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.

== / ==

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.

Universal Cosplay Convention 2016 Attracts Dangerous Villains (and Some Heroes Too!)

by contributing writer Michelle Chee.

This year’s Universal Cosplay Convention (UCC)  was held once again at The Place, in One City, Subang from March 5th to 6th 2016. This is the second time UCC is being organized and the first time that it lasted for two days straight. UCC actually grew out of the annual Cosplay Ball event, which was a sit down dinner get-together for cosplayers in the Klang Valley. This is the reason why UCC has always incorporated a Cosplay Ball that takes place after the daytime activities.

So much to see and do, where do we even start!

The theme this year was ‘Celebrating Villainy’, and with that we expected a lot of villains to show up, with their more heroic counterparts in tow. To be honest, we were not at all disappointed as the selections of both were pretty impressive.

UCC's layout.

Outpost Productions, which is one of the supporters of UCC, opened a booth this year featuring a selection of new and pre-loved NERF guns for sale, as well as some of its quality costumes, both new and used.  Right in front of the stall, a small obstacle course was set up for visitors to play ‘Eggs on a Spoon’, with a small prize offered for those who successfully completed the challenge.

The outpost booth when all its shy crew members disappeared, except one.

Ye olde obstacle course by Outpost Productions.

The event hall was really spacious with a lot of room for visitors to move about, and there was even an area complete with tables and chairs for cosplayers and their friends to rest and hang out. What was even more comforting was the fact that the rest area was positioned in front of small food stall set up by the One City Hotel staff, offering both light snacks like sandwiches to full meals of fried rice with chicken. 

A musically inclined visitor taking some time out to practice his skill in the rest area.

Can your resist these mouthwatering sandwiches at the makeshift cafeteria?

The event was livened up with the presence of two guest cosplayers from Japan, namely Mr Tatsumi Inui and Ms Kotori, who conducted the Cure Cosplay Collection competition on Day 2. The competition’s aim was to find the best cosplayers from contestants who were given a chance to parade in their costumes and pose for both guest cosplayers, who were also the judges. Both of them also took some time to give comments on the local Malaysian cosplay scene, and offer some words of advice. 

Mr Inui mingling with some fans.

The Cure Cosplay Collection participants, all in a row.

Of course, and event celebrating villainy would not have been complete without selecting the ‘Villain of the year’. Although the preliminary stage was judged in the old fashioned way, the finalist were literally made to battle it out with an actual physical one on one match involving fats suits ( duly provided by us, the happy people at Outpost Productions). The match was fun yet nerve wrecking, as both finalists attempted to knock a plastic water bottle from each others’ heads. The fat suits were a real hit as spectators roared in laughter every time both contestants clashed, since they resembled large mounds of wobbling jelly.

Villain of the year finalists in a ‘Calm before the storm’ moment.

Intense nail biting action worth betting on!

In the end, Danieal Aidid, who was cosplaying the Joker from Batman, emerged victorious and was lifted up in the air by friends and supporters after his win.

Danieal Aidid @ Dee Joke , ‘Villain of the Year’ winner.

The venue saw its fair share of cosplayers, representing a wide variety of genres from western comics and movies, to Japanese anime and games.

Friendly cosers posing away, including a very familiar Sith Lord!

Cosplayer Manni Corbone in her original creation, which looks a little like a Skeksis from The Dark Crystal.

Deadpool joins the party by showing off his ample derrier!

While waiting for the night’s Cosplay Ball to start, visitors were entertained by a variety of fun activities, like a voiceover game, a life sized snakes and ladders game, a dance-off and performances. Some people took the chance to browse around the numerous doujin booths available, and on the upper floor, there was a figurine display by the folks over at the Hobby and Collectible community, as well as the DC Comics Fan Club Asia.

Guys representing DC Comics Fan Club Asia.

DC comics collection on display.

As day turned to night, some of the attendees got ready to attend the annual Cosplay Ball, anticipating a night filled with good food, good friends, good dancing, and even more fun activities! Here’s to another successful UCC, and more to come!