CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Marvel superheroes usually focus on the good guys fighting the bad guys, but in Captain America: Civil War a new element is added to that formula: the question of responsibility and the issue of guilt.  This elevates this superhero movie from a simple black vs. white situation to a philosophical disagreement -- that leads to hero battling hero.

Following the events of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers have been busy battling evil, both in America and abroad.  However, when their latest battle results in collateral damage and civilian casualties, the team comes under much stricter government scrutiny.  U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) informs the team that the U.N. is about to pass the Sokovia Accords, which will create a governing body to determine when the Avengers can and can't act in the signing countries.

The team is divided about signing on with these accords.  Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is against them, believing that such regulation could prevent the team from acting when it should.  On the other side, Iron Man /Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is in favor of signing, thinking that the team can guide the process from there -- and if they're not accountable, the heroes are no better than the bad guys.

In the midst of this, Colonel Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) is manipulating almost everyone involved; he also seems focused on obtaining information about a Hydra mission, conducted back in 1991 by the brainwashed Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).  When the Winter Soldier is implicated in a bombing in Vienna that disrupts the Sokovia Accords signing, Captain America becomes a criminal by focusing on helping his friend.  Sides are drawn, and soon the heroes are divided against each other.  And the Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) wants to kill the Winter Soldier, since T'Challa's father was killed in the explosion.

Captain America: Civil War manages to blend action, plotting, humor, and debates/discussions very well.  All of the main characters from previous Avengers movies are here (except Thor and the Hulk), and this movie adds Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and introduces a teenage Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to the mix.  The movie is a little bit long, and the ultimate evil plot seems more than a bit convoluted, but this is another Marvel movie that is quite thrilling -- with added consideration about the consequences of one's actions, intended and unintended.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Captain America is back in action -- and dealing with a lot more than just super-powered villains -- in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  This movie adds a bit more nuance and thinking to the superhero formula, without shying away from some pretty intense action.

The Winter Soldier opens with Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) working with S.H.I.E.L.D., helping Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Natasha Romanoff/the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) take down some terrorists.  But Fury had his own agenda, and Captain America is getting tired of secrets and being lied to.  In addition, Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) are about to launch Project Insight, which will send three heavily-armed Helicarriers in the air to protect (and strike) anytime there's trouble.  Fury thinks this will stop problems before they start, while Cap thinks it's creating fear, not freedom.

Then things get complicated.  When Fury is looking into Project Insight, he's ambushed by heavily-armed men and managed to drop a flash drive off with Cap before heading to the hospital.  Soon Cap is branded a traitor by Pierce, and the all-American hero is fleeing from S.H.I.E.L.D. while trying to uncover the truth and figure out who can be trusted.  Along the way he's joined by Sam Wilson/the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), a fellow soldier who apparently has unlimited access to a high-tech flying outfit.  There are surprises and twists, old enemies, a threat to millions of people, and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), a powerful assassin with a robotic left arm.

The Winter Soldier joins The Avengers as one of Marvel's best superhero movies.  The cast is terrific, especially Chris Evans as the hero who finds himself adrift not in the modern world's technology and society but in its duplicity and scheming.  There are plenty of appearances from characters in past movies (Cobie Smulders as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Garry Shandling as a senator) and references to other Marvel comics to make fans of the comics happy, while providing enough information for folks who know this universe through the movies alone not to feel lost.

Not all of the twists in the story are surprising (as in many movies, politicians are not to be trusted), but The Winter Soldier manages to combine action, suspense, and mystery into a movie that could have been just more good guys in colorful costumes hitting bad guys in colorful costumes.  The Winter Soldier is a very entertaining superhero movie for adults.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

So, what would be the ultimate summer action movie? How about a superhero who beats up Nazis? Captain America: The First Avenger may continue the Marvel movieverse (with connections to Thor and Iron Man) and lay the final groundwork for next summer's Avengers movie, but it's as patriotic and feel-good as the WW2 propoganda films in the movie.

After the modern-day discovery of a craft in the Arctic, Captain America: The First Avenger jumps back to the days of World War Two. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, who played the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies) is a scrawny 90-pound weakling with a host of health problems -- who also never backs down from a fight and keeps trying to enlist with the army. He gets the attention of a military group that includes German scientist Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), British agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and the tough Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones). Erskine gives Rogers the Super Soldier formula, transforming him into a buff, tall fightin' machine: Captain America! And after a brief, comical stint on a public relations tour, Captain America hits the battlefield to fight Nazis -- or Hydra.

It turns out that Erskine was forced to use an early version of his formula on the Nazi Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), turning him into the Red Skull. The Red Skull has found and harnessed an energy source from Asgard (and the movie Thor) and is using it to power weapons designed by mousy scientist Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). But the Red Skull has his own plans, turning on both the Allies and Axis powers to lead his own evil organization called Hydra. ("Hail Hydra!") Can Captain America and his team of soldiers defeat Hydra before America is destroyed? Will the flirtation betwene Steve and Peggy lead to anything more? And how many 3-D shots of Captain America's shield flying at the audience will be get? (The answer to the last question: quite a lot.)

Captain America: The First Avenger is big, simplistic fun. Chris Evans clearly has fun playing the ultimate do-gooder, someone so ready to stand up for what's right (both before and after being turned into a Super Soldier) he'd be a saint if he wasn't beating people up all the time. Hugo Weaving spends much of the movie under horrific red makeup, but he brings a certain style to an otherwise typical megalomaniac intent on world domination. Hayley Atwell's spunkiness manages to elevate Peggy from a token love interest to an independent woman who can kick butt. And the other characters are all either good guys to root for, or bad guys to hate (and cheer when they're beaten or killed). The action is generally handled well (though one montage looked more like a video game than a live-action movie), and the ending does a good job setting the scene for The Avengers next year. Captain America: The First Avenger may be simplistic in many ways, but it's still fun.

Overall grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch