"Captain America: Civil War" Review

This is it. The superhero film you've been waiting for is finally here.... for the most part.

Captain America: Civil War lacks the cohesiveness of its direct predecessor but still manages to be one of Marvel's better films to date. Now overseers of the franchise, writers Chris Markus and Stephen McFeely (along with sibling directors Anthony & Joe Russo) weave a yarn that proves they understand how to make all these characters work inside of the same 2.5-hour run time. Joss Whedon proved it could be done in the first Avengers movie, and now that he's moved on, the Russos have crafted a more urgent Avengers sequel than Age of Ultron.

At the end of the last movie, the Avengers lineup looked a bit different. As such, Cap (Chris Evans) appears to have led these "New Avengers" on several missions between the end of Age of Ultron and the start of Civil War. It appears the core lineup is now Cap, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the Vision (Paul Bettany), and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) with Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) joining in occasionally.

We pick up with the team in Lagos where they appear hot on the trail of Crossbones (Frank Grillo), one of Cap's classic nemeses from the comic books who was teased towards the end of Winter Soldier. During the operation, Scarlet Witch makes a foolhardy move that accidentally claims the lives of several innocent civilians (although, to this reviewer, the Avengers have appeared to do far worse damage before). This act proves to be the final straw to the United States government who feel some type of way about having their team of super-powered operatives making a mess of the entire world (see just about every "phase two" MCU film). The "Sokovia Accords" are passed as legislation requiring all super-humans to register with the United Nations or face retirement. This divides the Avengers in two, with #TeamIronMan in favor of the new law and #TeamCap looking to continue operating without oversight in order to eradicate evil wherever it may lurk rather than where the UN says it does. The greatest superhero clash in the history of movies ensues.

Although this reviewer is part of the minority which enjoyed the hell out of Batman v Superman, Marvel's superhero battle is every bit as satisfying as one could hope. Those disappointed in the marquee fight in DC's movie should be pleased with Civil War. Although it'd be great if the MCU films took a cue from their Netflix counterparts and gave the stunt choreography more room to breathe, a few sequences here aren't entirely masked by quick cuts and camera movement. The "money" fight scenes look incredible and contain some of the hardest-hitting action of the franchise. That said, it never gets quite as brutal as Daredevil or Jessica Jones.

By now, fans are eagerly anticipating the arrivals of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Rest assured, they are both perfect. Civil War left me wanting to watch Ryan Coogler's Black Panther solo movie immediately, while our now-third cinematic Spider-Man proves to be the most comics-accurate of the bunch. If you originally balked at the idea of yet another rebooted Spider-Man, wait until you see Civil War. This is the breath of fresh air we never knew the franchise needed.

So, what's wrong with all of this? Well, Civil War just has so many important characters to stuff into each scenario that it just ends up feeling like a more bloated version of Winter Soldier. This is, by and large, a Captain America movie in which the real emotional conflict can be nailed down to Cap's ongoing struggle to bring his pal Bucky / the "Winter Soldier" (Sebastian Stan) "back to the land of the living," as they say. Enter Iron Man on the other side of the aisle, and you have an interesting exploration of the costs of friendship and brotherhood. Basically, this is what you get when you explore indie-film themes with a $200 million budget.

In the end, Civil War doesn't quite shake things up for the MCU like Winter Soldier did. For that, the film comes off as a bit of a disappointment. It's a worthwhile journey despite feeling fundamentally like another stepping stone. Still, these characters are great, the performances are stellar, and the action is as satisfying as billed. Though it may not be the perfect "savior" for the genre that some are saying, Captain America: Civil War demands your attention. Not to be missed.

B+

"The Jungle Book" Review

Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef) delivers a mind-blowing adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book for Walt Disney Pictures. Favreau works from a script by Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li).

Disney's newest live-action iteration finds impeccable balance in maintaining the crowd-friendly lightheartedness of the 1967 cartoon and the darker, more frightening edge of Kipling's original stories. This is an adventure picture that everyone in the family will get something out of no matter what. It's just that much fun.

Favreau's The Jungle Book picks up with the "man-cub" Mowgli (Neel Sethi) well-established as a member of the wolf pack overseen by Akela (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito) and Raksha (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o). On the day of the "water truce," in which all animals from the jungle are welcome to drink from the same watering hole, Mowgli receives an unwelcome threat from the tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) - "leave the jungle forever or perish." When Mowgli flees, Shere Khan decides to go back on his deal and hunt the man-cub down anyway. As he treks across the jungle, Mowgli undergoes a journey of self-discovery where he meets a slew of characters - some good, like the bear Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray), and some bad, such as Kaa the python (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and King Louie the orangutan (voiced by Christopher Walken).

The artificial world that Favreau and everyone from the production designer to the art directors to the VFX wizards create together is the most immersive and lifelike since Life of Pi, maybe even Avatar. As wondrous as Pi's vast ocean and the planet of Pandora were, Favreau's jungle gets the edge because it feels the most plausible. Talking animals are most certainly the stuff of fantasy storytelling, but this jungle feels like a real location, and the animals themselves maintain a photorealistic appearance even while speaking. Nothing about this jungle's textures and foliage is stylized or "Seussified." Everything is modeled after real, tangible plant and animal life.

In two separate scenes, the camera follows Mowgli at the bottom of a landslide and later across a sloshing river with Baloo. In respective instances, mud and water speckle the lens as if filming on location, even though the end credits clearly state "Filmed entirely in Downtown Los Angeles."

Everyone loves to pooh-pooh the use of CGI in Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, but when it's used almost as a character in and of itself to supplement the larger story, and it's completed with such an eye for lifelike immersion, the artists and storytellers deserve nothing but praise. Save maybe Rogue One, The Jungle Book should have little to no competition on its way to the next Best Visual Effects Oscar.

The voice acting is mostly magnificent, with Murray, Elba, and Ben Kingsley as the panther Bagheera standing out. Elba's work, combined with the fine digital rendering of the tiger himself, make this Shere Khan one of Disney's nastiest all-time villains. He may even crack some "Best Movie Villains Ever" lists. Though Shere Khan certainly asserts dominance over Cruella de Ville and Ursula, time will tell how he stacks up against the likes of Darth Vader, Hans Gruber and Ledger's Joker. For me, it's pretty close.

Probably the most pleasant surprise out of all the recognizable voices was that of the late Garry Shandling who has a bit role as Ikki the porcupine. It's a riot to listen to Shandling spout lines one last time as he scuttles around claiming sticks and rocks for his home like an anal-retentive fusspot. Credit Favreau for affording the film the kind of breathing room that allows small moments like Ikki's to shine while maintaining the story's larger focus.

Not all the performances are A-grade however. Newcomer Sethi is as decent a choice as any to play a live-action Mowgli inspired by the cartoon. But some of his dialogue delivery feels corny, as if he's not really feeling it and is just saying lines because someone told him to. I also didn't care for Walken as Don Corleo - I mean - King Louie. As the monarch of the monkeys, Walken does his best Brando impression and then tries to sing Louie Prima. It's awful, and with Richard Sherman's retooled lyrics, this was easily the most grating sequence in an otherwise swingin' production.

It's just barely saved by a sly wink to Walken's classic "More Cowbell" skit from Saturday Night Live.

Thankfully these flaws never outweigh the film's senses of fun, humor and danger. The Jungle Book is an adventure well-worth taking with the entire family. The astonishing visuals pop even more in 3-D, and several sequences beg to be experienced in IMAX. If IMAX 3-D is an option in your area, don't think twice.

A-