X-Men Apocalypse: Extinction is Coming!

Non-Spoiler Review by contributing writer Michelle Chee:

This latest movie featuring the mutant superheroes of Marvel is actually the 9th of the X-Men series, with the latest few dealing with how the X-Men founders Professor X and Magneto first establish the Xavier school for gifted children and how they found the first few mutants to join the school, including characters like Beast and Mystique. Looking back, it seems like just yesterday that the first X-Men film was released in the year 2000.

In this latest installment, we see several new additions to the cast, like Tye Sheridan as a young Cyclops, Olivia Munn as Psylocke, Sophie Turner ( famous for playing Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones) as a young Jean Grey, Alexandra Shipp as Storm and Kodi Smit McPhee as Nightcrawler. Reprising their roles are James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystiqe, Nicholas Hoult as Beast and Rose Byrne as Moira McTaggert.

As you may have guessed, there’s a new villain in town and he goes by the name ‘En Sabah Nur’ (No, he doesn’t come from East Malaysia). En Sabah Nur is played by an almost unrecognizable Oscar Isaacs. If you think that the name rings a bell, it’s because he has a part in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Yup, you guessed it right; it’s Poe Dameron, in a more sinister role.

This time, the villain is an ancient mutant who has the ability to transfer his consciousness to other mutants and absorb their power. Through this he becomes nearly invincible and proclaims himself a God in ancient Egypt, amassing numerous worshippers. Unfortunately, his followers betray him and he ends up buried for thousands of years. In a chance encounter, CIA agent Moira McTaggert witnesses his resurrection in 1983.The news of his awakening also reach Professor Xavier and the rest of the X-Men who become entangled in his plan for world domination. En Sabah Nur then begins gathering four followers akin to the Biblical Four horsemen, God’s angels of doom.

En Sabah Nur is convinces them that as beings with superior strength, mutants should rule over the mortals, and therefore begins his destructive plans.

En Sabah Nur with his leading ladies, Storm (left) and Psylocke.

The Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) and yours truly were given exclusive invites to watch this movie prior to its official release and the experience was a real treat. Firstly, the CGI was amazing and all the action sequences were on point, albeit brief. Without giving too much away, you’ll get to see more of the backgrounds of certain characters and something pivotal happens in Magneto’s life that heavily impacts his future choices.

The younger and newer cast members deliver very convincing performances as they portray younger versions of key X-men characters who are struggling to control their powers and how they appear reluctant to use their full potential at first. We see the first signs of how Jean Grey begins to feel the Phoenix developing inside her, and how the rest lived before they joined the X-men, including being forced to fight in a cage:

Contrary to what may be portrayed in the trailers, the movie isn’t all serious action. There are plenty of lighthearted and humorous moments courtesy of Kurt Wagner or Nightcrawler and Quicksilver, who has the best punchlines of them all. The movie has received mixed reviews from various parties, but if you’re an X-man fan this movie really does a fair job of moving the plot along in the ongoing saga. Of course, there are several interesting cameos to look out for in the movie, including the ever present Stan Lee and a certain fellow with steel claws. Also, try to stay after the credits are done for a sneak peek at what’s coming next.

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SPOILER Review by contributing writer Xavier Fong.

I'm a huge Marvel fan and for the next few years, we're going to have a ton of Superhero movies coming our way! Be it the amazing Marvel Cinematic Universe, the sub-par (yes, I still think the DC movies are kinda sucky) DC Universe, or even the Fox X-Men Universe, I'll go for these movies regardless.

The only few Fox superhero movies I liked so far would be Deadpool (The BEST ever!), X-Men: First Class, and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Please don't get me started on the horrendous 3 Fantastic Four movies, or even the X-Men Trilogy and the two stupid Wolverine movies... Those deserve to be dumped on a deserted road, run over by a bulldozer, burn with fire, and sent to the depths of Lucifer's domain... I think even Lucifer would get nightmares watching these movies.

So yup, I never had any high hopes when it comes to the X-Men movie franchise as almost every installment is an overload of redundant and under developed characters, so-so plot and storyline, and way too confusing and jumpy timeline due to reboots and re-casting and revisiting...

Sad to say, after two successful movies - (First Class and Days of Future Past), Bryan Singer has once again gone back to the drawing board with the ever crowded, loosely and under developed characters, average storyline and confusing timeline...

I'm not saying that this is an entirely bad movie or even a good movie. It was entertaining and at it has its moments, but at the end of the movie, you’d be asking yourself, “So… ummm… What happens now?”

So… If you don’t want the spoilers, skip right ahead to the end to see my final score. Without further ado… Let’s get started with the review!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!

We are first given a brief history lesson and introduction on the existence of the titular character of the movie – Apocalypse, who is about ready to transfer his consciousness to another mutant to maintain his immortality. We are taken right back thousands of years ago to the beginning of the first mutant - the En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse), who is being escorted to the base of the pyramid for the transition process, guarded by his four Horsemen – maybe some hardcore X-Men comic book fans might know these characters, but sadly, they were not given a proper introduction to whom they might be. The Egyptians rebelled while the transition process was taking place, destroying the pyramid’s support pillars, hence sacrificing their lives to once and for all destroy “The False God” and his four horsemen.

Editor: If keen to know more about Apocalypse in the biblical times, check out this timeline on the official website.

The movie then picks up 10 years after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Xavier’s School of Gifted Children now has a lot more students after Mystique’s heroic deed by stopping Magneto from killing the President of United States on live worldwide television. Mystique is now travelling everywhere saving mutants from human slavery, in this case – Nightcrawler who is forced to fight Angel in some underground brawl. Meanwhile Magneto as Erik is trying to live a normal life as a father and husband while working at a machinery factory in Poland.

To put things simple, Apocalypse was awaken after thousands of years of slumber and his sole mission is to once again be the supreme ruler of the world where mutants would rule over mankind. That being said, he recruited his new horsemen in the most boring, non-impactful, and non-sensible way ever. This brings about the X-Men to once again team-up with former friends and enemies, and suit up to save the world from Apocalypse.

The development of existing characters were close to none, as most of them were returning for the sake of returning. Nothing much has developed on Mystique, Beast or even Professor X in this movie. The only character with a little more development would be Magneto as he is trying Professor X’s way on trying to live as a normal human being and co-exist with the human community. That was only touched briefly but he then goes back to his old ways to hate humans as they accidentally murder his wife and daughter.

The beloved Quicksilver from Days of Future Past was developed a lot more from his previous 15 minute screen-time. It is revealed that he is the son of Magneto himself. Quicksilver then goes on a quest to find his father and was given one of the coolest and most hilarious action sequence ever by saving everyone (except for Havok) from the explosion that wipes out Xavier’s school. I would say that Quicksilver’s unintentional rescue scene was the greatest highlight of this movie and this would be my only reason to give a thumbs up to this movie.

The younger versions of Jean Grey, Nightcrawler and Cyclopes face their first battle ever as X-Men.

Other characters would be the young Cyclops, young Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Angel, Jubilee (useless and redundant), young Storm, and Psylocke. Out of every single one of these characters, only Jean Grey, Cyclops and Nightcrawler would be a little more interesting to watch. Cyclops trying to control his newly developed Optic Blast powers was fun to watch. Jean Grey was just as usual, being the Jean Grey who can’t control her powers well enough and has a hidden “Phoenix” power within her. Nightcrawler was also somewhat of a comedic relief in this movie.

The four horsemen, except for Magneto, were very underdeveloped. Storm was a mohawk girl who Apocalypse somehow by fate, bumped into her in Cairo while she was stealing from a merchant then ends up being recruited because of her mutant powers. Psylocke was somewhat of a bouncer or a bodyguard in this mutant safe haven was also recruited by Apocalypse just by convenience. Angel was this angry kid who got his wings burnt from the fight with Nightcrawler, ends up being a horseman for Apocalypse (who somehow can unlock and upgrade a mutant’s power to their maximum potential), because it so happens that Psylocke knew Angel could fight. The recruitment done by the Apocalypse seemed so simple, as if it was him saying that “I can’t find any better mutants to join me. And since they so happen to be there, I guess I’ll recruit them just for the sake of completing my four empty positions.” Apocalypse could have just recruited Magneto as his solo horseman as Magneto was the most powerful and useful among the other three.

via GIPHY


If I don’t read the comics, I would’ve been confused. Throughout the movie, I find myself questioning who is this Psylocke and what exactly is her backstory? It’s like she’s just there in the group as the eye candy and her powers don’t seem to be a beneficial thing as Apocalypse’s personal horseman. Angel barely shoots his metal feathers except for 2 occasions. The second fight between him and Nightcrawler was so boring... just flying, punching and teleporting. Storm, doesn’t do sh*t except to shoot lightning at her enemies. Like seriously Apocalypse? These are your horsemen? Magneto just floats around creating magnetic force fields to guard Apocalypse’s Pyramid? Apocalypse himself would be powerful enough to fend off the X-Men without even having to recruit any new horsemen.

And WTH would you want Jubilee in this movie and she doesn’t even do anything or serve any purpose to the story? So much hype and all she is is another student in the school?

Apocalypse had great potential as a villain, but unfortunately the movie uses him as a means of revisiting existing characters about their new lives, and establishing the next generation of mutants. Apocalypse himself was underdeveloped in almost every way possible. Most probably it’s due to the story itself where he was mostly recruiting his four horsemen and maximizing their powers. Apocalypse wants to bring apocalypse to the world that we know of, but the question is… For what?

CGI was fantastic in this movie. I would definitely give a ton load of credit for it. CGI can only help you so much, but the story is what is important. I always hate it when a villain who is supposed to be the most powerful being on the entire planet is taken down so easily in the easiest and laziest way possible. Yup, you guessed it, a few words from Professor X himself asking for Jean Grey’s help. She unleashes her hidden potential and evaporates Apocalypse with her Phoenix Fire… out of nowhere… Sigh…

At the end, we see a new class of X-Men training in the danger room of the X-Men mansion and this is supposed to what? Lead us to a new class of X-Men movies?

I find this franchise going nowhere but to keep on rebooting its characters in the same universe. When things don’t work out, Bryan Singer always takes the easiest way out, which is to jump back and forth between the past and the future to reset the story. This itself makes the story rather shallow and confusing. His choice of bringing in more characters in the movies but not making any use of them just frustrates fans and it makes the characters very redundant and pointless. Timelines in this franchise seem to lack continuity and does nothing but to confuse the plot and story. The lack of character development makes the story stale even with great CGI and action… Ok, action was just sub-par…

I could say Wolverine’s cameo was rather awesome as they kinda stuck true to the original source when he first got his metal claws. Won’t wanna spoil it for you, but I think Wolverine fans would love his cameo, even though it was just for about 5 minutes.

END SPOILER

END SPOILER

END SPOILER


Well, all in all, I would say that this movie was not all that good, not all that bad. It was just above average. There could’ve been a lot more potential, but as long as Bryan Singer is the director for the franchise… I have very low expectations for the coming sequels if they were to ever get made.

My final verdict –
6.5 / 10

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For all you diehard X-Man fans in Malaysia, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) have taken the pains to compile all the current offer, promotions, contests and merchandise for you as you celebrate this latest movie installment.

While at the cinemas, look out for the every cool X-Men cast standee to snap you pic as a X-Man or Horseman. Or just massages Prof X's head!

Golden Screen Cinemas are giving out free X-Men Apocalypse free movie posters with the purchase of any two movie tickets to the movie, so you can have Professor Xavier and the rest of the cast members staring intently at you from your wall. 

Apart from that, GSC is offering a limited edition X Man thumbdrive for every purchase of an X Man Combo set consisting of soft drinks and popcorn. 

TGV Cinemas is letting Movie Club card holders a special limited edition X-MEn club card, and if you swipe this card at any TGV cinema candy bar, you’ll get a limited edition double walled X-Man: Apocalypse tumbler filled with your choice of soft drinks.

At MBO Cinemas, you’ll be able to purchase a one of a kind X-Cup with every purchase of a popcorn combo and sip from it while you enjoy the movie.

Caltex is promoting the film by offering attractive prizes every time you purchase a Caltex Havoline® or Delo® engine oil. These prizes include limited edition X Men : Apocalypse T-shirts and a Magneto mask which you can get through a lucky draw. Watch the video to learn more:

Purchase any Xtreme pizza at Pizza Hut Malaysia and join in their Ultimate Xtraordinary Xperience contest from May 19 to 29 to win really amazing prizes including a trip for two to the Gold Coast, a Magneto Helmet, weekly cash prizes and free tickets.

Join Huawei’s Honor X Power event that’s going in until May 30th where you can win yourself limited edition X-Men merchandise by signing up with your smartphone IMEI or SN number and joining a lucky draw. The grand prize winner gets to visit Fox Studios in Hollywood USA, and there are items like luggage bags, t-shirts, caps and vouchers also on offer.

X- Men: Apocalypse opens in Malaysian cinemas nationwide on May 19th 2016, so make it a point to hit the cinemas early. Here are some photos of mutant cosplayers at the local Fan Screening event and Premiere:

Magneto & Prof X: Finally friends or enemies?

Can you name all the mutants in this cosplay shot?

Everyone wants to be mutant?

Find more photos of the Fan Screening event by photographer John Gullidge and of the Premiere by GSC Cinemas on their Facebook Page.

via GIPHY

Don't get Magneto mad...

Disclaimer: X-Men and other trademarks are copyright to Marvel and/or Fox Studios, and their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

The Angry Birds Movie Comes Crashing Into Cinemas Nationwide

by contributing writer Michelle Chee & Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.)

Almost everyone has heard of the addictive game where you hurl colourful birds from a slingshot to destroy the rather flimsy buildings of cute little green pigs that are apparently not so nice. The game has become so viral that children everywhere know and recognize both the birds and their greenish hog counterparts.

The franchise has triggered a phenomenon since its creation and release by Finnish company Rovio Entertainment back in 2009.  Now you can find plush toys of the birds in shelves, supermarkets, malls and street markets in many countries. To date, 13 games and three spin off games have been developed and lapped up by fans of all ages. Apart from that, there have been numerous toys, several books (including one cookbook on how the Pigs like to prepare their eggs) and even, some soft drinks. Finally though, the franchise has been made into a movie by Sony pictures, due out in Malaysia tomorrow / 12 May 2016.

The movie is an American-Finnish collaboration featuring two first time directors who are making their debut, Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly. This film is also the first time we’ll get to hear the names of all the birds when previously they were just ‘that round red one’ or ‘that triangular yellow one’.

Burning a hole into your heart with their cuteness!

In this new movie, be prepared to meet Red, Chuck and Bomb, three birds that are red (duh!), yellow and black respectively. Things start out peacefully enough for these flightless birds who live on an island paradise in the middle of the sea. Everyone seems happy, except for one particular fellow, called Red. Red has lived his whole life as an outcast because of his thick eyebrows and has suffered cruel teasing and bullying since childhood, turning him into a very cynical and bitter bird. This makes him very anti-social, with only a few friends and almost no prospects of finding a mate.

One day however, the lives of these birds are turned upside down by the arrival of a ship bearing a horde of green beings claiming to be ‘Pigs’. At first they appear friendly and the birds, who’ve never met any pigs before, welcome them with open arms. The only one who expresses any doubt about the Pigs’ intentions is Red, and due to his reputation, he’s quickly shot down by village leaders.

Red then goes on a journey to find Mighty Eagle, to seek advice on what to do with the pigs. What he finds on his journey shocks him and his friends greatly. But the bottom line is, back in the village, the pigs are stockpiling all the bird’s eggs and making a quick getaway. Only then do they realize that Red was right all along, and they now turn to him for a way to get their eggs back.

Will they succeed? Or will all the eggs end up scrambled for breakfast or baked as a quiche? Well, the only way to find out is to make your way to a cinema near you.

The movie features the voice talents of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny MdBride , Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph and Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle. Even Sean Penn makes an appearance as a grumpy and very large bird called Terence, who mostly only growls at others.

Reviews are generally favourable when it comes to the voice casting, but some concern was raised regarding the pacing of the movie, which apparently takes quite some time to reach its peak moments. The jokes don’t really work out much at first, but gradually hits the mark towards the end of the show. It’s also apparently very beautifully animated, especially all the slingshot scenes. Check out this review by IGN.

On our own paradise of Malaysia, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has compiled a number of activities and promotions featuring the Angry Birds. Starting off, the local movie distributor Sony Pictures is giving out movie premiums through their #AngryBirdsMovieQuiz. Stay tuned to their Facebook Page from now till 17 May for announcements on how to win these goodies:

Over to the movie theatres, the Golden Screen Cinemas Angry Birds Roadshow is taking place nationwide from now until 21st May 2016 in partnership with HSBC Bank.

Red, Chuck and Bomb will be making special appearances at these cineplexes plus GSC customers will be able to win some Angry Birds goodies by participating in various thematic activities. Launch Angry Bird plush from a real Slingshot!

Nevermind these birds are angry, they are still huggable!

Fire away the Angry Birds with a human-sized Slingshot! BOMBS away!

Check out more photos of the fun being dispensed at GSC East Coast Mall, Kuantan.

At TGV Cinemas movie goers can get a limited edition Angry Bird themed MovieClub card by signing up on their website and then collecting it at the nearest TGV outlet. Remember that they’re going fast so don’t waste any more time. If you’re not convinced, let Chuck himself do the talking:

Over at MBO Cinemas, they are offering up a one of a kind figurine cup of Red, the lead character, with every purchase of a combo set. Now you can literally drink out of his head.

Red can now be your companion at every meal!

Plus they are organising kids colouring contest at the following cineplexes over the next 2 weekends:

Apart from these promotions, there is also an Angry Bird version of the MBO AllStars member card by signing up at any of the MBO outlets.

McDonald's is running a massive Angry Bird Movie promo campaign. Firstly, they’re offering collectible toys of the main characters all throughout this months with a new toy every week until 1st June. 

For selfie enthusiasts, McDonald’s is also running the #AngryNoMore Selfie Contest where you have to download their app and take a picture of yourself with your favourite Angry Bird. Then post it up on Instagram with the hashtag #AngryNoMore and stand a chance to win a trip for 4 to Pulau Langkawi or Tioman. Runners-up can expect an Angry Bird plush toy or RM300 worth of McDonald’s vouchers. Submit your entries by 1st June 2016.

Whilst there isn't a Angry Birds movie version for the traditional App game, there is an all-new all-different Angry Birds Action! game for IOS and Android. Instead of the original "slightshot" game format, Angry Birds Action! plays like "pinball" where Red & friends are sent crashing through obstacles and bouncing from wall to wall like a wrecking ball to save bird eggs. This mesmerising new game is available for download free and likely to provide hours of fun reliving adventures in the movies.

For those seeking a more hands-on experience, our local Toys R Us  carry a myriad of Angry Bird merchandise from Telepods to LEGO, and even Star Wars editions of Angry Bird characters with a fowl twist! Fans of building toys will love the latest LEGO Angry Birds which offers 6 play sets to relive the adventures from the movies. LEGO catapults are even included so one can fling the cute Angry Birds mini-figs to attack the pigs!

Building sets seem to feature more structures of the pigs, no doubt for the Angry Birds to destroy.

In keeping up with the spirit of the movie, families may want to visit the Angry Bird Activity Park in Johor Bahru. Yes, there is actually a mini-theme park for Angry Birds in Malaysia although it features the traditional game content instead of the latest movie. Let loose the kids there next school holidays to experience these thematic sporting and interactive activities.

Finally, Mid Valley Megamall will be hosting a special event soon for the Angry Birds over the forthcoming school holidays. Meet Red, Chuck and Bomb live from 26 May to 12 June 2016, plus other exciting activities for the young and young at heart.

UPDATE 28 May 2016: Mid Valley Megamall has launched as awesome Angry Birds promo this school holidays, transforming the Centrecourt concourse into replica of Paradise Island. In additional to fun activities for kids like rescuing bird eggs, the stars of the movie Red, Chuck & Bomb will be appearing LIVE everyday.

Check out the Angry Birds home in Paradise Island now in Mid Valley Megamall Centrecourt.
Photo credit: Mid Valley Megamall Facebook.

Check out more details at the Mid Valley Megamall website and photos on their Facebook Page.

The Angry Birds Movie crashes into cinemas nationwide on 12 May 2016, 1 week before the U.S. release date. Make a date this weekend to watch Angry Birds and meet Red & friends at GSC Cinemas starting tomorrow 12 May at GSC Mid Valley, Friday 13 May at GSC 1 Utama, Saturday 14 May at GSC Setia City Shah Alam and Sunday 15 May at GSC Paradigm Mall.

Meet Red and friends live at GSC cinemas this weekend.

And for the Marvel fans out there that enjoyed Captain America: Civil War, here’s an Angry Birds variant trailer parodying the movie:

For latest movie updates, follow the official Angry Birds Movie on Facebook.

Disclaimer: Angry Birds and other trademarks are copyright to Rovio and/or Sony Pictures, and their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Captain America Civil War : Spoiler REVIEW & Event Recon REPORT

by contributing writer Xavier Fong

At this point of writing this review, I've already watched Captain America : Civil War twice! As far as Superhero movies go, Marvel Studios definitely know their stuff and they know very well where their Cinematic Universe are heading into. As compared to the DC Universe, DC is going in a direction where they are disregarding the comics and they keep telling themselves, "Let's do scrap that and do it our way." The one thing why fans are so in love with comic book movies is that their characters and stories stays true (at least 80% of it) to the the original contents (Comics).

I'm a big fan of Marvel and I am definitely a big, big, BIG fan of Spider-man ever since I was a kid. I've stressed this again and again in my reviews that every single time a movie is made based on comics (Marvel/DC comics), novels (Hunger Games/Harry Potter), short stories (Ender's Game), cartoons (Transformers/Ninja Turtles), and games (Battleship [God this movie was awful]), there will definitely be changes and adaptations that has to be made when you adapt or transition a different entertainment medium to another. And to support that, we have got to be fair to the movies for adapting original sources of material to the silver screen in order to make the plot or the story itself more relevant to the current era.

First thing's first, I wanna just say... Captain America : Civil War is the BEST Marvel movie to date! I've read the entire story arc of the 2005 Marvel's Civil War comic, and that event itself is one of the best stories I've ever read. The movie in a way did justice to the comics.

So, let's cut the chatter and head right into the review!!! This is gonna be a long a$$ review :P

SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT!

Before we go on talking about the movie, let's have a background on what the original Marvel's Civil War comics is all about. Everything started with a group of teenage Superheroes led by Speedball who were filming their own TV Reality series about catching villains, somewhat of a Bounty Hunters TV series copycat, except with super powers. They were this group of villains where one of the villains turn out to be Nitro, (His powers were similar of Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the 2016 Deadpool movie) and out of desperation, Nitro exploded violently in front of a school, killing hundreds including 60 plus more children in the blast. This led to the birth of the Superhero Registration Act (SRA) where every super powered person is to register under the government in order to keep superheroes in check and limiting the 'vigilantes' from operating under unlimited force. In short, the government in America has the control over every super powered being there is in America... Including super villains... Iron Man approves of the SRA as he believes that there is a need for Superheros to have supervision from a higher authority so that there will be less catastrophy. Captain believes otherwise. Captain believes that the SRA was founded on breaking the law because the law was wrong. The SRA is another step towards government control and while Captain loves his country, he does not trust many politicians. Not when they're having their strings pulled by corporate donors and not when they're willing to trade freedom for security. Hence, the war begins between Team Iron Man and Team Captain.

Roll call #TeamCap (left to right): Hawkeye, Agent Sharon Carter, Steve Rogers, Falcon, Bucky.

Roll call #TeamIronMan: War Machine, Black Widow, Tony Stark, Black Panther, Vision.

The movie picks up from Ant-Man and opens with Bucky waking from his cryo-sleep on December 16, 1991 and was given orders by Hydra to retrieve a package. Moving forward 25 years, we see The New Avengers on a mission to apprehend Rumlow (Now known as Crossbones), ending up in an amazing battle but unfortunately all good things come to a tragic incident when Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) tried to save Cap by enveloping Crossbones in a shield when he decided to self-detonate, causing the explosion to lose control and the blast just wiped out a Wakandan peace meeting in a building nearby.

Secretary Ross, previously General Ross (last seen in The Incredible Hulk), makes a visit to the Avengers Facility and drops a bomb on them with the Sokovian Accords (Similar to the SRA in the comics). The Avengers are now torn about wanting to sign this Accord that could forever tie them down from freedom. Tony is all out into supporting this Accord, while Captain doesn't want this Accord to stop them from saving more lives or doing some mission that they do not believe in doing. Hence, the war begins.

I'd love to write more of the synopsis but I think this'll do as I believe that you guys should just watch the movie for yourselves to enjoy it.

I was impressed with how they were able to adapt the complicated and chaotic story of the Marvel's Civil War comics onto the silver screen. The plot was written so well to reflect on the current era and I can truthfully say that it is not easy to make a continuation from 12 prequels. Everything that happened is connected in the most creative and unique way.

The characters were developed with great balance and everything that happened in Civil War leads up to a new era in the Phase 3 MCU.

Personally I loved Spidey, Ant-Man and Black Panther in the mix. The rebooted character of Spider-Man made sense into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it gives a fresh and new dimension amongst our favourite heroes. This rendition of Spidey is a young Peter Parker who is still in highschool, and was recruited by Tony Stark into the Avengers to arrest the now fugitive - Captain America and his team of rebels. Tom Holland did a fantastic job playing this version of Spidey where it makes sense for Spidey to talk non-stop as it shows Peter's inexperience in being a superhero and his inexperience in being in any fights or battles. 'Nuff said, Spidey is a breath of fresh air in the movie.

The addition of Black Panther in the mix makes the story stronger as T'Challa is out for revenge for the death of his father that was killed in the Accords signing at the United Nation's conference. Bucky was to blame for the bombing that happened and Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, escalates the tension between the two factions. 

The return of Ant-Man a.k.a. Paul Rudd was a joy to watch. It was amazing how the Russo brothers were able to incorporate all these superheroes in one movie and the battle at the airport was magnificent in every way possible. Remarkable, exciting, funny, light-hearted, serious, intelligent, it is what anyone could ever ask for in a superhero movie. Just a cool spoiler for you, Ant-Man turns into Giant-Man! I for one never thought that they would actually bring that side of Ant-Man in the movies, as it would go either very bad or very awesome and it is safe to say, Ant-Man/Giant-Man was freaking awesome and hilarious in this movie!

#TeamCap runs into action at that spectacular airport battle scene!

The other returning characters - Captain America, Iron Man, Falcon, War Machine, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were balanced very well to meet the plot of the story.

The Civil War between them had a meaning, each of them had a reason for why they joined their respective factions, and even within their war, they still felt bad for fighting one another because of this circumstance that was dropped on to them.

The featured villain - Baron Zemo did a great job in igniting the Civil War in his own dirty scheme to seek revenge for the death of his family by the hands (inderectly) of The Avengers vs. Ultron. I'd wish they'd do more for his character though like what he was in the comics, but if that were to happen, I would imagine the storyline might be a little too messy and too overdone.

In the end, it really is entirely up to you who you side with in the movie. Captain has his own reasons for rebelling while Tony is trying too hard to make amends for all the deaths caused by the battles the Avengers had. At the end of the movie, I was left sitting on my seat in awe, as well as a little sad to see that our favourite heroes had to go their separate ways due to some stupid government act. I did not know who am I to support. They were both right. And they were both wrong.

Visually the entire movie was astounding, Vision got to utilize more of what he could do with his powers, Scarlet had more character development, Black Widow was torn apart, Sharon's relationship with Cap was not overdone, Falcon and Bucky's brotherly love-hate relationship was a fun thing to watch, Hawkeye was still a great fatherly figure to Scarlet, Black Panther - I can't wait to see more of his character in the next movies, Tony was in a dilemma to do the right thing and to listen to authority for once...

It was a very well balanced movie in every aspect. Personally, it's the BEST MARVEL movie to date.

Definitely a must watch for everyone! F*** Batman v Superman! Captain America : Civil War is the real deal!

My final verdict!

9.5 out of 10!

p/s: Please, I beg you to go watch this movie! Stay until the very end of the credits for 2 post credits scene!

== / ==

Here is another local (non-spoilery) review by The Star and alternate (less-spoilery) review by IO9.com.

While Marvel movies are currently flying high (most of the time), we thought to end this blog post with a reminder of the darker days are Marvel movies with this Honest Trailer of Captain America (1990 release):

Comments and opinions expressed in this review are solely by the writer and do not represent an official view by Outpost Productions.

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EVENT RECON REPORT

by the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.)

In conjunction with the launch of Captain America Civil War in Malaysia on 28 April 2016, a number of fan engagement events took place recently. The grandest event would be at Sunway Pyramid shopping mall with official appearance by Captain America himself! Other activities at the LG2 Orange Concourse included Captain America and Iron Man shooting games for chance to win a #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan badge respectively. The event also showcased Hot Toys 1/6 scale collectible figurines associated with the movie and unfortunately non available for sale. Instead official merchandise on retail were toys by Hasbro and various apparel.

Meet & Greet session with Captain America at Sunway Pyramid.

#TeamCap for sure!

Iron Man vs. Captain America showdown.

Hot Toys 1/6 figurine display from the Civil War.

This Iron Man Repulsor shoots NERF darts and if you are lucky scores you a #TeamIronMan badge.

Hasbro Captain America Civil War toys.

Marvel apparel.

More photos on the official Sunway Pyramid Facebook Page.

Baby-sister mall, Sunway Putra, hosted a smaller scale movie promo event at the main concourse. Although lacking the presence of Captain America, the event hosted alternative fan engagement as a Cosplay Gathering and Cosplay Competition, of which Outpost Productions Commander Richard Chua was invited as Guest Judge. Also showcased were Marvel statues by XM Studios and assorted merchandise on retail.

The Cosplay Competition featured by Star TV.

Civil War setup at Sunway Putra.

Cosplay Competition adult participants.

Cosplay Competition kids participants.

Life-size statue of Captain America.

Augmented photo booth. Choose between Captain America or Iron Man.

Civil style Civil War statues.

Iron Man Mark 42 statue by XM Studios.

Ant-Man comic style statues.

Cosplay Spider-men.

Official merchandise for sale.

More photos of the Cosplay Competition at the Outpost Productions and Sunway Putra Mall Facebook Pages. Hurry over now as both Sunway events conclude on 8 May 2016 today.

At the cinema, fans cosplaying Marvel superheroes gathered for the movie Premiere at TGV Sunway Pyramid on 27 April 2016. Both #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan were well represented.

Quicksilver lives! LOL!

Check out more photos by photographer John Gullidge on his Facebook album for this Premiere event.

Meanwhile that same night over at TGV 1 Utama, guests at the Maybank Premiere spotted with a squad of Captain Americas! 5 cosplayers sported uniforms of Captain Rogers from each movie appearance to date: The First Avenger, Avengers, Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, Civil War.

Captains America!

For customers, Golden Screen Cinemas organised a Captain America Civil War roadshow at select cineplexes last month. Customers registered to be a Super-Human and participate in 3 challenges for the opportunity to win exclusive movie premiums. Here's a rundown of the roadshow by GSC:

GSC is also offering customers nationwide a chance to take home a piece of the action with exclusive posters free with ticket purchase and t-shirts as a combo set with drinks and popcorn.

Meanwhile TGV Cinemas is offering an exclusive set of posters for their IMAX customers, plus a rather cool-looking drink tumbler as part of it's popcorn or hotties combo.

Close-up of the Captain America "torso" tumbler.

On movie cups, Cathay Cineplexes once again has their popcorn compo with mini-figurines. 3 characters are available this time round: Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther.

MBO Cinemas also has it own collectible cups with cutesy mugs of Captain America and Iron Man. The latest Civil War Funko POP! figurines are also available at their cinemas. Check out their other online promos at the official website.

Disclaimer: Captain America, Avengers and other trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment and/or Walt Disney Pictures, and their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.