Spider-Man – Little Bits of Gaming & Movies

Movie Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Don’t worry folks, no spoilers here. Aside from mentioning things already seen in the trailers, this review is giving nothing major away.

I’ve actually been pondering whether or not I should even do this review for a few days now. See, Spider-Man: Far From Home is a very tricky film to talk about without spoiling anything. There really is a lot to unpack here that I can’t mention as to not spoil anything. So this’ll have to be a very vague review that’s lacking a lot of details.

When it comes to the MCU, as much as I admire the immense talent and work involved in it, I’m not a die-hard fan. I’ve actually not seen more MCU films than I have seen. I do know a bit about the source material without being a ‘comic book nerd’. So I’m familiar with the characters and universe but without being fan-obsessed by it. When it comes to superhero films, I can take or leave them, to be honest.

Yet, there’s always been something about Spider-Man as a character that I personally have always felt worked better than any other superhero. I think it’s a relatable thing. I mean, I’ve never been an alien, a multi-billionaire, a literal god and so on. Yet I have been a teenager struggling to understand the world and my life. And I think that’s a big part of the appeal of the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character. He’s a kid under that suit and even though he’s saved the world… he still goes to school.

With Spider-Man: No Way Home, you get a lot of that ‘reality’ and begin to feel a lot of the pathos that the character brings. Spider-Man is a kid and Tom Holland plays that part of him marvellously. He’s far from perfect, he gets confused and he most definitely makes mistakes. All of that happens in this film and you can sympathise with a teenager struggling to maintain their life around being a superhero more than you can someone like Tony Stark and his billionaire world.

This film picks up right where the previous film ended, with J. Jonah Jameson revealing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man and him also being outed as killing Mysterio at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Of course, this causes mass hysteria and Parker’s life is thrown into turmoil for not just being outed as Spider-Man but also now believed as to being a murderer.

Desperate for help, Peter Parker seeks out Doctor Strange and convinces him to cast a spell so that the world forgets that he is Spider-Man. As Strange is casting the spell, Parker keeps interrupting and asks to make numerous amendments so that MJ, Ned and Aunt May still remember that he is Spider-Man. These interruptions cause the spell to go wrong and opens up the multiverse.

From then, villains from other Spider-verses begin to appear in Peter Parker’s world. The likes of Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Sandman, Lizard and Electro turn up and Spider-Man is left to try and get things back to normal.

Obviously, there is quite a lot more of the plot to delve into… I’m just not doing that here. What I found interesting while watching Spider-Man: No Way Home was seeing how many of the fan theories were right and how many were wrong. I avoided as much about this film as I could before seeing it. I only watched the first trailer. But for the last few weeks, there have been all sorts of articles popping up from notable sites sharing various social media fan theories. As I said, it was interesting to see how right and wrong the fans were.

As for the film itself, you’ve got your usual MCU mix of action, drama and humour. Going into this film and knowing there were five villains (revealed in the trailers), I thought that was a bit overkill and could make the film feel over-bloated. Yet, if there is one thing the MCU writers have proven more than once, it is that they can really handle ensemble cast stories like this.

What could’ve been a very messy film ends up brilliantly crafted. The backstories of all the villains are handled well with some pretty sharp and clever dialogue. Parallels between events and histories of the characters are mentioned and dealt with in a way that forwards the main plot, while also working as a reminder for people who know of the other universes they are from. And yet, the writing is so well done that even if you don’t know who these characters are, you’re brought up to speed very quickly and it never feels intrusive or forced. The villains have little bits of banter between them that keeps the flow of the film moving, even when stopping to get all that exposition out of the way.

Tom Holland proves how great he really is in the role here. Having to deal with some pretty astounding action and fight scenes, while also conveying some heavy, raw emotion during some of the non-action scenes. There are moments in Spider-Man: No Way Home that really do hit home that this Peter Parker kid is just that, a kid. This could almost be seen as a ‘coming of age’ story as by the time the end credits roll, you really get the feeling that Peter Parker’s life has changed massively and the future of Spider-Man is blown way open. In fact, this feels more like a Peter Parker film than a Spider-Man one. There’s a definite evolution of the character here and I think it’ll be really interesting to see just what Sony and Marvel have in store for the web-slinger from this point onwards.

Everybody playing the villains here brings their A-game. Alfred Molina as Doc Ock is simply brilliant… but he is really blown off the screen by Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Seeing these two on screen together though is utter bliss. Not just in terms of acting, but their characters finally meeting after so many years is amazing. They are also the two of the five villains that really do move the plot forward.

Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman and Rhys Ifans’ The Lizard are characters that perhaps don’t get used as much as the other two and save for the final big fight, they really don’t have a great deal to do in terms of the main plot. Then there’s Jamie Foxx as Electro. When it comes to plot development, he’s more like the latter two villains, in that he doesn’t have as much to do as the former two. But he is also the funniest and the one that I couldn’t help but fall in love with quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s a useless comic foil, he actually kicks some serious bum-cheeks. But he is the funniest of the five and that really helped to make him very memorable.

For me, someone who really expected this to be a bit of a mess, I was impressed with just how tight Spider-Man: No Way Home was. Discounting the credits, the film has a runtime of around two-hours and fifteen minutes (give or take). I never felt that the film dragged in any way and the two-hour-plus runtime blisters along. Even when the film does ease up on its pacing, it never felt slow at all and this is most definitely well worth a watch.

Of course, there is a lot of fan-service as the nods and references come thick and fast. Some work well, some really do feel a bit forced, yet nothing ever derails the story of the film. There are two credit scenes. One kind of ties up an interesting development from another credit scene from another film… while also setting up a huge possibility. The second is really just a trailer for the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film coming next year.

With Spider-Man: No Way Home now released and plans for not only more Spider-Man in the MCU but also Sony creating a Spider-verse (Venom, Morbius and more)… there’s really a lot to look forwards to in terms of the Spider-Man character. But yeah, this film was great. A fantastic way to round off the trilogy, while opening up for so much more to come. Go watch it.

Will Avengers: Endgame Do A Bobby Ewing?

LBoM: Editorials

SPOILERS ahead for Avengers: Infinity War.

It’s been a long time coming. What Marvel Studios have crafted with their shared universe is nothing short of genius. Whether you like the films or not, you can’t help but admire the sheer amount of planning, writing and overall work put into it. From separate flicks to interconnected ones and sequels. Films from so many different writers and directors all coming together to form one huge multi-layered universe. In short, it’s really bloody impressive. And everything has been leading up to to this one movie – Avengers: Endgame will see the resolve to the whole Infinity Stones/Thanos story arch that begun a decade ago and after last year’s Avengers: Infinity War which left many people with their jaws on the floor – shit needs sorting out.

A lot of characters died in the last film… a lot. Some of them a shock, some of them no so much when you already know Marvel have planned films in advance… I’m looking at you Spider-Man. Still, the ending to Avengers: Infinity War has left a lot of fans theorising over exactly how the whole Thanos killing half the population of the entire universe is going to be resolved and how the many dead characters will return. And it’s one the most popular theories that is leaving me worried about Avengers: Endgame.

See this theory (click here for a full explanation) revolves around how and why Peter Parker is wearing the normal Spider-Man suit in the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer when the film is set after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Because Tony Stark gave Peter the Iron Spider suit which is far more advanced… so why isn’t Peter wearing the better suit?

Well the theory goes that what is left of the Avengers will somehow reverse time (possibly something to do with the Quantum Realm/Ant-Man and Captain Marvel) to an earlier point and stop Thanos or at least stop him from collecting the Gauntlet/Infinity Stones to begin with. No Thanos means no Infinity Gauntlet, no Infinity Stones, no clicky finger thing = no 50% of the universe are wiped out. Which also means Stark never needs to give Parker the Iron Spider suit… ergo, that’s why he does not have it in the new Spider-Man film. That’s the theory anyway.

You want to hear my theory? Well Peter Parker goes on an international school trip in Spider-Man: Far From Home, an international trip that involves going on an aeroplane. Which also means going though airports and airport security. Now, which do you think would be the easier of the suits to get through airport security? The normal Spider-Man suit or the Iron Spider one? Another theory could be he does have the Iron Spider suit, but you just don’t see it in the trailer but it will be in the film.

Of course there is one thing my theory does not explain… how the fuck is Peter Parker alive anyway when he most definitely was turned to dust by Thanos’ clicky finger thing? See this is where the turning back time thing holds some water. Again, Spider-Man: Far From Home takes place AFTER the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame and Spider-Man be dead at the end of Infinity War, but now he’s alive after these events?

So let’s just say that yes they do turn back time and yes they do stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Gauntlet/Stones (theory). So now everyone that died in Avengers: Infinity War can come back from the dead for (some of) Avengers: Endgame and subsequent films. I have a major issue with this because its lazy just writing. You can’t just hit the reset button after ten years of building to this entire event. All these flicks, all these characters, all these interweaving stories and plots… and they are just going to Booby Ewing it? Everything has been simmering away for a decade to reach this boiling point while Marvel have been carefully pre-planning each and every movie years in advance… only to say: “You know that whole Thanos murdering half of the population of the universe thing? Well it didn’t happen, in fact a lot of the events you have been emotionally invested in the last ten years didn’t happen… okay so technically they did but now we’re going to delete it so they didn’t.”

No, just no. You can’t do that to people who have invested hours up on hours into your movies – not to mention the cash fans have spent supporting this story line. It would be such a slap in the face if (IF) the time travel/stopping Thanos thing was the plot for Avengers: Endgame. Not just for the fans either as it’ll be cheating the characters in the film if they don’t have to deal with the repercussions of everything that happened in Avengers: Infinity War. Again, this is just a fan theory, maybe there will be no time travel at all? I hope not.

Still, I guess we’ll find out in a little over a month’s time when the film is released…

Killing Off A Superhero, Why Bother?

LBoM: Editorials

Before I even get into this one – there will be major SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War (and others) so If you’ve not seen it yet then stop reading now. Go watch the flick and then come back and read my rant…you have been warned.

Infinty War.jpg

Killing off a much loved character is always a gamble and when it comes to superheros, that gamble is tenfold. Avengers: Infinity War kills off a lot of characters…a lot. But before I get to that, I want to take a look at a certain other superhero death to put the point across as to why that superhero deaths are a lack of surprise.

Yes, I’m going to got into the deep, dark and depressing depths of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Such a fucking awful flick in which they kill off Superman at the end…except they really don’t. This whole thing was just such a cop out and pretty much anyone who saw it came out angry even if they enjoyed the film. The main reason for this is first, there is no way they would kill off Superman after only his second appearance and you feel as if the movie studio think you are stupid. Seriously, just forgetting the little but obvious hint at the end of the film that he wasn’t really dead – did anyone seriously believe they would kill off Superman after only two films? The shock does not work when its painfully obvious there is no shock there. Secondly and most importantly, they had not earned the right to kill off Superman. In order for a character’s death to mean something and resonate with the viewer you have to allow the audience to get to know the character first and with Superman that didn’t work because it was only the second film in the franchise.

You want to know how you kill off a popular superhero in a movie and have it mean something, have the people behind the death earn the right to kill a character off?

Logan Poster

Why it worked with Wolverine and not Superman is simply because the audience got to know and love the character over several years and movies. Seventeen years and nine movies of Hugh Jackman playing the same character gave us the viewer a chance to enjoy him and it really did hit hard when he was killed off in Logan. They earned the right to kill him off unlike Superman. I came out of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice laughing at how bad it was, not just the overall film but just the hackneyed and unsurprising way they killed Superman off that left a terrible taste in my mouth. I came out of Logan with a huge lump in my throat, feeling emotionally drained and yet strangely satisfied. It felt right.

This whole thing brings me to Avengers: Infinity War. As I said, lots of characters die in this one and most of them suffer from what I’m now calling “The Superman Syndrome”. Before the film’s release, a lot of people thought that either Captain America or Iron Man would be the ones to bite the bullet and yet they were some of the few to survive. I admit, its an interesting twist on the part of the film to not do what the fans were expecting. But by doing this, the film also suffers from The Superman Syndrome. If they won’t kill off the two main long running characters, it pretty much only leaves them with the newer ones, the ones we haven’t yet had chance to form the same bond with.

Infinity War Spider-Man

Pretty much the big death in the movie that people are talking about is Spider-Man…yes Spider-Man dies. Except just as with Superman from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice…we all know he wont be dead for long. We know this for two very good reasons. First, he died via Thanos’ clicky finger dissolving super-death move and every character who died that way will be back in the second part of the film (yes Avengers: Infinity War is a two parter). We already saw Thanos turn back time thanks to the Infinity Stones/Gauntlet during the whole Vision scene, plus Captain Marvel will be in the second part and she can and most probably will time travel (with the help of Ant-Man), then there is the whole Soul Stone thing – these little factors all add up to the fallen being brought back, we may not know exactly how yet…but we all know they are coming back.

EDIT: The Russo brothers have recently confirmed that Gamora is still alive trapped in the Soul stone. So her ‘permanent death’ is a moot point too.

Secondly there are more Spider-Man films planned. In fact a lot of the characters who die in that dissolving thingy-bob have future films planned in the MCU. Kind of ruins the whole shock factor when we know what they have planned eh? Just as with Superman’s ‘death’ in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – a movie that sets up the Justice League flick which everyone knew Superman would be part of, you can’t kill off Spider-Man and except people to believe it really is the end for the character. They also killed off Black Panther shortly after his solo flick that was a huge success and critically acclaimed, of course he’s not really dead. You’re fooling no one Marvel and the shock/surprise just does not work.

I’m not taking anything away from the Spider-Man death scene itself as the acting was great. Both Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr were fantastic in it. Just before I move on, Loki dies, Heimdall dies, Vision dies, Spider-Man dies…all played by British actors. Does Marvel have something against British actors? Back to the point, yeah the acting was brilliant but we know Spider-Man will be back and that takes a huge chunk away from the emotion of the scene. Compare this to the killing off of Wolverine in Logan – We knew it was the last film, we knew that Hugh Jackman wanted to retire the character and even though we all knew he would die at the end…it still hit us hard, we were still gobsmacked as James Howlett breathed his last and anyone who had watched the character grow though the films for almost twenty years felt something as he died. You just can not get that by killing off a massively popular character after only a handful of appearances.

They even kill off Nick Fury in the after credit scene, one of the originals and a death that really could’ve meant something…except he dies via Thanos’ clicky finger dissolving super-death move so we know he’ll be back. Just as DC didn’t earn to right to kill off Superman, Marvel also didn’t earn the right to kill off pretty much anyone who dies in Avengers: Infinity War.

Thanos

Of course there is another side to this coin, an argument that can be put forth that destroys every point I have just made. Yeah we the viewer may know Spider-Man and the rest will be back, we know that ultimately the Avengers and Co. will win and Thanos will fail in the second part of the picture…but the characters in the film don’t. Maybe this is where we are meant to draw our emotional connection from, not our own viewpoints and expectations as with Wolverine’s death in Logan but instead those of the characters in the flick. Spider-Man’s death didn’t work for me looking at it knowing that he will be back, knowing that the good guys will eventually win. But as I said, the acting was sublime and really lifted the scene as a whole. It was Peter Parker just being the teenage school boy he really is crying that he didn’t want to go, it was Tony Stark’s look of disbelief and abject failure as his protégé died in his arms that sold it.

Yeah, in the grand scheme, Spider-Man’s death is really nothing. But at the time, those few seconds, that acting and everything else? That was a Logan moment and one that will stay with me forever.

Great movie trailers

LBoM: Editorials

There is a massive online backlash over the trailer for the upcoming Ghostbusters remake… and it is a remake. It has become known as the most disliked movie trailer… ever.

I think the whole backlash is getting out of hand. I watched the trailer and thought it looked “okay” at best. There have most definitely been far worse movie trailers before. I admit that I have no desire to go and see the film though, but the trailer was not that bad.
But this got me thinking about trailers and how you can’t really judge a 2 hour film on a 2 minute clip. Let me look at another example: that last trailer for Batman v Superman made the film look amazing, when in fact the film was horrible. Trailers can be very misleading.

Then I got to thinking about movie trailers in general and some trailers I lovingly remembered sprang to mind.
So here, I’m going to take a look at some of my favourite movie trailers. Whether the film itself was any good or not isn’t important. I’m just going on the quality of the trailer and what is showed, how/why it was good. From simple teasers, full trailers to sheer master class examples on how to do an effective movie trailer.

Back To The Future: A great example on how to do an amazing teaser. Bearing in mind that when this was released, nobody knew anything about the film at all. It starts of with the household name of; Steven Spielberg and that alone is enough to get you hooked. Then its is this abstract collection of futuristic looking lights, wires, etc along with a few quick shots of the DeLorean itself. Before revealing the star of the film, Michael J Fox who seemingly disappears in flames while the rousing “Back in Time” from; Huey Lewis and the News plays in the background as the title of the film appears.

A great little trailer for a film that would go down in history as an all time classic.

Godzilla (1998): This one was released in 1997 when Jurassic Park fever was still quite high as it was the same year that The Lost World: Jurassic Park was released. In fact, many people believed this was a trailer for Jurassic Park 2 at the time. Its a clever, misleading teaser as The T-Rex was the big bad monster of movies then and hugely popular. The way the museum curator builds up and talks about the impressive stats of the T-Rex, only for it to be literally crushed by the foot of something even bigger. This teaser was a great way to have a little pop at Jurassic Park while promoting the up and coming new Godzilla flick. It showed us that the T-Rex may not be the king of movie monsters for much longer.

Brilliant little trailer, shame the film itself was not very good though.

Schindler’s List: What an stunning trailer. Pretty much silent, except for a few instances and some haunting music in the background. This one really hits home the horrors of the Holocaust without revealing too much of anything. A powerful and moving trailer for a film that was just as equally powerful and moving… nuff said.

This is how you do a trailer well.

The Shining: This one is very unnerving. You have big names like Stanley Kubrick, Jack Nicholson and Stephen King appear on screen all while some strange but wondrous music builds in the background. Yet we are just looking at a hallway with a pair of elevator doors at the end… and nothing else. Nothing appears to be happening, there is no action, we do not see any of the stars of the film as the music just keeps building and building. Its memorising and pulls you in as you can’t take your eyes off the screen as you wait for something to happen… an finally it does.

Kubrick, Nicholson, King. Who wouldn’t want to watch this film? This trailer is hugely effective, suspenseful and yet it shows nothing.

Spider-Man: The first teaser of the big budget Spider-Man film from Sam Raimi. This one is fairly controversial as it was quickly removed following the events of 9/11. A nice little action scene that got to showcase the new Spider-Man and didn’t contain any main footage from the film itself. Its quite heart pumping and offers an adrenaline rush. This one got me really looking forward to a Spider-Man film from one of my favourite directors.

An effective trailer that leaves a lasting impression and really got people talking… before 9/11 that is.

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: A great sense of humour with this one. The narrator’s build up as he describes cutting edge technology, millions of dollars budget, best animators in the world, etc. Just for it to cut to the crappy animation South Park is famed for while Cartman does his infamous “German dance”. Its a funny little trailer that really got people looking forward to the film.

Quite surprising the film came about while the TV show was still in its infancy. But this trailer got us South Park fans hyped.

The Exorcist: Wow, what a trailer. This one just shows some disturbing images of the film that flash up and really shows nothing of the film itself. Some interesting titbits about this one. It features the original score for the film before it was ultimately rejected from the final cut and the trailer was even pulled from cinemas as it was deemed too scary at the time. Just try to imagine watching this in a darkened cinema on the big screen…

One of my favourite films and a really unsettling trailer. Though, if I’m honest. I feel it goes on a little too long. I think this trailer would have been better if it was slightly shorter.

The Birds: Hitchcock was a master of his craft and this trailer proves just as much. Its more like a mini movie in itself coming in at just over 5 minutes long. Hitchcock takes us though interesting lecture about how we humans mistreat birds. Killing them, eating them, caging them, using them for trophies, etc. This is a wonderful little talk as Hitchcock beautifully uses the English language to paint a picture of why birds are the subject of his latest film and the whole thing is very calm. Then as Hitchcock goes to pet a caged bird, things take a disturbing twist…

I love me some Hitchcock and this is one of my all time favourite trailers and all without showing a single frame of the film. Hitch’s trademark dry humour is rampant in this one and really makes for a great watch. But he made an even better trailer just a few years before this one…

Psycho: Yes, Hitchcock again. Best film trailer EVER! Just like his; The Birds trailer, this one is like its own mini movie. We join Hitch as he takes us on a tour of the infamous Bates Motel and house. Hitch describes very specific events from the film, but still manages to hold back on any major spoilers. His marvellous wording as he covers the murder on the stairs, “the twisting of the… well I won’t dwell on it.”, is sublime. The way Hitch talks to the audience and give subtle nods and references, cheeky little winks as if he is tormenting you. “This picture has great significance because… lets go to cabin number 1”, arrrghhhhhhhh the teasing is almost unbearable. All leading up to a surprise in the shower…

My favourite trailer for one of my favourite films and based on one of my favourite books. Nobody does movie trailers better than Hitchcock. This trailer works brilliantly as a prologue as it just hints at pretty much every major scene in the film without telling us all the details. Then watch it after the film as an epilogue and you can see just how well crafted the trailer is and all the clues Hitch was hinting at.
Utterly sublime.

Well there you go, a few of my favourite trailers. But I have many more trailers I really enjoy, though nothing tops Psycho. I may cover more at a later date…

Captain America: Civil War

LBoM: Editorials

So I got around to watching the latest film from Marvel over the weekend. Avengers 3, I mean Captain America: Civil War…it’s Avengers 3 disguised as a Captain America sequel isn’t it?

Seeing as the last time I was at the cinema, it was to watch that god awful; Batman v Superman mess. I was not holding up much hope of being impressed by yet another “vs comic book movie”. Because, let’s be honest. This is basically Captain America vs Iron Man.

I’m going to avoid major spoilers here, but there may be the odd mini spoiler along the way.
So what did I think of the flick?

Well first, lets take a quick look at the plot.
So why are Captain America and Iron Man fighting each other? Well, it seems that the government wish to control the Avengers after the death and destruction they have caused via events in the previous films. Headed by U.S. Secretary of State; Thaddeus Ross, the United Nations are preparing to pass something called the Sokovia Accords, this will establish an international governing body to oversee and control the Avengers. The team are divided. Tony Stark supports the idea as he feels responsible for the creation of Ultron and Sokovia’s destruction from Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as feeling responsible for a lot of the other damage the Avengers are being blamed for. While Steve Rodgers believes he would be better using his own judgement and the Avengers should remain free from government interference and is against signing.

This causes tension between Stark and Rodgers. Later in Vienna where the Sokovia Accords are set to be approved. A bomb goes off and security footage indicates that bomber is none other than Steve Rodgers’ old friend, Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier). A manhunt ensues as the government want Barnes dead, but Rodgers wants to help his old friend and keep him alive. This causes Steve Rodgers to be seen as the enemy as he becomes rouge and is now working outside of the law. The Avengers split and chose their side between Iron Man and Captain America.

And there is the basic set up to the beef between the Captain America and Iron Man.
There is much more to the plot than that, but I don’t want to spoil too much and just want to cover the basics as there are some nice surprises along the way.

There is a huge cast here. All of the main Avengers are back with the exception of Thor and Hulk, though Hulk does pop up in archive footage. Still, while two of the main Avengers are missing, some new (and old) faces make very welcome appearances. Now joining the crew we have Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) as well as Ant-Man making his second appearance after his solo film.
And that’s about it for the new additions to the team, except for somebody else, though I forget who now…

Yes, Spider-Man is back at his rightful home of Marvel after his miserable purgatory that was Sony Pictures.

This time around, they have cast the role more aptly by hiring young Tom Holland to play the iconic Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Yes, no more 30 year olds pretending to be teenagers. Tom nailed Peter/Spider-Man perfectly and is the best part of the film. His young age and look really does work well and makes for a believable character, he is supposed to be a teenager and that is exactly how he is written and acted. As this is the first time he really gets to be Spider-Man, he is portrayed as being nervous, he makes stupid mistakes but all the while, he has that trademark Spider-Man humour all the way through.

Its a shame he is only in the film for a few minutes. He has a great scene where he is first hired by Tony Stark to join his team and then he shows up for the big fight between the two factions. So he’s not in the film too much, but what little screen time he has is well spent. Really got me looking forward to the stand alone Spider-Man film coming next year. Honestly, for me, Tom Holland stole the entire film.

Oh, and about that big fight between team Iron Man and team Captain America…it’s awesome. Beautifully shot with so much going on and so many characters all interacting with each other. It never gets confusing as to who is doing what to do or where they are doing it. Its a huge and visually impressive fight scene that features so many superheroes but it never gets lost in itself and its really the centre piece of the entire film.

I don’t want to say too much as I’m trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can, just go watch the film.

The film is good, but it does have a few problems. I felt it was a slow starter and the first 40 odd mins seem to drag and weighed down with too much politics. It also jumps around the globe a bit too much, we are in Serbia in 1991, then we are in Lagos, now we are in America, quick go to London, then Vienna, Berlin, Bucharest, etc. I quite honestly got lost as to where we were and why were we there as it just keeps jumping from locale to locale every few minutes. To be honest, my gripes with this film are really, really minor.

The critics are lapping this one up right now. Its currently sitting on a 91% rating on rottentomatoes.com with many reviewers calling the film “the best superhero movie ever”.
I certainly enjoyed this, but “best superhero movie ever”? I’m not sure about that.

A good, enjoyable film with a great sense of humour running through it, along with some more emotional and character moments too. Really worth making the effort to watch this on the big screen if you can. If Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is the disease, then Captain America: Civil War is the cure. This is how you do a good vs comic book film.

Spider-Man:: “Hey guys, you ever see that really old movie, Empire Strikes Back?”

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