CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
Think we’re immediately following on from that Thor: The Dark world stinger? Think again. Things have to get a bit darker before we get to that. Besides, why go to space when you can go to AMERICA. The return of the Captain (again portrayed by Chris Evans) and our favourite Russian spy (Scarlett Johansson) could almost be a ‘Captain America and Black Widow’ movie, although Anthony Mackie also joins the team as Sam Wilson, known to comic readers as The Falcon. In an addition ruined by numerous advertisements before the films’ release, Sebastian Stan is back as the thought-to-be-dead Bucky, now under the alias of The Winter Soldier (it’s in the name, see). Frank Grillo also joins as yet another villain, Brock Rumlow, who whilst not overly deadly in this film, I’ll take a shot in saying might become a problem later on. Robert Redford adds some old-school villainy to cast as Alexander Pierce, a suit wearing, behind the scenes sort of antagonist, and Nick Fury proves vital, played again by an understated Sam Jackson. The story of espionage and personal betrayal works well with the characters used. (Special note: what was written on Rogers’ notepad near the beginning? There are some differences, depending on which version you saw. Let me know in the comments!)
It only takes watching the opening scene to say that this movie is good. Really good. The action scenes are fast and furious, and fight choreography simply superb. A fight scene on a busy street between Captain America/The Falcon/Black Widow against The Winter Soldier and his goons may be the best action piece in the MCU so far. If Thor 2 was a romantic comedy featuring Thor, then this was a political thriller, featuring Captain America. Also worth mentioning is a certain name used in the film: Stephen Strange, a reference the Marvel Universe’s sorcerer supreme, soon to get a solo movie of his own.
The mid-credits scene was perhaps the most important of all MCU films so far, as three new characters were shown. First was Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, a long-time Captain America enemy. In cages, under guard of the notorious Baron, were a very fast moving, silver haired boy and a wild eyed girl who crushed blocks with her thoughts; Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch had come to the MCU.
(Yes, the character of Quicksilver already appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but this is essentially a different character. In the MCU he will still be graced with super speed, but it is not yet clear what gives him this power. In the comics he is the son of Magneto (as is his sister, Scarlet Witch) but because Marvel (the film studio) doesn’t own the character of Magneto, this will either not be mentioned or instead flat out changed. It’s a long, stupid story.)
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
Ah, here is the follow on from the Thor 2 credits scene. And it has nothing to do with any of the other films so far. Chris Pratt (the third of Marvel’s trio of sexy Chris’s) plays peter Quill, though he’d want you to call him Star Lord. Zoe Saldana was the assassin Gamora, daughter of Thanos (from the end of Avengers). Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel lent their voices to the film as the gun-toting, foul-mouthed Rocket Raccoon (he’s a raccoon, see, it’s in his name) and Groot an anthropomorphic tree-creature with a very small vocabulary. The final member of this ragtag bunch of misfits is Drax, The Destroyer, played to a very surprising standard by former WWE star Dave Bautista. Lee Pace took up reigns as the lead bad guy, Ronan the Accuser, but it was Josh Brolin’s single scene as Thanos that perhaps set the stakes up very high. The film was a story of family, on many fronts, and had more in common with Star Wars than any previous MCU film.
If standards were held high after how good Captain America: The Winter Soldier, then this film completely managed to deliver. A fantastic 70s style soundtrack, featuring the likes of Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling” and David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” set the mood, and you could really feel the bond between the group grow as the film went forward. Ronan the Accuser always seemed like a real threat, but was perhaps not used to his full potential. The power of friendship prevailed, and Ronan was no more, but you’d have to think he will show up somewhere else in the future, particularly if the films keep heading back into space.
Cementing the films as (for now at least) separate to the rest of the MCU, the post credits scene was more of a shock scene; Howard the Duck is alive and well in the MCU, and Cosmo the Space Dog likes licking people’s faces. Whether these two will play a role in the scheduled GOTG sequel, or the MCU at large remains to be seen…
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)
So it all leads here. The Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye) must team up again to take on the terrible trio of Ultron (to be voiced by James Spader, hopefully at his most unnerving) and the twins, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). The world is on the line, and you can be sure there will be fireworks.
I noted that the phase one films were the lowest grossing, which of course places the four already released above higher than them. Thor 2, unsurprisingly, had the lowest gross of phase 2, followed by Captain America 2 and Guardians being roughly even. Iron Man 3, conversely, blew every other film sans out of the water. Quality of film was obviously not the only factor in box office takings. Interesting to note that there was no Hulk solo film, either, and thus far there is not one planned.
Phase 2 went bigger, but not necessarily better. Which was your favourite phase two film? What new characters grabbed your attention, or did a returning cast member remain the pinnacle of comic book adaptations? Let me know in the comments below. I’ll discuss where the MCU is heading in the future after the Avengers sequel is out. As always, thanks for reading and stay tuned for my Avengers: Age of Ultron review, coming to you in just a few short hours.
MoshFish Reviews 