Bringing It Home

I’ll confess to a tinge of worry when I headed out to see Spider-Man: No Way Home, the final installment of the trilogy Tom Holland had committed to make playing the Marvel character. I remember Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man 3, a movie so bad that the recent animated entry in the canon, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse lampooned its street dancing sequences. Worse, Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man was so-so in the first film, not so amazing in the second, and didn’t get a chance at a third entry. Overall, Into the Spider-verse was the best incarnation, and it’s now getting a sequel, but the first two Tom Holland films were close behind. And the end of Far From Home, with Peter Parker’s secret identity exposed while being cast as a villain by Mysterio/Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), set up a huge cliffhanger. That the news was delivered by none other than J.K. Simmons reprising his wonderful J.J. Jameson from the McGuire films gave it a completely gonzo feel. How do you pay that moment off with the third film and not disappoint fans?

One thing Marvel is, well, marvelous at, is paying off those huge moments, and making those moments pay off at the box office. They’ve also showed how wonderful it can be to intertwine characters from different series. It’s hard to remember now that, before Avengers, that had never happened. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, each had their own world in films, even though in the actual comics they’d been showing up in each other’s narratives for decades. Part of the problem was contractual.  Marvel sold the rights for Spider-Man and the X-Men to Columbia and 20^th Century Fox, respectively. Warners had both Batman and Superman, but they were separated by time. The Christopher Reeve films were in the ‘70s and had faded by the time Batman hit the screens in 1989. The Christopher Nolan “Dark Knight” trilogy was out when Warners tried to reintroduce Superman with Brandon Routh, but he wasn’t super enough to fly anywhere near the level Nolan set.

With Marvel Entertainment, though, you didn’t have a separate studio purchasing a character in order to make a film. From the beginning, Marvel used the individual films to build toward The Avengers, teasing it from the very first post-credit scene in Ironman. It also allowed for crossovers in the series, like Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier or the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok. Captain America: Civil War was essentially another Avengers film with a full contingent of Marvel superheroes represented. It has made for an incredible string of box office hits and a massive fan base. (DC attempt to creating their own larger film universe, but their attempts have varied wildly in quality and level of success.)

The purchase of Marvel by Disney only increased Marvel’s power, leading to the repatriation of the characters Marvel had sold off when they were in dire financial circumstances. 20^th Century was outright bought by Disney, returning the rights for The X-Men and The Fantastic Four to Marvel. Judging by the quality of the recent entries in those series, it happened not a minute too soon. Best though was Columbia deciding to  unite with Marvel for the recent Spider-Man films. Having Tony Stark as a mentor for Peter Parker put Homecoming on a different level, and that continued in Far From Home with Happy Hogan, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill. You could say say, though, that Tony Stark remained a major presence for that film as well as Peter dealt with the loss of his mentor and friend. So for the ending of the series, Marvel decided to go BIG. Spider-Man: No Way Home doesn’t just a wrap-up for the Tom Holland era, but the past 20 years of Spider-Man films.

The movie begins exactly where Far From Home ended with Peter and MJ (Zendaya) watching as Beck frames Peter, with Jameson now cast as a tabloid news show talking head. They rush home to Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and Happy (Jon Favreau), with Ned (Jacob Batalon) joining them as news choppers and crowds surround the building. Soon they’re taken into custody by the shadowy Department of Damage Control, but are eventually released with the help of a local lawyer, Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox, in a wonderful shout-out to the Marvel/Netflix series). Still, Peter, MJ, and Ned have to deal with the public, some who support Spider-Man while others view him as a villain. When MJ and Ned suffer consequences because of Peter, he turns for help to Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Sorcerer Supreme.

At Peter’s request, Doctor Strange attempts a spell that would wipe Peter’s secret identity from the minds of everyone in the world. When he realizes that that would mean MJ, May, and Ned would no longer know him, Peter interferes with the spell, trying to carve out exceptions. Instead of wiping people’s memories, it opens a portal to the Multiverse, drawing to this Peter’s reality the villains who fought the other incarnations of Spider-Man: Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), and the Lizard (Rhys Ifans). When Peter learns that in their own worlds, each of them had died while fighting their Spider-Man, he refuses to let Strange return them to their fates, seeking instead some way to help them. Then MJ and Ned discover that Strange’s spell has also brought Peter some unexpected assistance.

No Way Home benefits from having the same main creative team as the first two films, with Jon Watts in the directing chair and a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers who, along with the Spider-Man films, also wrote Ant-Man and the Wasp and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. One thing that separated the Tom Holland version from the earlier two was a healthy infusion of comedy along with the awkwardness and enthusiasm of a high schooler. While some of that remains, it’s tamped down by the seriousness of the situation. No Way Home does have weaknesses. It goes out of its way to echo a major plot point of the previous two incarnations, and it could have used trimming of some scenes near the end that linger too long, though some fans may appreciate the time given for goodbyes.

But those are minor points in comparison to the feat of assembling all the prior characters, each played by the original actor, and melding them into an effective and compelling story. The bittersweet ending is true to the character, showing the great responsibility that comes with great power. Other than the animated films, it’s unlikely we’ll get another live-action Spider-Man any time in the near future. And that’s all right. The series wound up spectacularly, while still keeping its heart in the right place.

Bad and Good Timing

Usually when a film has “Director’s Cut” in the title, it’s not the first time it has received wide distribution. Recutting a film is a way to further capitalize on a successful film through rentals, streaming, or occasionally through the re-release of that new version in theaters. It can also be a way to right a wrong when a studio has chopped up the original, such as with Once Upon A Time in America or Apocalypse Now Redux. However, the release of The Current War: Director’s Cut was unusual in the extreme.

The original version of the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 on September 9^th. Despite an excellent cast and production pedigree, the film was panned as dull and only averaged a critical score of 31 out of 100. Still, the Weinstein Company (TWC) planned to release it in November. But then, in October 2017, the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal was broken wide open by writers at the New York Times and the New Yorker. Everything in the production pipeline at TWC was put on hold, including The Current War, even though it was in the can. Two years later, Weinstein is out on a million dollars bail while he awaits trial on multiple charges, and his eponymous company is no more, having restructured under the name Lantern Entertainment. Lantern owned The Current War for a while, then sold the film to 101 Studios, a new company founded by David Glasser who was the long-time COO of TWC.HaHar

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon began his career as a production assistant for Martin Scorsese, then worked his way through multiple jobs, including as a 2^nd Unit Director for Argo and State of Play as well as producing and directing work in TV (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”). In 2015 he directed the well-received Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The Current War was to be his follow-up. After the film’s purchase by 101, he convinced the company to allow him to re-edit the film and shoot some new footage, but then they discovered Lantern had given Martin Scorsese rights to the final cut of the film. Gomez-Rejon convinced his old boss to let him make the changes, but that is why it bears the tag “Director’s Cut.”

The story deals with the magical time of innovation and change in the late 19^th Century. Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) has created the viable light bulb and now envisions electrifying homes throughout the country. He, along with his wife Mary (Tuppence Middleton), his children, and his assistant Samuel Insull (Tom Holland), travel to Washington to meet with both the president and someone even more powerful, J.P. Morgan (Matthew Macfadyen). On the return trip via private train to New Jersey, they’re scheduled to stop for dinner and a meeting with George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) and his wife and partner Marguerite (Katherine Waterston). Edison, though, feels the family’s too tired and orders the train to head straight home. The train blows through the station, leaving the Westinghouses standing on the platform.

Westinghouse is determined to be the one to bring electricity to the country, though through a different path than Edison. Edison wants to use DC (direct current) to accomplish the goal, but it requires a generator every mile and the individual wiring of houses into the system, creating a spider’s web of wires. Westinghouse sees the benefits of AC (alternating current) which can be transmitted hundreds of miles, though the amperage can make it dangerous if not properly handled. Into the conflict between the men is thrust a wild card: Nikola Tesla, the brilliant futurist who is first employed by Edison but eventually allies himself with Westinghouse.

Gomez-Rejon ended up cutting ten minutes off the running time of The Current War with his re-edit, leaving it at a sleek 101 minutes. Along with the reshoots, it made a huge difference. The critical average score almost doubled, while the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is twenty points higher at a respectable 79. The actors are excellent in their roles, particularly Shannon’s subtle but sharp portrayal of Westinghouse. Tuppence Middleton’s Mary Edison is memorable and moving. Sadly, though, the character who gets the short straw is Tesla. Hoult’s performance is superficial, and the film doesn’t do justice to the character. (I much prefer David Bowie’s take on Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s twisty magician story, The Prestige. There is one fun connection between the two movies – the older version of Edison’s son Dash is played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy Serkis, who played Tesla’s assistant in The Prestige.)

I love history, and within the confines of an entertaining movie, The Current War does get a lot of it right. The climax of the film is set at an incredible reproduction of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition, known colloquially as “The White City.” Hopefully we’ll see more of this soon, as pre-production has started on adapting Eric Larson’s bestselling nonfiction book, “The Devil In The White City,” with Leonardo Di Caprio as the devil – mass murderer Dr. H.H. Holmes. But The Current War deals with the more brilliant aspects of that exhibition, as well as brilliant men. It’s well worth watching.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Note: If you’re one of the two or three people in the world who haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame, be aware that this review contains spoilers.

Like a teenager, Marvel Entertainment has been going through phases. Phase 1 began with the first Marvel movie, Iron Man, and continued through the first Avengers film. Phase 2 ran from Iron Man 3 through Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. Captain America: Civil War began Phase 3, leading up to a climax – and changing of the guard – with Avengers: Endgame, which is $15 million away from displacing Avatar at the top of the all-time international box office list, last time I checked. While it’s officially the kick-off for Phase 4, I’d count Spider-Man: Far From Home as Phase 3.5, since it is suffused with a sense of melancholia as Peter Parker deals with the loss of his mentor Tony Stark.

After Thanos’s snap was reversed, the half of the world’s population that dissolved into ashes at the end of Infinity War suddenly blinked back into existence exactly where they’d been, as if nothing had happened. (Apparently exceptions were made for all those who were in airplanes of on ships at sea, etc., when the snap happened.) For everyone else, five years has passed. As far as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and others in his High School like Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), the country handles it by essentially ignoring what they now call “the Blip.” If you were a junior in high school when you disappeared in the Blip, you come back as a junior in high school, though half of the class were sixth-graders when you vanished. After finishing their year, Peter plans to head to Europe with a group of his school friends, chaperoned by two of their teachers. He’s hoping the trip will give him a chance to express his feelings for MJ.

Before he leaves, Peter appears as Spider-Man at a charity event emceed by Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) shows up with one of those 2’x3’ checks, a donation from Stark Enterprises, though his real attraction to the event may be May. While there, Peter receives a call from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Intimidated by the former head of SHIELD, Peter lets the call go to voicemail.

We’ve already seen the reason for Fury’s call. He and Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders) had come to a South American town that’s been pretty much destroyed by what the locals described as a cyclone with a face. While there the cyclone reappears, and Fury and Hill only have small weapons with which to fight. But then a man in a superhero costume appears in a swirl of green smoke to fight the monster.

Peter keeps refusing to talk to Fury, but Fury isn’t one to let Peter off easy. Instead he shows up at the group’s first itinerary stop – Venice – and recruits Peter directly, taking him to a cellar in the city where Fury has set up shop. There Peter meets Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a superhero from a different version of Earth who was brought to this earth by a rip in the universe caused by the snaps. Beck explains that he wasn’t the only refugee to end up on earth. Four monsters, called Elementals, who had destroyed Beck’s home version of Earth, were also sucked through as well. Now Fury needs Spider-Man to work with Beck to fight the Elementals. After seeing him in action, the others on Peter’s trip christen Beck Mysterio.

Jon Watts is back in the director’s chair, after the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, again working from an excellent script provided by Chris McKenna. Between the two Spider-Man movies, McKenna also wrote Ant-Man and the Wasp as well as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, so even before Far From Home opened the movies he’s written have brought in about $2.5 Billion dollars. Watts and McKenna have created a roller-coaster ride around Europe with a story that moves at breakneck speed. Yet they also pay homage to the roots of the Spider-Man comics: Mysterio has appeared there for decades, first in the 13^th volume in 1964.

Holland gives a deeper and a bit darker performance, still reeling from the events of Infinity War/Endgame, but if Homecoming dealt with coming to grips with his power, Far From Home focuses on the next step, finding his place in the world and taking on responsibility. In a real way, Tony Stark is the Uncle Ben character for this Spider-Man. Batalon’s Ned is as delightful as in the first movie, and Zendaya gets to move from the periphery to center stage, and do some kicking of ass as well. Gyllenhaal sells his role beautifully, and it’s a delight to see him enter the Marvel Universe. (Now he has super-hero cred like his sister, Maggie.)

Ever since Fury first showed up after the credits in Iron Man (where we first heard of the Avengers Initiative), Marvel has used the post-credit scenes as either a final comedic moment, such as Captain America’s final taped appearance in Homecoming, or to set up the next movie, like the early appearances of Thanos. Far From Home has both mid-credits and post-credits scenes, and they are not to be missed as they turn expectations upside down. There’s also an appearance by a Spider-Man character from an earlier version of the story.

One side note: the trailers for Far From Home have all included scenes that don’t appear in the final version. They were likely deleted because of the run time, but usually you only discover them in the extras on the Blu-Ray release.

To Infinity – And Beyond!

And so, after 18 movies over the course of 10 years, we come to the end of the current Marvel Universe. It’s all been leading up to Avengers: Infinity War, with teaser appearances by big bad Thanos (Josh Brolin) salted through several of the previous movies. There was a certain amount of peril inherent in this strategy. What if Thanos didn’t measure up on the big screen? What if the climax proved anticlimactic?

The good news is Infinity War truly adds an exclamation point to the previous films. While a Marvel film is a hugely collaborative endeavor with plenty of oversight from producer and Marvel president Kevin Feige, along with Marvel’s owner, the Walt Disney Company, they do balance involvement with allowing their directors and screenwriters to breathe. Infinity War benefits from having Anthony and Joe Russo in the director’s chair – well, chairs. The brothers had worked on TV shows like “Arrested Development,” “Happy Endings,” and “Community,” along with films like Welcome to Collinwood and You, Me, and Dupree, before helming one of the best Marvel movies, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and following it up with the equally exciting Captain America: Civil War. They’ve shown an ability to tap into emotional truth and convey complex plots while still making an exciting and engrossing film.

Infinity War boasts the full roster of Marvel movie superheroes with two exceptions – Antman and Hawkeye. The massive cast could have created a headache for anyone trying to follow the story. However, Marvel veterans Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who wrote all three Captain America movies, as well as created “Agent Carter” for TV) subdivide the cast and the action. The story shifts between several locations – some familiar, some new – with a contingent of the cast in each locale. Think of a large, succulent steak dinner sliced up into bite-size pieces, and you’ll get the idea.

I won’t go into any specifics of the plot, since there’s too great a chance for spoilers – that is, if you happen to be one of the few people who haven’t seen the movie yet. It blew up the records for opening weekend gross for both domestic and international box office. It has been mentioned in the past, though, that Infinity War represented the end of the series of movies over the past decade, meaning that no character had their future assured. Markus and McFeely underscore that in the very first scene.

There had been some criticism of Josh Brolin’s Thanos, based on his brief appearances in the other films. Some thought the embodiment was cartoonish (you could say). However, those concerns are squashed in the opening scene of Infinity War. What’s unexpected, though, is the fine performance Brolin gives, even beneath the CGI embodiment. While he’s an obsessed madman on a galactic scale, there are moments of aching sadness and signs of humanity – hopelessly twisted, but humanity all the same – deep within him.

The main characters are well-established now, but there are standouts in the movie. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man started the whole Marvel Universe, but he had his best turn as the character in Captain America: Civil War. The screenwriters build on that experience as he is faced with a devastating loss. Tom Holland is one of the newest members of the Universe, yet his Spiderman is a pivotal part of the story. Thor: Ragnarok was a huge success for Chris Hemsworth a few months ago, and that movie sets up a large part of the arc of Infinity War’s story as he goes through the classic heroic plot of recreating himself to face a greater threat than he’s ever faced before.

The trailer I’ve attached does feature one scene that doesn’t appear in the movie. That’s often a negative for films – think Twister – though in this case it was important to keep a plot point hidden. (When you see the movie, you’ll understand,) While you have to be aware to catch it, Markus and McFeely have also answered what happened to the Red Skull after the climax of Captain America: The First Avenger.

Marvel has turned tags at the end of their movies into an art form, and they usually feature two these days, though Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was greedy and included six. Some are just fun, such as the last tag of Spider-man: Homecoming, but others build toward the next film or films. Infinity War has only one tag at the very end of the credits, but it’s a doozey, and leads directly to two films next year: Captain Marvel, with Brie Larson as the titular hero, and the still-untitled Avengers 4.

The only problem is, now we must wait a year.

The Third Time Is The Charm

Rebooting a series with a reworked cast can cause problems, especially when it’s the third time. Most movie lovers try to forget when George Clooney pulled on the black cowl of Batman (and the infamous nipple breastplate) after Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer hung up their capes. Batman and Robin was not a high point in the history of cinema, or in Clooney’s career, either. Thankfully he did Out of Sight the next year and never looked back. With the Spider-man franchise, Tobey Maguire was good in the first two films and then completely self-immolated in the third, while Andrew Garfield was okay in the first but couldn’t save the mess of a sequel. Sony Pictures had changed the name to the Amazing Spider-man, but neither of those films lived up to that promise. I might have skipped Spider-man: Homecoming if not for the introduction of the reboot in Captain America: Civil War. Tom Holland was delightful in the role, and having Marisa Tomei as a non-geriatric Aunt May was a bold and welcome change. (Imagine Robert Downey Jr. hitting on Rosemary Harris. Have you clawed your eyes out yet?)

Marvel sold the rights to the character to Sony, as they had the X-Men to Fox. In the short term, it was a financial help to the company as it transitioned from print comic books into the media powerhouse it’s become. But it meant they couldn’t control a product that they knew intimately. Now Sony (under its Columbia brand) has wisely returned the webslinger to Marvel in a co-production deal, and it has paid off handsomely with a $100 Million plus opening weekend, an 8.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb (the best of any film in the series), and a rejuvenated character that outshines all five previous movies.

Homecoming is literally true. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield spent their time swinging around Manhattan, since it has all those lovely skyscrapers. Spider-man: Homecoming returns the character to Queens, Peter Parker’s home in the comics. He’s back to being your friendly, neighborhood Spider-man. The “bit by a radio-active (or genetically modified) spider” backstory is dispensed with in a couple of sentences. The production team also put him in a realistic high school, populated with characters that look like they belong there. With Tom Holland you have an actor who is only a couple of years separated from those High School days himself, much closer than either Maguire or Garfield were when they did the role. Finally, the film takes a classic Spider-man villain – The Vulture – and generates a compelling backstory for him.

The story begins in the rubble left by the Avengers fight against the alien invasion of Manhattan. A salvage company run by Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) wins a contract to collect the alien technology that litters the scene following the battle. However, they’re soon shut down by the government after they decide to do the collection themselves in partnership with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Toomes decides to keep the tech they’ve already recovered and, with the help of the Tinkerer (Michael Chernus), turn it into black-market weapons. One thing created is a set of self-propelled set of wings that allows Toomes to fly, turning him into the Vulture.

Fast-forward to 2016 and the events of Captain America: Civil War. We see Peter Parker (Holland) recruited by Stark and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and transported to Germany for the airport battle, but our viewpoint is Peter’s video diary filmed on his phone. Following the battle, Peter returns home ready to do great things, but he’s ignored by Stark and Happy. He does his own small-scale heroics – and posts videos on the internet – but mostly he’s stuck in High School purgatory. He’s obsessed with the beautiful senior Liz (Lauren Harrier); he’s tormented by Flash (Tony Revolori), a nerd like Peter but one whose father’s bank account is large enough to make him cool; and he hangs with his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) while the sardonic Michelle (Zendaya) watches unimpressed. Things change when Peter runs across a robbery team (wearing Avengers masks) using the alien tech provided by Toomes. When Happy ignores Peter’s request for help, Peter decides to track down who’s providing the tech on his own.

Normally the more writers on a project, the worse it turns out, since they have a tendency to muddle the focus. Three writing teams contributed to the screenplay, though the primary team that also has story credit is Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Their milieu has been comedy, with the Horrible Bosses movies being their biggest hits, and they bring a cockeyed viewpoint to the story that serves it well. Daley is mostly been known as an actor, starting with “Freaks and Geeks” and spending almost a decade on “Bones” as psychiatrist Lance Sweets, but with more scripts like this that will change. One delightful bit is having the school use corny PSAs recorded by Captain America in the gym class and detention. “I know that technically he’s classified as a terrorist now,” the bored gym teacher says, “but the administration says show these, so I’ll show them.” Beyond the humor, though, the screenwriters know you need a powerful villain, and the action needs to keep flowing. They deliver on both.

Director Jon Watts also has a resumé heavy on comedy, including directing the Onion News Network. But then as his first feature film he made Cop Car, a mean little thriller starring Kevin Bacon. The set pieces on the Staten Island Ferry and at the Washington Monument are thrilling, but they’re also woven into the whole fabric of the film.

It’s a particular delight to watch Keaton. Ever since Night Shift, he’s been inventive and interesting on screen, even in lesser roles. After a long season out of the spotlight, he’s now come roaring back. With Vulture, he matches the effectiveness of Jack Nicholson’s Joker without the over-the-top schtick.

Homecoming’s almost two-and-a-quarter-hour running time flies by. This is a movie you could easily watch several times and be entertained at every viewing. The first time, though, make sure you stay until for the final tag after the credits. It is arguably the funniest one ever for a Marvel movie.

Captain America Rises

Of all the superhero series that have filled the screens of theaters – and filled the seats as well – the most pleasant surprise for me has been Captain America. The first movie, Captain America: The First Avenger, had a tinge of nostalgia that you don’t usually find in the genre, with the origin story set during WWII. It also had a compelling and semi-tragic love story between Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter; not many superhero movies leave you with a tear in your eye. Then came Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the best Marvel movie to date. So I was primed for Captain America: Civil War.

The movie was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the brother team who helmed Winter Soldier and who’ve been tagged to take over for Josh Whedon for the next Avengers movies, the two-part Infinity War. The script, based on the classic story by Mark Millar (who also wrote the base stories for Kick-Ass, Wanted, and Kingsman: The Secret Service), was adapted by Christopher Markus and Steven McFeely who’d done the previous Captain movies and are also doing Infinity War. While they each may not be Christopher Nolan, as a team they come pretty close.

As a result of an operation run in Lagos, Nigeria by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Sam Wilson aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) that causes a large number of civilian casualties, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (John Hurt) delivers an ultimatum from the United Nations to the Avengers: submit to oversight by that organization or be declared outlaws. He has an ally in Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who’s racked by guilt from the Ultron affair.

Rogers sees the other side, that political interference could prevent them from being effective or doing what they see needs to be done. Wilson supports him and they refuse to attend the signing of the accord. But then the conference is attacked and it appears to be the work of the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Rogers believes Bucky is being framed, and with the help of Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Rogers tries to save his friend. But there is much going on behind the scenes with a mysterious player named Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) pulling strings in the background while pursuing his own agenda.

After several movies each, the main actors wear their characters as comfortably as their costumes. One of the pleasures of Civil War is the new kids on the block. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) joins Team Cap and brings a welcome dose of snarky humor. For Team Iron Man there’s Spiderman (Tom Holland). The character has finally been repatriated to Marvel after fourteen years at Sony and five great to awful films, and Holland gives me hope the upcoming Spiderman movie will be the former rather than the later. Best of all though is Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who’s out for revenge after his father is killed at the conference. Boseman is a powerful actor as he proved with 42 and Get On Up. Where superhero movies are often operatic in their emotions, Boseman dials it way down, which makes his performance all the more compelling. His own stand-alone movie has been announced for 2018, and I’m already looking forward to it.

It’s fun to see the consistency of the Marvel Universe. They brought back William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross, the character he played in 2008 in The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton. They also again have John Slattery as the older version of Howard Stark, a role he began in Iron Man II.

I’ve mentioned in previous reviews how hard it is to make a good third movie in a series. Lord of the Rings managed it by pretty much filming all three as one movie, and it had the benefit of having a trilogy as its basis. Even when the third is done well, the second movie is often the stronger. Nolan ran into that with The Dark Knight, which still is the pinnacle of the superhero movie genre. The Dark Knight Rises was excellent and a fitting conclusion for the trilogy Nolan planned, but it will always be overshadowed by The Dark Knight. The same goes for Star Wars. Return of the Jedi was a decent final chapter for the original trilogy, but it couldn’t match The Empire Strikes Back. About the only time the third movie in a series was better was Revenge of the Sith, but then it didn’t have far to go to outshine episodes 1 & 2.

Civil War falls into the same slot. It’s thrilling, has a deeper plot than most superhero movies, the acting’s first-rate, and it builds to a satisfying climax, but it couldn’t top Winter Soldier. So hang your expectations at the door and simply enjoy it for what it is, a really good movie.