first was the Sokovia Accords, where there is a chance that it will be within this file.  It was also hinted towards by Stark when he says to Cap, “If we can’t accept limitations, then we’re no better than the bad guys”. These ‘limitations’ could be in reference to the Act that was likely to be within the ‘Accords’.

Overall, this trailer works really well in establishing the style of superhero film it’s going to be, and how much it’s going to change the future of the MCU. Due to the fandom of superhero blockbusters, it will have a far bigger effect on the hard-core fans of the series, as opposed to the audience who watch every-other super flick. This is also emphasised with the last sequence of the trailer, tapping in to the emotional bond between Steve and Tony, which would’ve had a bigger impact on the heavier fans.

As stated in my previous post, Captain America: Civil War is the first film in Marvel’s MCU Phase 3, and there is a lot left to be revealed from the film, including multiple superheroes and a few villains.

Starring:    Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Don Cheadle as Col. James Rhodes/War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/?, and many more characters to be revealed with the next trailer…

Captain America: Civil War releases on May 6th 2016 in the US, and reportedly April 27th 2016 in the UK.

Watch the trailer here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uVdV-lxRPFo

Marvel announce big inclusions to the MCU

In the past week Marvel Studios have announced some game changing additions to Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On Thursday last week, Marvel announced some changes to their Phase 3 slate, which involved some new films, new sequels and a certain film being pushed back.  It started with Marvel announcing that 3 new films were to be released in the year 2020. The first of many reasons why this news is exciting for Marvel fans, and a breakthrough for the studio is that they are beginning to pack not two, but three films into upcoming years, beating their current pattern of two films each year (the first usually being released in April/May, followed by a June/July release).  On top of this, the fact increasing popularity of the franchise means that more and more fans are becoming interested in the synergy between the films and the comics. This also means that their understandings and knowledge of the entire Marvel Universe, this includes the different plotlines, characters and their teams. Because of this, Marvel can branch out with a lot more characters, with the confidence that more fans will understand them, further encouraginh more fans to research and become engrossed, etc. As a personal guess, I’m anticipating that the three unnamed films are: Spider-man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 and Thunderbolts (though this would require a secret deal between Marvel and Fox).

Another announcement from Marvel regards the sequel to their latest release, Ant-Man, and whilst it received very mixed opinions from fans it was blatantly popular enough for Marvel to confidently announce a sequel starring the newcomer alongside an even newer addition that he worked with in his self titled debut. The film, simply named Ant-Man and The Wasp, is due to hit July 8th 2018. Ant-Man was budgeted at a modest $130,000,000, it grossed over $409,000,000.  Led by Paul Rudd (Friends, Role Models) as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, an ex-con specialist at cat-burgling who must assist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to prevent egotistical apprentice Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using the Yellow-Jacket suit for evil. With the training from Hank’s daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), who is later to become the Wasp, Lang learns the importance of his quest.  Originally, Ant-Man was to be directed by geek Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgim vs The World), but after some creative disagreements, having completed the script, Wright left and the project was taken over by rom-com director Peyton Reed (Yes Man, the Break Up).

However, in order for Ant-Man and The Wasp to fit into Marvel’s heavy schedule they had to make room. Because of this it resulted in Captain Marvel being pushed back to 2019. Still un-cast, Marvel continue to search for their next female superhero. This decision sparked some controversy among fans and how it was ‘sexist’ to push back the female led hero flick. Whilst it could be perceived as sexist, if you pay closer attention to Marvel’s Phase 3 slate, Captain Marvel was to appear between Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. The Avengers have obviously already had two outings and are mainly to blame for the enormous fan-base and purpose for the MCU being created, and with the Black Panther to appear in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, his solo film was sure to debut soon after in preparation for Infinity War.

Finally, Marvel made the ‘short-and-sharp’ statement that “another planet” was going to appear in Thor: Ragnarok, on the same day that they tweeted a quote illustrated with an image of Hulk and Thor side-by-side. Even without the picture most fans would have jumped to the concept of it being Planet Hulk. After his surprise exit in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and being the only avenger (next to Thor) not returning in Captain America: Civil War, fans were left wondering what was to be of his fate. Whilst it would require a lot of explaining, it was announced yesterday that Mark Ruffalo is in talks with Marvel and closing his deal to return in Thor: Ragnarok. Comic readers will be aware of the immense plotline that ragnarok is and how much of a game-changer it will be for the MCU. Thor: Ragnarok is set to hit cinemas October 27th 2017.

Whilst that’s all that Marvel have announced in the past week, more news is sure to surface, potentially with the surprise drop of the Captain America: Civil War trailer, though I wouldn’t count on it.

 (an image of Marvel’s Phase 3 slate prior to the additions of Spider-man and Ant-Man and The Wasp, as well as the shift of order)