CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Is the Pinnacle of the Marvel Shared-Cinematic-Universe Experiment

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Review:

- CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is the new pinnacle of the Marvel Studios movie model. You've got to sort of step back and admire all of the things that this movie accomplishes in one fell swoop. It successfully caps off a trilogy of way-better-than-anyone-expected Captain America movies. It successfully serves as a culmination of slowly-building Avengers-related storylines from the last couple of Cap, Iron Man, and Avengers films. It successfully sets the stage for the next set of Marvel movies - including the next Avengers, Black Panther, and Spider-Man. Those last two are particularly remarkable. CIVIL WAR leaves fans chomping at the bit for a Black Panther solo film - desperate for more from a character who many likely have never heard of prior to this movie. And it single-handedly resurrects Sony's struggling Spider-Man franchise, making Spider-Man awesome again in about fifteen minutes. Sony execs have to be ecstatic at the major solid that Marvel just did for them (note to FOX: let Marvel take over Fantastic Four in a similar fashion - you know it's the right thing to do). And so, on a big-picture, meta level - CIVIL WAR is a pretty amazing accomplishment. But it's also a damn good movie. It's a testament to how a big blockbuster tentpole can juggle a ton of characters and sub-plots yet still feel thematically and tonally cohesive. The movie's got some of the most epic action scenes ever seen in a superhero movie. It's got a cast of dozens of heroes - old and new. It's setting up tons of stuff for future movies, and paying off tons of stuff from previous movies. But it somehow all works, because the film's central conflict is rooted in character in a way that makes sense - with clear stakes and a satisfying mix of gravitas and fun. This is what happens when there is a guiding hand overseeing a fictional universe - one that truly gets the characters, that has a vision for where this is all going and why.

CIVIL WAR picks up after the events of Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, quickly throwing us into the heat of battle as we follow Cap and his new Avengers in Sarkovia, trying to stop the totally unhinged Crossbones (Frank Grillo's character from the previous Cap movies - now sporting full super-villain regalia) from acquiring a deadly bio-weapon. But things go south when The Scarlet Witch uses her powers to stop Crossbones and save Cap's life - she ends up inadvertently destroying an entire section of a high-rise in the process. The fallout of the damage leads to The Avengers coming under scrutiny from the government, in particular from a returning General "Thunderbolt" Ross. The US - and the U.N. - want the Avengers to become an officially-sanctioned and accountable organization. Tony Stark feels that cooperating is the best and only way to keep the Avengers active. But Steve Rogers has his doubts. Since waking up in the modern era, Cap's become skeptical of government, and worried that he could be made to betray his values in order to serve someone else's agenda. Tensions become further strained when Cap's former best friend - Bucky, aka The Winter Soldier - re-surfaces, and becomes the target of a government manhunt. Cap, convinced that the old Bucky is still there beneath the years of brain re-wiring he underwent, is determined to find and exonerate his pal. But doing so puts him directly at odds with Iron Man and the new, government-friendly Avengers. This internal conflict fractures the team into two distinct factions. In order to get to The Winter Solider, Cap must go through Stark and those loyal to him.

The central conflict between Cap and Iron Man is handled extremely well here. In an ideal world, we'd get even more time understanding the two characters' clashing ideologies. But the movie gets a lot of mileage out of every scene, and the face-off is set up in a way that makes sense and feels true to the characters. What's impressive is that both characters' points of view make sense. Steve Rogers, the idealist, sees the Avengers as having - as needing to have - a truer moral compass than any government. Stark, the realist, sees compromise as a necessary evil towards progress. What nicely muddles things though is that, generally, it might be easier to side with Cap. But when it comes to Bucky, Cap is clearly letting his emotions override his sense of duty and justice. He stubbornly sets off to save The Winter Soldier, on a slim hope that Bucky is being set-up as a fall guy, that the old Winter Soldier is no more, that the old Bucky is still buried somewhere beneath the emotionless killing machine he'd been transformed into. So while this is Cap's movie - while we are inclined to root for him and his faith in his friend - there are sections of the movie where you can't help but side with Tony Stark. And you've got to give credit to CIVIL WAR for giving their battle some layers, some complexity. Contrast that to the "Hey, let's fight! No, let's be friends." clash-of-wills that drives this summer's *other* big hero-vs.-hero movie, and CIVIL WAR looks that much better by way of comparison.

The clash between Cap and Iron Man also leads to some absolutely phenomenal action sequences - including the centerpiece airport smackdown that might just be the coolest superhero battle yet put to film. I can't say enough about this sequence - it really felt like an all-time great comic book action scene come to life - except that even the comic books rarely do big action as right as this. This is a sequence where every action beat tells a story, where every line of dialogue is on-point. Superheroes pair off for dream match-ups. But even as funnier and lighter-hearted scuffles occur around the periphery of the battle, there is a seriousness at the center of it all that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The airport sequence is a testament to how good writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are, and how freaking great The Russo Brothers are at directing these films.

Let's talk about the Russos. In The Winter Soldier, they departed fairly drastically from the first Cap movie. That first film was a two-fisted World War II adventure (and for that, I loved it). But the second film took on the vibe of a 70's conspiracy-thriller - delivering great action and superheroics, but also keeping the action rooted in a tension-packed atmosphere of paranoia and distrust. In CIVIL WAR, the brothers further expand this series' stylistic palate. The film carries over some of the vibe of Winter Soldier - it certainly feels like a direct sequel to that movie more so than Winter Soldier was to The First Avenger. But if I had to describe CIVIL WAR's vibe with one word, it'd probably be: Marvel. The movie partially maintains the spy/international intrigue trappings of Winter Soldier, but just expands and grows to become something much bigger and crazier and comic book-y. As many great comic books do (particularly the big crossover events), CIVIL WAR keeps bringing in disparate elements into its world, and having fun with the fact that all of these big mythic characters and ideas all exist in the same universe. By the time we get to that airport battle, the movie is operating on a level of sheer grin-inducing comic book euphoria, because we're not just seeing characters duke it out - we're seeing worlds collide. The Russos seem to effortlessly blend the movie's different type of action together, in a way that gives different sequences huge stylistic contrasts. The early scenes in Sarkovia have a Winter Soldier vibe - quick-cutting, neck-breaking action. Later, we meet Black Panther, and he's got his own unique fighting style - cat-like, vicious. And then that airport scene is just pure comic book splash-page - huge, epic, larger-than-life.

At the same time, what's so admirable about CIVIL WAR is that it takes its time between the big action set-pieces, and makes sure to devote scenes to the quieter (but crucially important) character stuff. There's one scene towards the end of the movie - involving Daniel Bruhl's villainous Zemo - that I almost couldn't believe was in a mainstream superhero movie. It was quiet, poetic, contemplative. It was a scene that Bruhl acted the hell out of. The fact that CIVIL WAR makes time for these sorts of moments is exceptional.

Those moments - the whole movie - work so well because this cast is just damn good. In some of the Marvel movies, it's been easy to forget the caliber of actors that are now a part of this universe. But man, CIVIL WAR - maybe more so than any of the Marvel movies to date - is a reminder of how great these guys can be. I've been a champion of Chris Evans since he shocked me in The First Avenger - but now, older and wiser, it's clear that he's really grown into the role of Steve Rogers - now really feeling like an iconic elder statesman and leader. Robert Downey Jr., meanwhile, turns in what may be his best overall performance as Tony Stark. RDJ has always been awesome at embodying Stark's quick-wit and charm, but here he gives him a real emotional core - this is a guy being pushed to his limits, at the end of his rope - desperately trying to keep both his team and his life together. Sebastian Stan is another real stand-out. In Winter Soldier he was mostly a silent badass. Here, he's got some great, memorable moments. Stan completely sells Bucky Barnes' inner turmoil - his joy at getting to pal around again with Cap, his torment at knowing that he has committed atrocities while not fully in control of his own faculties. Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch was a little iffy for me in Age of Ultron, but here, she's fantastic. Scarlet Witch is great here - she has her own, crucial arc that's played to perfection by Olsen. And her relationship with The Vision? So good. Paul Bettany kills it here, getting to play The Vision as more than just an AI, but a still-learning almost-human being trying to make sense of his budding feelings for Scarlet Witch.

And by the way ... the movie's Vision/Scarlet Witch arc? Emotion vs. logic? Putting personal relationships over duty to the team? See how it pretty much perfectly fits into the movie's larger thematic storytelling? That's why all these different characters and subplots work so perfectly in concert.

But going back to the cast for a second ... I think this is the first Marvel movie where I was actually reminded how good of an actor Don Cheadle can be. And Anthony Mackie. Scarlett Johansson seems rejuvenated, doing a great job of positioning The Black Widow as a woman caught between two friends, unsure of who to side with and keeping her true intentions close-to-the-vest. Age of Ultron didn't do Hawkeye many favors, but Jeremy Renner gets to show-up and be really fun and cool and likable here. Paul Rudd gets some of the movie's best and funniest moments. I thought the Ant-Man movie was pretty good, but Ant-Man in CIVIL WAR kicks ass.

Speaking of kick-ass ... Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman is another great actor who gets to be a great actor in CIVIL WAR. The prince of the fictional monarchy of Wakanda, Boseman's Panther is regal, contemplative, dogged. When he goes into action-mode, Black Panther is a sight to behold. But even out-of-costume, Boseman makes the character shine. And again, the movie's strong writing makes sure that the character isn't simply shoehorned in to the narrative. His arc of personal loss and revenge is a huge catalyst for the big events of the film, and yet another strong thematic parallel to the main Cap vs. Iron Man conflict.

The one character who is *maybe* a little shoehorned in is Spider-Man. But everything involving Spider-Man in CIVIL WAR is so good that it's hard to really care. And the character does serve a real purpose beyond simply hyping up his upcoming solo film. Because this Spider-Man, played by young, fresh-faced Tom Holland, is the perfect newbie to throw into the clash of established heroes. Spider-Man brings a sense of awe and wonder (and a strong supply of great, often hilarious quips) to the big battles - but his gee-whiz attitude is the perfect way to give those big fight scenes some street-level sense of perspective. Holland is great - a total natural. He feels like a kid from Queens who might actually be Spider-Man. His casting feels like a stroke of destiny. The scenes of him, as plain old Peter Parker, in his Aunt May's (Marissa Tomei!) dumpy apartment, feel so spot-on and authentic and perfect. And the movie takes such a clear joy in introducing Spider-Man to the larger Marvel universe that it's totally infectious. Seeing Peter Parker awkwardly confront RDJ's Tony Stark, or get the NYC born-and-bred seal of approval from Captain America - I mean, come on, this is geek-out material of the highest order.

I'll also mention Daniel Bruhl, who, as mentioned, plays the movie's sinister puppet-master Zemo. Like many, I became a big Bruhl fan following his phenomenal turn in the movie Rush. The guy is good, and he's great here as Zemo. The thing is, Zemo is not the kind of villain you might expect. This is not the raving-lunatic, pink-spandex-wearing supervillain from the comics (at least not yet), nor is he comparable to other Marvel movie big-bads. This is a much more understated role and a more subdued sort of villain - but I really dug that about the character and Bruhl's performance. Bruhl's Zemo is a unique, tragic character who I hope we see more of in future films.

Now, there is so much going on in CIVIL WAR that, inevitably, the movie suffers from some moments that feel rushed or that don't-quite-make-sense. It's the very rare big action movie these days where the plot actually feels 100% airtight (I will give a shout-out to Kingsman: The Secret Service for being one such film), but I've never stopped holding out hope for a supervillain scheme that actually holds up to any sort of scrutiny. The fact is, Zemo's plans in CIVIL WAR are ultimately a bit questionable - with a million lucky occurrences having to happen for his plans to have a shot of working. Again - sort of part and parcel for big superhero movies at this point ... but CIVIL WAR is so close to perfection that it would have been amazing if it had stuck the landing in this regard. By the same token, the movie sort of pushes things too far in its climactic final showdown between Cap and Iron Man. No spoilers, but RDJ's final bout of berzerker rage just feels too contrived to fully buy into. Evans and RDJ both do a fantastic job of selling each character's determination and grief in that final battle - but it seems to come at a point when cooler heads should probably have prevailed. As good as the movie's script is - for the most part - it seems to grasp at straws a bit in order to set up that final confrontation.

But CIVIL WAR does so many things resoundingly right that it's hard to dwell too much on the few instances where it falters. This is a movie that feels like the strongest argument to date for why Marvel is doing things the right way - for why their shared universe is the gold standard for cinematic shared universes. What Marvel nails above all else is that they capture the essence of why people love these characters and what makes these characters great. The fact that Black Panther and Spider-Man resonate so much in CIVIL WAR - with so little relative screen-time - is proof positive of the Marvel magic that the studio currently possesses. So is the fact that a movie starring Captain America - a character who was a joke to the general populace in the not-so-distant past - just had the fifth highest-grossing opening weekend of all time. For all the fireworks in CIVIL WAR, the heart of this particular series - the journey of Steve Rogers - has been handled with remarkable skill by the Marvel braintrust. Credit to the Russo Brothers, to Chris Evans, and to Marvel for (excuse the phraseology) making Cap great again. The success of this movie is well-deserved.

My Grade: A-

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is Entertaining But Largely Emotionless Would-Be Epic

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Review:

Minor Spoilers Ahead ...

- The first Avengers film was a fairly awesome culmination of "Phase 1" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It delivered a satisfying team-up of Marvel's finest, and it felt like a well-earned payoff to much of what had come before. In contrast, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON feels like an aimless, overstuffed midpoint in this grand Marvel experiment. It's plenty fun - there's entertaining action, lots of Joss Whedon's trademark quippy dialogue and humor, and a breakout, damn-cool new character in the android hero The Vision. But the whole affair is oddly emotionless. The film seems so intent on cramming a universe worth of characters and subplots into its two-and-a-half-hour running time that most of its major arcs feel rushed. What makes that particularly disappointing is that AGE OF ULTRON has the ingredients to be a movie with real thematic heft. This could have been the ultimate Marvel version of Frankenstein, with Tony Stark as the prideful mad-scientist at its center. But what we get is the movie equivalent of what comics fans are all too familiar with - the mega-crossover that promises world-changing epicness but instead boils down to a lot of sizzle without much steak. Of course, if this were comics, we'd have about three dozen tie-ins and crossover books to provide substance that helps to flesh out the main arc. But what we get is one movie that has to do it all - tell a great standalone story, pay off the last half-dozen Marvel movies, set up the next "phase" of this universe ... and the list goes on.

There's at times a sense then that this movie was pushed out of the Marvel/Disney factory with little motivating its existence other than a dutiful sense of obligation. Given that, it's perhaps a minor miracle that the film is as good as it is. But for every too-clever Whedonism that hits, and every nerd-out moment that causes audiences to applaud, there's a lot of zooming from Point A to Point B that to some extent drowns out the movie's best bits. As we know, Marvel has a plan. But it's also important that its films don't feel like mere parts of a plan.

Despite what I just said, there's not that much back-story you really need to know to dive into AGE OF ULTRON. There's some follow-up to Winter Soldier, with The Avengers now working in a post-S.H.I.E.L.D. world and having their own distinct HQ. And the film opens in media res with the team infiltrating one of the remaining Hydra facilities, where some evil Nazi types make a last stand by unleashing "the twins" - Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver - on their foes. From there though, the film quickly transitions to its main focus: Ultron. A super-advanced AI created by Tony Stark, the program created to be a global protector decides that the only way to create true peace is to ... wait for it ... destroy humanity. So the James Spader-voiced program creates a humanoid body for itself, takes control of an army of Iron Man 'bots, recruits mind-controlling Scarlet Witch and speedster Quicksilver as his henchman, and decides to go all-in on the whole supervillain thing.

From the get-go, things seem to barrel forward without much time given to proper build-up. We've seen a lot of films about artificial intelligence of late, including a great one in Ex Machina. There's a lot of interesting stuff to be mined from an AI created to bring peace developing an appetite for destruction. But for all of the long-term plotting we've seen in these Marvel movies, Ultron's turn to the darkside is remarkably sudden. Not only that, but his evolution from non-corporeal AI to wise-cracking, one-liner-spouting, evil-scheming robo-Spader is nearly instantaneous. Spader adds an amusing smarminess to the character, but ultimately, Ultron falls mostly flat as a Big Bad.

And a huge reason for that is one that could have easily been fixed, and one that seems like a huge miss for the film: this should have been, first and foremost, Tony Stark's story. Stark stubbornly created Ultron - a villain who goes on to wreak massive havoc - and yet AGE OF ULTRON just barely scratches the surface of what this all means. For one thing, the movie should have built to a climactic showdown between creator and monster. But amidst all the chaos of the film, Stark is too often sidelined. And what of the emotional toll that creating Ultron might have / should have on Stark? There's barely a hint of real weight in the film. Ultron should have been Stark's greatest failure - an epic mistake of hubris that forces him to re-evaluate everything. But that character arc is either ignored or being saved for another movie. AGE OF ULTRON does have a couple of big scenes of tension among the Avengers that seem to set the stage for continued drama. But by film's end, all is pretty much forgiven. It's not just a matter of waiting for Civil War or what have you. AGE OF ULTRON suffers for not following a clear character arc for Tony and with regards to his relationship with the rest of the team.

The film's clutter also severely hampers the introductions of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Again, it's odd - because their back-story is yet another thread that ties back to damage caused by Stark that has come back to haunt him. But even with their anti-Stark agenda, the twins' motivation for allying with the obviously evil-with-a-capitol-E Ultron seems pretty shaky. It's why their eventual turn to the side of the heroes feels weightless and rushed.

One more aspect of the film that seems awkwardly shoehorned in: a romantic subplot between Bruce Banner and The Black Widow. Without any real hints of a budding romance in previous films, the mild sparks between the two feel a bit contrived. But what's worse is that some fun flirtatious moments abruptly become full-on rainbows-and-unicorns soul-mate stuff. Before the two have even gotten physical, there's awkward talk about kids and families and how their romance can never be. One step at a time, you crazy kids.

There's a lot in the film that feels like unneeded filler, especially when the meat of the story - the Stark vs. Ultron stuff - seems to struggle to get the screentime it needs. There's an extended detour to the safe house of Hawkeye that feels extraneous (though it's always nice to see Linda Cardinelli, who plays the never-before-seen Mrs. Clint Barton). There's a whole thing about Thor bathing in a mystical pool so as to conjure a vision of the Infinity Gems that could have probably been cut out. There's a trip to Marvel U mainstay Wakanda (no Black Panther cameo ... sorry fanboys) that feels like an extended tangent. These are the kinds of stories that in the comics would have probably had their own tie-in miniseries. But here, they're just bloat.

Writer/director Josh Whedon has always excelled at peppering his sci-fi epics with great little character moments. And AGE OF ULTRON is no exception. The movie's most fun sequence involves a fancy-dress party in honor of an Avengers victory that's capped off by a hilarious test-of-strength among earth's mightiest mortals to see who among them can lift Thor's enchanted hammer (and there's a great, surprising payoff to the scene later in the film, too). Whedon kills with his banter - and that's no surprise, but it's still remarkable how well he pulls this stuff off. AGE OF ULTRON is chock full of killer one-liners and asides. There's a freaking Eugene O'Neill reference tossed in there, and it's great. Whedon nails those little moments. But what AGE OF ULTRON needs more of are the truly epic, truly memorable, truly fist-pumping BIG moments. There's nothing here as applause-worthy, for example, as the Hulk "puny god!" line from the first Avengers.

What comes closest though is Vision. If there's one thing that's undeniably awesome in AGE OF ULTRON, it's him. I'm not sure if it was always the plan for Paul Bettany's Jarvis to evolve into The Vision, but if so - kudos - as it unfolds to perfection. The character just looks cool - like something straight out of an Alex Ross painting. And Whedon steps up to the plate whenever Vision is on-screen - majestically filming him like a creature out of sci-fi dreams. We don't get to see Vision take form until late in the film, but man, we're left wanting more.

When it comes to action, AGE OF ULTRON mostly delivers. It has some of the most epic action of any Marvel film to date. Some of it is pretty rapid-fire and videogame-y, but mostly, Whedon delivers some fairly spectacular, comic-book-brought-to-life battles. There are some great moments in which the characters deliver XBOX-worthy combo-attacks to their enemies. And the Hulk vs. Mega-Iron-Man battle does indeed live up to the trailer-induced hype, giving us a hero vs. hero smackdown that trumps any overhyped pay-per-view boxing match by a country mile. What Whedon also takes care to do is to make sure that the action always includes a truly superheroic element of getting civilians out of harm's way and saving lives. Many criticized Man of Steel for neglecting to show Superman's efforts to save the innocent in the midst of his destruction-causing battles. AGE OF ULTRON, in contrast, is incredibly concerned with the idea of heroes saving people as being their defining characteristic. In many ways, it's a theme that's defined this era of modern Marvel movies. But in AGE OF ULTRON, it's one of the ways in which the film inspires true awe and wonder despite whatever other flaws it may have. It's fun to see the Captain America ideology of selflessness permeating through the broader team - even if the Tony Starks of the world miss the forest for the trees.

AGE OF ULTRON delivers plenty of spectacle and explosiveness. But it's also a messy film - one that seems to be pulled in so many directions that its obvious thematic through-line feels trampled-on and obscured. Creator vs. creation, father vs. son, man vs. machine - these are weighty themes that should and could have produced multiple epic, chill-inducing moments. But the film seems content to breeze by a lot of the big moments in the name of cramming in everything and the kitchen sink. Think of comics. They speedily direct the reader from panel to panel, and then deliver the big, dramatic moments with jaw-dropping full-page splash pages. AGE OF ULTRON feels like a big comic composed of 180 12-panel pages. On paper, this is the blockbuster to end all blockbusters. But in practice, this one was lacking the jaw-dropping moments that truly make a big movie like this an epic and a classic. The movie checks all the boxes - it's entertaining and fun and full of Whedon-powered wit. Is it the ultimate Marvel epic that we've been waiting for, however? Nope - for that, looks like we've got to keep on waiting.

My Grade: B+

SNOWPIERCER Is A Runaway Train of Awesome Sci-Fi Insanity

SNOWPIERCER Review:

- Love insane / insanely-awesome movies? Then stop what you're doing and go see/rent/download SNOWPIECER asap. From Korean director Joon-ho Bong (The Host), this is gonzo sci-fi action - with a hefty helping of socio-political commentary - the likes of which you just don't see from big-studio Hollywood blockbusters. Basically, this movie is not content do do anything by-the-numbers. It operates on only one level, and that level is balls-to-the-wall extreme.

The film is a true international production. It's a Korean film that's (mostly) in English, based on a French comic book, adapted by American screenwriter Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), shot in Prague, and starring a diverse cast that includes big-time talent like Chris Evans, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Alison Pill, Octavia Spencer, an acting icon whose presence I won't spoil because it's sort-of-a-big-reveal, and the Korean star of The Host and Thirst, Kang-ho Song. All of that globe-spanning talent gives the movie a truly eclectic, international feel. And that only enhances the whacked-out premise of the film ...

SNOWPIERCER takes place is a post-apocalyptic future-earth in which the scant remnants of humanity live aboard a perpetually-moving train, ever-circling the globe. Why a train? Seventeen years prior, the global warming crisis reached red-alert levels. In a last-ditch effort to change the tide of climate change, scientists released a cooling agent into the atmosphere. However, the tactic backfired: suddenly, the earth became deathly cold - an icy tundra; uninhabitable. Most died, but a lucky few found safe haven on the mega-sized train that had been created by a mysterious engineer named Wilford. Ridiculed as purposeless upon its invention, the train proved to be the last, best hope for the survival for the people of earth. To keep order on the train, Wilford imposed a class system that was both calculated and ruthless. In the front of the train lived an upper class - a privileged elite living as hedonists, removed from the other passengers. In the back of the train lived everyone else - castoffs living in cramped quarters, fed only gelatinous protein bars for sustenance. Beaten, abducted, malnourished - the back-of-the-train population had attempted revolt on a few occasions - all unsuccessful. Now though, under the leadership of Chris Evans' Curtis (helped by his mentor, the aged revolutionary Gilliam, played by John Hurt), there is one last, desperate attempt at revolution.

John Hurt's character is named Gilliam, and it's no coincidence. With its hyper-detailed, hyper-stylized, nightmarish aesthetic, the movie looks and feels like some alternate-universe take on the films of the legendary Terry Gilliam. In the back of the train, there's a grimy, pseudo-steampunk aesthetic that recalls the doomed world of 12 Monkeys. Other moments of the film echo the dreamlike, surrealist bent of Brazil. Like that film, SNOWPIERCER is about the concept of breaking through to the other side, of shattering reality, of finding freedom and new beginnings. In a similar fashion, many of the film's aesthetics and themes brought to mind the modern-classic videogame Bioshock. To be sure, Wilford is an enigmatic, Andrew Ryan-esque figure. And the utopia-gone-wrong vibe of the train's front cars shows shades of Bioshock's aquatic world of Rapture (there's even a scene in the film where drugged-up partygoers in the front of the train attack Curtis and his compatriots while wearing creepy, Bioshock-esque masquerade masks).

Pop-culture influences aside, it needs to be said that SNOWPIERCER is an absolutely, jaw-droppingly gorgeous film. The action in the film is glorious - with each major skirmish wholly unique in its aesthetic and structure. Evans' Curtis leads a ragtag group of revolutionaries from the back of the train to the front, car by car - and, along the way, they encounter all manner of opposition from Wilford's elite soldiers. There's a breathtaking lights-out firefight, with combatants visible only by torchlight. There's an epic Raid-style throwdown between Curtis' men and a squad of armed-to-the-tooth foot soldiers. Best of all is an absolutely insane confrontation that occurs within a brightly-decorated children's classroom, with even the seemingly mild-mannered teachers getting in on the action. I will say no more, suffice it to say: holy crap on a stick. It's not just the action that looks fantastic though. There are all sorts of quieter moments of strange beauty. Take for example the memorable scene in which Curtis and co. make their way into the train's glowing-blue aquarium car, with glass walls and ceilings, behind which swim all manner of sea creatures, and in front of which is stationed a lone sushi chef. The sheer level of artistry and imagination that went into crafting the train's elaborate, self-sustaining design - with each car a new mini-universe unto itself - is mind-melting.

In the lead role, Chris Evans does some really good stuff. Between this and Captain America, the guy is really evolving into one of the best action leads in movies today. Here, he retains Cap's unwavering drive and nobility, but adds a tortured past and some gritty edge (translation: more brooding). But Evans' Curtis is a dynamic protagonist, and the performance is only enhanced by the delightfully oddball supporting cast that surrounds him. John Hurt is quite good as his wizened adviser, and Jamie Bell brings some comic relief as his puckish sidekick. Octavia Spencer, too, is a lot of fun (and surprisingly kick-ass) as a mother determined to find her missing son, taken away by Wilford's goons. But the real standouts in Curtis' band of freedom fighters are Kang-ho Song as drug-addicted security-specialist Namgoong, and Ah-sung Ko as Namgoong's teenage daughter Yona. Namgoong is just a badass character - Curtis frees him from imprisonment in a tiny cell, and finds that the man he needs to unlock the barriers between train cars is desperately addicted to a hallucinagenic drug made from industrial waste, commonly traded and smuggled throughout the train. Song brings an unstable, anarchic wildness to the character, and he also does a great job of giving depth to Namgoong's relationship with his daughter - an innocent who is forced to do some quick growin' up in order to stay alive over the course of the film.

Apart from the members of Curtis' group, the absolute standout here is Tilda Swinton. Between this and her darkly awesome turn in Only Lovers Left Alive, Swinton may be my pick for MVP of 2014 at the movies so far. She absolutely kills it in SNOWPIERCER as Mason, Wilfrod's sniveling second-in-command. Swinton goes 100% over-the-top here, delivering an insane performance that has to be seen to be believed. Mason is almost indescribably weird, a buck-toothed, nasally, tree-pole who is the ultimate lackey - a groveling lieutenant who enacts her master's orders with inhuman ruthlessness, clinging to whatever power she holds with quivering hands and desperate avarice. This is a weird, wild, rock n' roll performance for the ages, people.

I've also got to give a mention to Alison Pill - always great - but who also just kills it in a small but extremely memorable role as a school-teacher so full of saccharine sweetness that you just know it's only a matter of time before the other shoe drops, and we see that she's not quite what she seems. When it does, oh boy, watch out. Teacher ain't so sweet, kids. Alls I can say is that the "classroom" scene of SNOWPIERCER is an all-time classic.

Finally, I won't spoil the identity of Wilford, but seeing who plays him is a great little surprise. What I will say is: expect gravitas.

As crazy as this movie is, it's also pretty loaded with big ideas and very vital-feeling echoes of real-world class struggles. In many ways, the movie's proletariat uprising one-ups last year's Elysium in effectively telling a similar sort of sci-fi parable about haves vs. have-nots. What powers SNOWPIERCER is a runaway-train-like sense of righteous anger that gives the film's action an electric charge. The film has no wasted motion - similar to recent action milestones like The Raid, it propels forward at 100 mph, and rarely lets up. But amidst the action and visual splendor is an omnipresent undercurrent of rage-against-the-machine political commentary. Each element of the train can be seen as representing the elements of the machine that powers our society. There's a capitalist-critique, represented by Wilford's uncaring, order-keeping system, that shows how atrocities are buried and moral lines crossed in order to empower the elites and keep society's engine chugging along. Wilford's train is indeed self-sustaining, but at what cost? Ultimately, the train is a grotesque abomination. Even the elegant front cars exist as they do only because of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind exploitation of the back cars. The unwashed masses of the back cars subsist on the unwanted garbage of the front. And all - front and back - are brainwashed into thinking that this is all there is and can ever be. The train is the world, and no escape is possible. And so, as Curtis makes his way to the front of the train, eager to find and eliminate Wilford, the movie boldly asks if Curtis is simply on track to become the new Wilford. Is change in the system even possible from within? Is Curtis' revolution folly - just one more way to let the people let off steam, only to be squashed back into submission? SNOWPIERCER cleverly asks all these questions and more, and you've got to admire it for its politically-charged subversive streak. As out-there as it is, in many ways this is also thought-provoking sci-fi in its purest form.

My only complaint: the movie at times makes questionable narrative calls. One key scene, involving a startling confession from Curtis about his past, is legitimately shocking but also feels tonally off. It's *so* shocking that it just feels like too much, and is almost unintentionally chuckle-inducing in how crazy it sounds coming out of Chris Evans' mouth (to the actor's credit, he sells it as best as he possibly can - but still ...). There are also a few plot-points and characters that sort of pop-up, but don't really feel fully fleshed-out. The movie mostly benefits from its chaotic nature, but sometimes it does seem to be moving with such out-of-control ferocity that you're left with "huh?!" moments that break the narrative flow a bit.

But hey, listen up: if you like movies that dare to go a little nuts, that seek to challenge you, that present you with ideas, concepts, and aesthetics that are anything but typical - then yeah, add SNOWPIERCER to your must-watch-list now. It's insanely ambitious and, well, just plain insane. Over-the-top action, bursting-with-imagination, visionary sci-fi weirdness, instantly-iconic performances from Swinton and a loaded cast, and a fiery political streak that will leave you ready to start a revolution -- SNOWPIERCER has it all. Want to see a new cult-classic-in-the-making? See this film.

My Grade: A-

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Makes Cap The Coolest Hero In the Marvel Movie Universe

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Review:

- Here's what's cool to me about CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER: the trust that Marvel Studios had in the source material. Let me give some context. Captain America is, obviously, a product of the 1940's and World War II. Created by a young Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, the iconic comic book image of Cap from that period was of him delivering a knockout punch to Adolf Hitler. Later, in the 1960's, Stan Lee revitalized the character when he revealed that Cap had been frozen in ice since the 40's, and was now thawed out - still preserved in the body of a young man - and made a charter member of The Avengers. The first Captain America film (not the abhorrent 1990 version - the one from a few years back) paid loving homage to those early comic book adventures. It gave the character a modern sheen, but it was still 100% done in the pulpy, bombastic, colorful spirit of the golden and silver age comics. And for that reason - and for the fact that it took pains to portray Steve Rogers as not just a powerful hero, but as a good and decent person - the first Captain America movie quickly became my favorite of all the modern Marvel films. As much as I dug the way that that movie captured the spirit of Simon, Kirby, and Stan Lee, I was equally jazzed that, for the sequel, Marvel chose to mine one of the best stories from their recent history. Honestly, until Ed Brubaker took over writing duties on Captain America in the 00's, I liked the *idea* of the character, but never cared to actually read of his adventures. However, I had become a huge fan of Ed Brubaker from his work on the Batman comics, and was curious to see this darker-edged writer take on a traditionally bright and more lighthearted hero in Captain America. What Brubaker did during his comics run was nothing short of game-changing, embroiling Steve Rogers and his cohorts in political intrigue and conspiracy. Steve Rogers himself didn't become darker, but the world around him did. Most notably, Brubaker introduced The Winter Soldier,a dark mirror of Cap that proved to be a fantastic adversary and antihero.

To me, it's pretty cool to see Marvel, the movie studio, put faith in Marvel comics. Not mining stories from fifty years ago, and not simply reinventing everything needlessly for the movies. Instead, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER is an actual adaptation of a great modern comic book story - something we've rarely if ever seen from Marvel or DC films. Yes, the movie works within the framework of The Avengers films and fits into the larger Marvel movie universe. But what most excited me about it is that it actually treats the source material with respect, to the point that it adapts a specific story in a way that's very faithful to that story's characters and tone. As a comic guy, this is awesome. I mean, fans are almost invited to pour over details of YA novel film adaptations and see how accurate the movies are. But comic fans? We've been trained to get excited over the mere mention of some obscure reference to one of our favorite stories. It's not that I need to see a literal adaptation of every great comic book story. It's just that it's cool to see one of the great modern comic book story-arcs finally get the respect it deserves from Hollywood. I like that it allows fans to go and buy a compendium of stories that the movie they just saw was adapted from. I like that it paves the way for other modern classics to be adapted, so that we can stop going back to the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's for inspiration. And I like that this takes us to a point where a premium is placed on story and characters, and not just fanboy-pleasing references to said stories and characters. To me, this approach says "we are going to tell you a great story," and not just "we are going to throw a bunch of characters together and fill in the gaps later."

Which is all a long-winded way of saying that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER is pretty awesome. It drops some major plot bombs on the broader Marvel movie universe, but more than that, it's just a really compelling thriller, and it works very well as a self-contained film, and as a darker follow-up to the previous Captain America movie. The intent on this one was to pay some stylistic homage to the conspiracy thrillers of the 70's - Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor, etc. And getting into that shady corner of this universe - looking at what happens when a darker element invades the typically altruistic structure of S.H.I.E.L.D, makes for a pretty compelling path for the movie to follow. Like the comics it's based on, the movie gets a lot of traction from taking the straight-arrow Steve Rogers - a relic of a simpler, more black-and-white era - a placing him into a much more complex world, where it's harder to tell the good guys from the bad.

And man, it's crazy how good Chris Evans now is as Rogers. He stunned me in the first film with how much he knocked it out of the park. And he's as good, if not better, here. He portrays Rogers as a man still clinging to his morals and sense of right-and-wrong, even as he realizes he's going to have to have a healthy suspicion about others in order to survive. He is, also, a man out of time. And this film does a nice job of addressing that, in ways both humorous (Cap keeps a running list of pop-culture he needs to catch up on), and poignant (as when he visits his old flame, Peggy Carter, in a nursing home).

What's really surprising about this sequel though is how much of a team movie it really is. No, the Avengers don't fully assemble, but Cap does form his own mini squad here, and seeing this particular team in action is a lot of fun. Black Widow is very prominent in the story, as is Nick Fury. With Black Widow, we get some of the best character development we've yet seen for the former KGB agent. Scarlett Johansson does a great job of giving her a flirtatious yet tense relationship with Steve Rogers, even as we see the influence of the morally unshakable Cap start to rub off on her. We see her transition from mere Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. to hero. Similarly, we start to see what it is about this version of Nick Fury that makes him stand out from the pack. Samuel L. Jackson gets to shine here more so than in any Marvel movie to date. Fury gets to play a pivotal role in the plot, and, finally, he gets to kick some ass. I was honestly beginning to tire of the character a bit before now, because he just seemed to always show up without actually getting to do anything all that interesting. No more ... now, I'm primed for a Nick Fury solo movie. So Marvel, make it happen ... you dig?

Also joining Team Stars n' Stripes (that's what I'm calling it), is new (to the movies) character Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon. I wasn't sure how cool The Falcon would be going in, but I'm happy to report that he's pretty flipping cool. Anthony Mackie has been a favorite since he wowed me in The Hurt Locker, and he is great here. He's got a great buddy-cop chemistry with Chris Evans, and there's something oddly endearing about having these two characters meet, become fast friends, and just plain like each other without any big fight or dust-up. Very un-Marvel, if you think about it, but hey, I thought that the Cap/Falcon relationship in the film was really well-handled. And the icing on the cake is that the Falcon's suit, wings, and weapons are all pretty great-looking, despite often coming across as lame in the comics. In short, The Falcon is a very solid addition to the film, and I'd be eager to see him pop up in future Marvel movies.

I'll also add that, man, it's great to see Robert Redford pop up here as a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. director. Redford was, of course, a staple of the 70's conspiracy thrillers that this movie pays tribute to, and he lends an undeniable air of gravitas to the film. I thought he might just be popping up for more of a cameo sort of role, but was pleasantly surprised at just how crucial of a part he plays in the story.

Meanwhile, there's a nice lineup of villains to counter all of these badass heroes. It's hard to say too much without spoiling things, but I will say this: The Winter Soldier is just a super cool, well-handled adversary for Captain America and co. Sebastian Stan does a nice job in the role, but I also give a ton of credit to the film's visual design team. Not only does The Winter Soldier look like he walked straight out of the comics, but he looks cool as hell. The character is visually imposing, but he's also got an ultra-compelling origin that ties back into the first film and makes things very, very personal for Steve Rogers. Just as he did in the comics, I think the Winter Soldier will become a huge favorite with film fans. I know that when the film ended, I was even more excited about the potential to see more of the character's journey than I was for just about anything else in the Marvel cinematic universe - Avengers 2 included.

The Winter Soldier is a great, memorable villain, and another reason why is that he's involved in some absolutely kick-ass action scenes. In fact, the movie as a whole - while spending plenty of time on quieter, tension-building scenes - is packed with big, exciting action. There are rapid-fire shout-outs, bone-crunching fights, and some truly visceral vehicular mayhem. In keeping with the darker tone of the film, the action feels much grittier and more violent than the first movie's two-fisted, Indiana Jones-style set pieces.

I definitely came away from the movie impressed with directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Especially given that their background is in TV comedy, the fact that they transitioned so seamlessly to big-budget action is kudos-worthy. They do a very nice job overall, and excel at both action and smaller character moments. I guess my one complaint - which has been true of many of the Marvel movies outside of The Avengers - is that the movie does, ultimately, have a slightly generic, house-style feel to it. It's funny to think about, because Marvel comics, back in the day (namely the 70's and early 80's), was known for all of its books having a very uniform art style (hence the popular book "How to Draw the Marvel Way"). In recent years, however, Marvel has really been a leader in publishing books with a wide variety of unique, and often experimental, looks. I hope that the films begin to follow suit (and I think with Guardians of the Galaxy, we may start to see that branching out, to an extent). In this movie, there's a strange dichotomy, because the film, as mentioned, is clearly emulating 70's conspiracy thrillers - to a degree. But that stylistic tendency also feels reigned in, and forced to work within what is now a very familiar Marvel movie house style. I get that there is a need to not deviate *too* far from fan expectations, but you also don't want movies that feel stifled, or held back from being all they could be. So yes, the film has some interesting visual motifs and a unique feel vs. other Marvel movies, but it never quite goes all the way. For every scene that feels like something we've never seen in a Marvel movie before, there's another that seems like it could be totally interchangeable with the latest Iron Man or Thor flick.

Even so, it's pretty remarkable just how well this film came together. It nails the character dynamics. It tells a great story (and is a great adaptation of the comics), with one of the best villains yet seen in a superhero movie. It gives us the best Black Widow and Nick Fury we've yet seen on-screen. And it further convinces us that Captain America - that dusty old relic from the 1940's - just might be the coolest (not to mention the most relevant and vital) superhero in the whole Marvel Universe. In that respect, Marvel: mission accomplished.

My grade: A-