CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - Perpetual Motion Machine

Other Reviews in this Series.

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Bruhl, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Emily VanCamp, William Hurt, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, John Kani, John Slattery, Hope Davis
Runtime: 147 mins.
2016

In the month since the release of Captain America: Civil War, I have been trying to parse my feelings about the film. I've always been a sucker for comic book cinema, ever since I was weaned on Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies,* but as I've become more discerning and my tastes have shifted, I've grown less and less comfortable with easy bankable formulas. In fact, my adoration of nerd culture in general has soured for reasons I'd prefer not to get into here.

*Spider-Man 1 + 2 still being the best pieces of superhero cinema in existence, with a sideward nod to The Dark Knight.

Over the years I've frequently pushed to redefine the arbitrary boundaries of what is fit to be included in discussions about art and academia to include certain "vulgar genre fiction" properties. I've tried to rally against biases folks have towards superhero fiction, children's movies, animation, speculative fiction, and so on. It's not about the surface level signifiers; it's about being able to meet a story on its own terms.

That being said, I've also had to flip that script on myself and confront my own delusions about properties that I wanted so badly to adore. 2012 was a watershed year for me; I had to face the one-two punch of The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises, both movies that I wanted to love so badly that I was blinded to their myriad flaws. In both cases, my wake-up call came in the form of my favorite film critic, Film Crit Hulk, who wrote eye-opening screeds against both of these films. Here they are, if you're interested.

Film Crit Hulk Smash: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN HAS 99 PROBLEMS BUT AN UNCLE BEN AIN'T ONE

Film Crit Hulk Smash: HULK VS. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - Growing Pains

Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Andy Serkis
Runtime: 141 mins.
2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is immediately different than its predecessor: it opens with a bang and a crackle. Scene 1 has the Avengers careening through a snowy wood, laying the ever-loving beatdown on a host of HYDRA thugs. Far more engaging than the dank exploding bunker opening of The Avengers, Age of Ultron shows the group at the height of camaraderie and teamwork. We see definitively that the Avengers are back. For now.

So begins the first of many comparisons between this game-changing series' first and second installments. The comparisons are unavoidable, occasionally unflattering, and often enlightening. Age of Ultron is a movie about growing pains. It's droopier, gloopier, stuffier, and a great deal more complex than the original. So if you're looking for more of the same thrills of discovery and wonder, you might be disappointed. Rightly so. Not everything can be a beginning, and the honeymoon phase has to end sometime. Joss Whedon seems to know this better than anyone, and gives us an Age of Ultron that has a handful of flaws, numerous successes, and never stops challenging the viewer.

Which is better? Everyone will benefit if we put that question to bed right now. Age of Ultron is a step forward in development, which means change has to happen, and change can be hard. But that doesn't mean fresh newborns are inherently better than awkward adolescents.

String Theory: The Trailer for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

I've never done an analysis of a trailer before. Trailers are such contentious pieces of entertainment. Some people wait with bated breath for the release of trailers, and ogle them ten, twenty, a hundred times before the movie arrives in theaters. For them, anticipation reaches a fever pitch--and they are often disappointed, as I was with the release of Spider-Man 3. I had watched the trailer so many times that the real film paled in comparison to the ideal film that reeled around in my head. My feelings were kind of hurt.

Other folks avoid trailers as if they were sources of eye infection. The idea behind swearing off a trailer is that you want to come into the movie fresh, on its own terms, free of bias and expectation. I believe I adopted this method before seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel. I knew it was a critically acclaimed Wes Anderson film, so I needed no further information to convince me to see it. Thus, I had an excellent movie-watching experience in which Anderson's colorful world unfolded before my very eyes, complete with unexpected cameos and untainted gags.

Right now I fall in between these two camps. Ideally I like the purism of the second approach, as it seems the most fair to let a movie express itself outside the dirty, necessary confines of advertisement. On the other, trailers are exciting. They give you a glimpse into a new world and let you hope for the best.

It's with both of those attitudes in mind that I dig into an analysis of the hot-off-the-presses Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. There was no way I was going to avoid this one, especially because we all already have loose expectations about the film. Why not use it as a platform for speculation and observation? Besides, the movie doesn't come out until May. We'll both have forgotten that I wrote this by then.

See my Age of Ultron review here.