A Mission Not Worth Dying For: Suicide Squad Overview

Suicide Squad Overview by Bryan Quevedo

As a disclaimer, I would like to let all my readers know that I desperately wanted to try and love this movie.  I went in with an empty head, hoping to God that Warner Brothers would release something worthwhile within the DC movie universe that wasn’t a complete mess.  Sadly what WB delivered were the remains of what could have been a fun movie, torn apart and smashed together into something they desperately wanted to call a film… and with that lets get into the details!

Suicide Squad can best be explained as a movie where writers had all the right parts to a jigsaw puzzle, started placing them all together and had their momma and pops come in and say it wasn’t good enough to compete with the big boys and made it their own mess.  With Warner Brothers coming in mid production to change the tone of the movie to a much lighter and funnier tone to make it more appealing to audiences, the only joke the studio left us with was the entirety of the film, if you can even call it that.  This isn’t to say that Suicide Squad was as terrible as Batman vs Superman or Man of Steel, seeing as remnants of what could have been a good movie are found within the mess, but many factors such as how the characters are portrayed and how the plot progresses made me want to suffer Joker’s torture methods more than wanting to finish this painfully dull movie. 

Basic survival necessities

Plot Development

What plot?  Before I begin any further, I will leave a massive spoiler label, warning any potential readers that passed this section, THE MOVIE WILL GET RUINED. 

Disclaimer: I have warned you, so don't you be coming to me crying about how it got spoiled

The movie begins with the introduction of Amanda Waller, who then introduces the future recruits of the Suicide Squad.  We get a brief introduction of everyone except for Harley Quinn (because you know…its Harley) and Deadshot (because it’s Will F**KING Smith) who get almost complete backstories of how they ended up in prison.  We are treated to some lovely cameos of Flash and the Bats, the movie progresses with the introduction of The Enchantress who basically becomes the conflict in this movie.  The Enchantress tries to find escape from Amanda, she manages to free her brother instead, they cause massive chaos within Midway City, the squad is assembled AAAANNNNNNDDDD the rest of the movie is shown with them trying to figure out their places, freedoms and trying to make it so that we sympathize with these villains.  Yes we can water down all superhero movie plots in such a manner, but the biggest concern this movie had in progressing this plot forward was its introduction of the antagonist.  When we see The Enchantress becoming aware of potential freedom and becoming Amanda’s ignition to assemble the squad, it made it seem like the writers had no idea how to continue the movie after the creation of the first act.

”So we got our Suicide Squad, we gave Will Smith and Margo Robbie their AWESOME scenes, we done right?”

“Wait did anyone think of the villain to this movie?”

“S***, quick grab one of the characters…MAKE HER THE PROBLEM…that’s it! Alright now we have to…make these ex-cons seem like they got good morals!”

I honestly thought we were going to see more of her in the squad

What should have been the biggest weapon of the entire squad became the silliest plot twist of the entire movie.  It didn’t feel creative enough and seemed like this was all slapped together last minute with poor one liners (Harley, I am so looking at you right now), badly edited and acted transitions and moments that should have been “AHA!” were more dull than anything.  This wouldn’t have made any sense, until the realization hits that Warner Brothers meddled with the movie during production to alter its tone and direction.  This is still no excuse for what was delivered but this sure does start to question the idea (at least to casual movie goers) should studios even be messing this much with a movie?

Other smaller sub plots such as Deadshot’s story did grab my attention, giving viewers a chance to see a different side of a villain and giving him “justification” for his actions.  The Harley Quinn/Joker side story was more of an added bonus that didn’t do anything special to the film (besides adding sex, sex, SEX and the Joker to the movie) and the “we were never really going to save the city just trying to escort Amanda Waller out” twist was more annoying and useless than surprising.  She ends up getting caught anyway and switches the purpose in another direction in a very sloppy manner.

Character Development

You would think that the overload of characters would create a mess during the progression of the movie, when in truth it never did.  Some viewers and reviewers may disagree but hear me out.  The movie made certain characters shine more than others and this benefitted my sympathy for these characters but others who tried to shine brighter than most others seemed desperate for attention and just never hit the mark of getting the spirit of the character.  I stand to believe that when you examine how a character is portrayed by someone everyone is entitled to how they believe is true representation of the character; in these instances this still remains true.  So take my observations as you will and agree or disagree with the statements being put within this article.

Deadshot: Will Smith made this character his and made him the shining star of this entire movie.  It seemed as if the entire movie was primarily based around him, his wanting to be with his daughter and his justification of why he does the things that he does.  He wasn’t bad and I would even argue that he was probably the most enjoyable part of the entire movie, but that’s when I realized that I wasn’t seeing Deadshot rather, I was watching Will Smith play Deadshot as if he were Will Smith.  Let me explain, when we look at what Robert Downey Jr did to Tony Stark, we see that the actor portrayed the character by defining key traits, adapting them and making the character his and giving us a real life interpretation of Tony Stark.  When we look at Downey in his other movies, we still see Downey Jr. portray these other characters and not Stark.  Examining what Will Smith did to Deadshot, I never once saw Deadshot as the comic book interpretation, rather I saw Smith’s character from I Am Legend because Will "f**king" Smith but now he can shoot without missing. 

He's playing himself basically

Harley Quinn: Sex.  Do I really need to say anything else?  On a personal level, I don’t find Margot Robbie attractive at all, and Harley has always been this flirtatious piece of fruit you really want to get your hands all over but know you can’t because SHE’S PSYCOTIC.  I want to believe that the writers knew how to portray Harley Quinn, many of her lines and actions in the movie were very Quinn like but what ruined this portrayal was Robbie’s performance.  I’ll give her credit where it’s deserved and this was in some of her lines where she did catch the very soft jokingly “Mr. J” loving jester we all know in a couple scenes but that’s about it.  As a comic relief, she had very poor one liners with very few moments of awkward Quinn moments I can appreciate (“Harley Quinn, nice to meetcha.  Love your perfume, what is that the stench of death?” *insert cheeky smile).  Visually she was horrendous and I got nothing that basically showed her to be Quinn besides the short cameos of her hammer…and jester outfit…and hammer…  As for her justification on being in the movie, it’s obvious she was never needed.  The elevator fight scene was clearly an attempt to sell her as a potential asset to the team (because you know, she’s the only one who has no special ability) and only served as a key to include the Joker.

El Diablo: My sympathy for him came too late but appreciation for him and Jay Hernandez is still there.  Probably one of the closest interpretations of what I believe to be a comic book character in this movie is seen by him, with him hiding in the shadows afraid of his own power and then helping the squad at the very end when he finally understands that he wasn’t born all evil.  The entirety of the movie, I was hoping to see more of him and I am glad I did at the end because he was one of two characters I had any sort of sympathy towards and somewhat showed how the group of misfit convicts had human morals at some point before ending up in prison.   

The Joker: Too little of him within the movie to actually make a proper analysis on how he can hold up in future movies, which is a great thing actually.  Jared Leto’s take on the Joker was rather weak on some points and not at all intimidating...for now.  In no way should anyone compare him to Heath Ledger, mainly because every actor who has portrayed the Joker has had their own take on him that makes him unique in every installment.  With this in mind, the Joker still has to strike an uncomfortable feeling when watching him on screen.  What is he going to do next, what is he trying to get at, IS HE MAKING ANY SENSE AT ALL?! Your pulse should race and the feeling of wanting out of this mad man’s sight should be the only thing you want.  His laugh should creep into your very soul and make it leave your body making you want death because you know sparing you could potentially lead you to an even more painful end.  This wasn’t the case with Leto’s Joker... YET! I firmly believe there is potential there for him to nail the part.  Until he receives a full on part within a movie can we truly see a full Leto Joker (and hopefully he can make his laugh more intimidating).

Amanda Waller: This woman is nothing short of a boss a** b***h who won’t take s*** from anyone and will do what she wants and get what she wants no matter what the cost.  You see her and you fear her, you listen to her and obey everything she says because she will always have something against you or possibly at that moment everything she says makes complete sense.  Viola Davis looked the part, but writers failed to sell her to me.  I get it she’s human and she has every right to be damn scared when she is surrounded by freakish looking soldiers, but I keep asking myself, why the hell did she lose her cool so much?! Honestly this is probably my only complaint about her but it’s a major problem from a character development perspective.

Everyone else: …fillers.  Katana barely did anything and mainly tried to fit in as the control in case anything went wrong. I didn’t really sympathize for her because…well when did I ever have the time to really care?  Killer Croc served as the Hulk of the squad and really didn’t talk much (which I really wish he did because he’s capable.  You know, just make me excited for him…at least try…no?...okay fine).  Captain Boomerang tried to be comic relief but all his jokes came crashing back to him, although I can appreciate his trying to be relevant at times.  Rick Flag made looking like a badass military man look like a joke and his caring side was overshadowed by his attempt to look like the man in control of everything.  Slipknot… was nothing more than a waste.  Wait you don’t know who I am talking about?  That’s fine because he was literary in the movie for like 15 minutes before getting his head blown off in a failed attempt to escape (WHAT WAS THE POINT?!)  

And only in 15 minutes you too could look like this!

  

Cameos and Mid-Credit Scene Analysis

I’ll admit to this, the Easter eggs and cameos in this movie did get me all giddy at some point.  Batman’s intro after Amanda told the agent she phoned in a tip got me excited to see Batfleck once again and Ezra Miller’s Flash appearance was quick but so so satisfying.  Harley Quinn’s and Joker’s little dance in the dark was an amazing little inclusion to one of my favorite pieces of art from DC and Quinn’s illusion of what she really wants in life given by The Enchantress is something small fans of Harley Quinn will understand, given that she is dressed in 60s style clothing and pictures a family friendly home with her little kids and Mr. J alongside her.  The Joker mobile was a nice inclusion but the modern take on this car was short lived and somewhat bland. 

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! *pants

As for the mid-credit scene, it was dull and completely out of place.  We see Amanda talking to Bruce and initiating a new group by handing out profiles to Bruce Wayne.  We then see that these files are from Barry Allen Flash and Aquaman making us assume that this this start of the Justice League.  Ummmm…hang on, when did Amanda ever help start the Justice League.  Oh that’s right…NEVER!!! (Again I am just assuming that this is basically the start of the JL)

And to Finish it all up…

I really didn’t want to dislike this movie, more than anything I wanted it to be decent enough to successfully kick start the DC movie universe.  With so many components out of place it’s hard to say this movie was good, but at the same time this movie wasn’t a complete waste of my time.  With minor moments that made me smile or chuckle I can say I enjoyed what David Ayer tried doing for this movie.  Deciding whether or not it’s a successful DC movie is up to personal opinion, so take this review as you will.

And on a final FINAL note, whoever picks the music for these movies and trailers need to stop… whatever the reason behind it is, it’s unforgivably cringe.    

The End is Just the Beginning: X-Men Apocalypse Overview and Timeline Analysis

X-Men: Apocalypse and revised X-Men Timeline Analysis by Bryan Quevedo

Another year means another X-Men movie.  With the success train of X-Men: Days of Futures Past still rolling in hot, many people spectated that X-Men: Apocalypse would be a great successor of the newly revised franchise and in short, it was.  I’ll even go as far as to say this movie COULD have been better than Captain America Civil War.  Now before you guys come knocking through my door with pitch forks and torches for saying something like this, let me explain what I understand so far about the new X-Men movie universe.

X-Men Movie Timeline

I remember walking out of Days of Futures Past thinking to myself how I wasted hours of my life watching all the other X-Men movies prior to this one (except X-Men: First Class) only to have Bryan Singer (Director of Days of Futures Past) slap me in the face and say “Yo! I’ve rewritten history because I can, so suck it!”  I have never walked out of a movie theatre enjoying an X-Men movie so much yet feeling betrayed and loving the fact that it was done so well.  It also left me thinking how this cinematic universe worked, seeing as everything was linear until the past was rewritten in the aftermath of this movie.  The official CASUALties timeline shown below is what we thought was going to exist after Days of Futures Past.

After watching X-Men: Apocalypse, a new timeline has supposedly emerged which clearly defines the order of every X-Men movie in existence thus far as shown below.

This new timeline is supported primarily over the fact that Jean was seen to be discovered by Xavier at an older age while X-Men Apocalypse shows us that Jean was already at the School for the Gifted long before Xavier lost his gorgeous long locks.  Should this new timeline bother anyone?  In all honesty, no because it gives way to a possibly better built X-Men universe 20^th Century Fox needed to be able to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Does this new timeline bother me?  Naaaaahhhhhh *cries internally because wasting my life watching every other X-Men movie was so worth it.

It is worth noting that just because the old timeline is labeled as "not relevant" does not mean that they can not still be enjoyed.  They are labeled as such because the new timeline does not support their existence at all, at this moment  (Singer may possibly do something else later on or someone else may bring these events up again).

X-Men: Apocalypse Thoughts

The movie as a whole was not terrible but suffered to get me invested as a whole like Days of Futures Past did.  When you compare these two movies side by side, the obvious flaw becomes that the story of the character we follow in DOFP is given more detail and makes us care for the cause of his journey while Apocalypse makes us follow a group of young heroes who we don’t begin to care about till about half way towards the movie.  Many components of Apocalypse work in their favor, such as plot development, character build up, a great supporting cast and a reason to care deeply for a suppose villain but suffers from holes that mainly ruin the pacing and tone of the movie.

What Works

Before I begin to praise the exception work they did with Magneto, let me begin by praising its character development found elsewhere.  The rest of the main cast was given unique personalities that borrowed from the comics (Young Scott being a rebellious kid trying to appeal to Jean Grey) giving fans a very appropriate nod from the days of X-Men: Evolution.  From Scott Summers, to Kurt Wagner everyone shined when it came to moving the plot forward and interacting with one another.  Serious scenes were also given darker textures and the movie did not shy away from starting out violently and carrying it throughout the movie (I understand there are much harsher punishments out there but having people suffocate after being engulfed in cement is uncomfortable to say the least).  The movie shined brightest when it dealt with the contents of Apocalypse’s plan, giving us details of why things progressed the way they did in an evenly distributed manner.  Every action connected itself to another well enough that it felt like everything felt appropriate.  Xavier sense a disturbance, we are then sent back to Egypt and see Apocalypse learn of the new word, then sent back to Xavier where he meets up with an ex-lover to gather information about the disturbance and how Apocalypse plans to rally “the 4 horsemen” and then sent back to Egypt where we see Apocalypse’s first follower.  For the most part everything flows well enough into the next scene giving the audience enough of a reason to stay invested into the plot (this is more up to taste seeing as how some individuals may not actually like how the story progresses).  The biggest and most unique aspect of the movie came in the form of Magneto’s development.

Back in DOFP we got to see Magneto as a power hungry mutant wanting to show humanity where they stand among mutants.  The fact that Magneto was depicted here as a human being wanting to right his wrongs and start anew only to have it all be taken away after doing a good deeds makes me feel for this misunderstood villain.  For those that may not know, Magneto can be described as the most misunderstood (popular) mutant in the Marvel Universe, having been not only a persecuted Jew who lost his parents during the holocaust but also an experimented, used and persecuted mutant.  Looking at him with all his conflicts and obstacles, you may feel for the guy and begin to understand why he joined Apocalypse’s side at the beginning.  The movie gave Magneto a purpose in this story, and showed us a better understanding of how mutants are seen in this society and the effect it has on those that live outside with normal humans.  It is personally my favorite aspect of the entire movie and one that should not be overlooked.  

What Didn’t Work

You’re eating a chocolate chip cookie.  Everything you expect out of one is in it, warm gooey center, melted chocolate chips and as you tear into one, you see the long stretch of chocolate split from both halves of the cookie.  You dig into the first bite and there is no surprise, you are enjoying the crap out of that cookie.  You take a second bite…and then you big into a walnut.  You ask yourself, “hang on…when did this come into the game?”  Slightly disturbed you chomp on a third bite, this time you get a little bit more of the walnut with the satisfying taste, but you can still enjoy the cookie.  Looking back at the movie, the entire progression of the movie was like digging into this cookie.  After enjoying the events of what was DOFP, this movie gave us the same tone we all wanted to see from an X-Men movie, a side from these individuals that was troubled and got to see their troubles as mutants first hand instead of from flashbacks or explanations.  Where it suffered lied in its attempt to make humor where it didn’t belong.  As much as people will come after me for saying this, the Quicksilver scene probably had the worst placement when it came to tone in the entire movie (although it was enjoyable).  Finding out the true potential of Apocalypse and seeing him topple Xavier and Havoc easily gave a sense of hopeless and disparity.  This was ruined after the audience was treated to a quick musical scene of Quicksilver saving all the students and teachers from the exploding school after Havoc misfired and blew up the plane.  This isn’t to say the scene was terrible, it simply did not fit and the movie continuously followed this pattern.  Badly placed humor barely gave it enough time to let the jokes settle in causing for some slightly unsettling moments where I personally did not know what to feel.  This isn’t to say some of the humor was bad (When Jean admitted that every third installment was terrible it made me chuckle because it hinted at a certain something *ahem*) just better placement and transitions would have been appreciated. 

Unfortunately the scene that had many excited failed to make a great impression (personally).  When Hugh Jackman was announced to make a cameo in this movie, many were excited and speculating him to appear as the experimental version of Wolverine, hungry for blood and dawning the yellow and black suit.

The speculation, to my understanding, also led some to believe that this cameo was going to add to the story in some sort of way.  This wasn’t the case unfortunately and only part of the speculation was proven true.  I am not going to say this scene was terrible primarily because it is all up to opinion and how people personally like to see their heroes on screen, but having the Wolverine appear and be so insignificant in this movie almost made it scene unnecessary.  Yes we got to see some savage kills and blood stained walls but his appearance seemed to have no effect in the story.  Besides helping as a distraction, Wolverine seemed very insignificant in his appearance which makes this something I see personally as not fitting within this movie.  Possibly in the future installments we will get an explanation of where he wants after Jean cleared his mind and was set free.

What it all Means

As inconsistent as it may have seen X-Men Apocalypse was enjoyable and a great addition to the new X-Men universe.  We are finally getting a fitting X-Men cinematic universe that goes away with the “cheese” the original three gave us, and is handing us a very refined and original universe that is inspired by classic X-Men story lines.  As bothered as I was watching DOFP completely alter the original timeline and give us the “happy ending” they all wanted, setting up the new cinematic universe is probably the best idea 20^th Century Fox has had in a while, allowing for more installments with a refreshing taste for the audiences.  A new cast, new stories and multiple other X-Men movies in the works, enjoyed by us while Singer hides the original timeline like it never happened.  Good Job Singer, if only more people became aware of how mad of a genius you really are. 

What Now Capt: Civil War and MCU Overview

Marvel Cinematic Universe Civil War Overview by Bryan Quevedo

By this point Captain America: Civil War has been out and I know a review from us is overdue (when you’re a college student with a almost full time job it becomes difficult to keep track of what and when something is due).  At this point, this article will not be considered a just a review but much rather an overview of the movie as a whole, from how characters were portrayed in this movie to where I could possibly see them in their next installments. 

With the movie receiving VERY positive reviews from several critics, there is no need for me to say that this is a must watch and very enjoyable movie.  From the newly introduced characters to the certain plot developments, Civil War did something we have been missing from this cinematic universe since Avengers Age of Ultron.  Although as great as this movie may be, it came with some major flaws that consistent enough to be noticeable but personally not trash the movie completely.  Before I go on, I would like to state in this review that comparing this movie to Batman vs Superman just seems wrong (not that it’s superiorly better, but simply because it feels like comparing apples and oranges.  One featured the story of man vs god while the other was a story of….miscommunication…).  With this said, the best way to go over this movie would be to split the good from the bad, and look at the different components of the movie that made this a strong phase 3 installment.

What didn’t work…

Let’s just get the bad stuff out of the way, as much as my co-host like to tear anything they can get their hands on a new one, I like to see the faults and find ways it can be polished (if possible).  The movie was extremely heavy, with tons of characters, multiple key plot points and camera work reminiscing the glorious phase 2 installment Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Character Development:  When you pack 10 or more characters into a movie, you will tend to see characters not really get a chance to shine.  This case isn’t any different but surprisingly it works more as a positive rather than a negative.  Before we get to the big two new faces, I want to discuss Ant-Man and Hawkeye’s appearances in this movie which, to keep it short, felt off.  Neither character felt like they belonged in this movie, their purpose for joining Captain’s side felt like fillers rather than characters with actual incentives.  But hey shouldn’t being cool with Captain America and being a fan be a good enough incentive to make these characters show up… No, not at all.  Every character in this movie had a purpose for being there, be it because they were an extremely powerful being with little to no control (Scarlet Witch) or the logical catalyst between two sides (Vision).  Hell, even Rhodes (War Machine) felt like a good enough fit given he had little input (but solid input) prior to the major fight between both sides.  These two just felt like cameos to fill a roster, added free DLC that you didn’t ask for but honestly don’t care because it was free and it was cool to see it.

Unfortunately no one is safe from poor cameos.  Yes as much as it pains me to admit it, Black Panther and Spider-Man (*sobs) both had amazingly good cameos but lacked solidarity, giving us faith that these two characters can stand alone in their own standalone movie and sadly enough a reason to care for them.  Beginning with Black Panther, his biggest flaw in his appearance was giving the audience a reason to care for him.  Unless the viewer is sensitive and will cry for just about anything, the movie glossed over the loss of his father but showed it to us long enough for the movie to say “CARE FOR HIM DAMNIT”.  His major incentive for fighting next to Iron Man was simply because the crimes committed by those responsible were not being held accountable.  This was understood, but the sad nature behind it was not all there and it made for a clearly rushed and poorly developed motive for him being in the movie.  Honestly, I never felt a direct connection to him, nor cared for his loss.  All that came to mind was just how badass he looked while fighting and that sick costume.  Spider-Man’s cameo had a better set-up (which I will explain later) but his quick appearances in the fight scene leave us to ask, how will his solo movie work?  From what we saw, the audience was treated to a great introduction of this iteration of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and looks great when surrounded by the other cast.  What lacked about this appearance was enough evidence show us how he can stand on his own and if Tom Holland can give us the proper Spider-Man when his solo movie roles around in the next couple of years.  It is too soon to tell of course but more time with these characters could have given us a better idea of how they would be able to stand on their own two feet when their time comes in the next couple of years.

Also as a side note,  T'Challa felt so overlooked it was sort of sad.  Personally, unless the audience knew of the actor prior to the movie or understood that T’Challa was the Prince and his appearance there was because of his father, it was somewhat difficult to connect the dots and say “OOOOOOHHH, that’s Black Panther”, which is why I guess they had to add the scene where he removes his helmet after being surrounded by police to make it obvious to the audience who Black Panther was.

Honorable Mentioned: When Crossbones was announced to be in character for this movie, the internet exploded.  Having the character we saw in Winter Solider finally in costume and having a clip of him kicking Captain America’s ass led some to believe that the death would happen in accordance to the comics…which sadly did not happen.  For the 15 or so minutes we got to enjoy Crossbones, we got to see a spectacularly progressed villain that we needed to see back within Winter Soldier; a threat to the Avengers and someone who can match Captain in technique.  When we witnessed his death, personally it felt like the writer’s did all this for fan service.  What could have been a great villain for Civil War got thrown away so quickly.

Plot Development: The title is very misleading, and by very I mean A LOT.  If you ever read the original Civil War written by Mark Miller, you would be able to understand why this movie should not be titled “Civil War”.  From its progression of signing the Sokovia Accords (this movies iteration of the Superhuman Registration Act) to saving Bucky’s life from Hydra once again and “not telling Iron Man because he wouldn’t believe me”, this movie felt more like an internal conflict of The Avengers and not a conflict coming from the outside tearing them apart.  This also causes another problem, the transition of conflicts.  There were simply just too many of them that they all felt unfinished and unresolved in the end.  It felt as if the movie wanted us to make these connections on our own rather than telling us directly “this is exactly the outcome and you don’t need to make theories”.  This wouldn’t be a problem given that we have multiple other movies where we get to see these heroes again but each new conflict felt like it changed the purpose of what each side stood for.  Having to protect and rights and liberties of super humans from the hands of the government all of a sudden became, trying to save Bucky Barnes because he is Captain’s friend and the Sokovia Accords became something of the past.  Which each new point overshadowing the other, the movie became cluttered and unless the viewer kept track of what has been going on throughout the movie, or simply didn’t care, understanding the progression became a hassle and at times bumpy.  There are other small little annoyances such as tone transition (from serious to humorous to serious again) that felt choppy and out of place, but this I consider minor as it is more of a preference and didn’t ruin the overall enjoyment of this movie.

What did work…

Character Development:  One major aspect of this movie that I am very happy to see is that it kept true to one key element; it was a Captain America movie through and through.  From start to finish, we were treated to seeing how Captain’s America’s actions affected The Avenger’s as a whole.  From the progression of the story to the character interactions, everything somehow connected to a decision or action that he did.  Stopping Crossbones in Sokovia, that led to the Sokovia Accords.  Rejecting the Sokovia Accords, this led the splitting of The Avengers.  Trying to protect Bucky Barnes from the hands of the authority and Iron-Man, this led to everything else in the second half of the movie.  Unlike The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, the story was not progressed by a threat that affected an entire cast (Loki in The Avengers) or the introduction of characters that brought everyone together (Ultron, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in Age of Ultron), it progressed based on what Captain America did and the characters response to his actions.  At its core it felt like a Captain America movie.

Looking at Iron-Man, this movie almost completed his character.  Every installment featured Tony Stark as a party hard, playboy who dealt with the consequences after they happened.  It wasn’t until this movie where we saw the other half of Tony Stark, one that saw the consequences of his actions and decided to deal with them AT THAT MOMENT.  The biggest character growth was seen by him and for this I applaud the writing.  Whereas every installment and appearance of Iron-Man gave us an expected Tony Stark/Iron-Man, this movie gave us a refreshing new side of him that can well show us how he could stand in a future solo film (you know…if it happens).  He took action and control of the situations quickly and effectively while remaining humorous as always.

Now I know I mentioned Spider-Man and Black Panther in the “What didn’t work” section but it would be a crime to not say these characters shined extremely well in their cameos.  Besides the poor introduction and incentive for being there, Black Panther was great.  Costume payed homage to the black suit we see in the comics and his character stayed true to his comic book counterpart.  His progression throughout the movie made him clear as a character and how he could possibly stand in his standalone movie.  Spider-Man shined the brightest with his cameo, giving us a beautiful introduction with his interaction with Tony Stark and establishing the student/mentor relationship we will hopefully see later on.  Character wise, Tom Holland captured Spider-Man’s talkative nature, smartass remarks and attitude extremely well as well as giving us a dorky looking Peter Parker within a modern era in such a beautiful way it brought tears to my eyes (literary).  Within the couple of minutes we had with Spider-Man it was enough for any hard fan to really appreciate this iteration and hope for the best possible outcome in his solo movie. 

Plot Development: Just like with the character development, there is one major key aspect of the plot that saved this movie from being a cluttered unenjoyable mess.  As enjoyable as the main story line was and the fight scenes to follow, the movie’s excesses amount characters and loads of detail were all packaged in an organized manner that made point of Civil War understandable.  This allowed for one amazing aspect of the movie to shine, the ability to see all points of perspective of both sides of the conflict.  By this I mean that the audiences gets to see what Tony Stark is fighting for, his reason behind his push for the Sokovia Accords and betrayal of Steve Rogers as well as Rogers side of the conflict from wanting to protect The Avengers rights to keeping people like Scarlet Witch and Bucky safe from the hands of the government.  This is something the comic book didn’t show and left me clearly in support of Captain America’s side after seeing that the Superhuman Registration Act was a poorly written mess.  What the movie did well was give me options with reasonable support from both sides.  In the end, (as much as this was the unpopular opinion) I sided more with Stark’s case but more in support of checks and balances for The Avengers.  This aspect of the movie was insane, particularly because it kept me hooked throughout the entire movie, trying to understand both sides and their reasons.  Not wanting to judge one more than the other is something I never got from any superhero movie, and the left me so uncomfortable I enjoyed it.

Honorable Mentioned:  As disappointing to see that the main villain for Civil War be Baron Zemo not in costume but rather an instigator for the internal conflicts of The Avengers (honestly hoping he comes back as actual Baron Zemo, wouldn’t mind it) it led to one of the most spectacular fighting scenes in the movie.  As great and amazing as the airport sequences was, the fight between Captain America and Bucky vs Iron Man was probably the most heart wrenching sequences in the movie.  It was very uncomfortable to watch these two fight it out with such emotion after their betrayals.  Having both sides cooperate and set aside their differences only to have Zemo pull a last minute trick felt real.  On a personal note, the fight was so uncomfortable for me I almost wanted to yell “STOP IT PLEASE!” in the movies. 

So Where does this leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe?...

Of course no one will know for sure since nothing has been confirmed and the next movie won’t  be until fall of this year.  All we can do is guess, so why not take a shot at it.

Doctor Strange:  This is the next movie due to come out during the fall of 2016.  Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, the movie will follow his beginnings as Doctor Strange and how he acquired his mastery of the magical arts.  There was a brief mentioning of him back in Winter Solider (recall the rooftop scene) meaning that this movie MIGHT take place before the events of Winter Soldier.  With this in mind, his future might not be with The Avengers rather he may serve as an advisor for the likes of Spider-Man (within Homecoming along with Tony Stark) or an advisor or helping hand for Captain America’s Secret Avengers.

Black Panther: We got to see him in all his glory as a cameo in this movie and if we can connect the dots correctly we might have gotten a hint of what his upcoming movie may be about. Not coming out until July of 2018, Black Panther may focus on the possible fall of Wakanda after the events of Civil War.  This may be a long shot since I am not basing this on possible Black Panther story lines but according to the end credit scenes, we see Bucky going into a comatose state until a cure is found for his brainwashing procedure.  Keeping in mind that this is not the last time we will see Bucky, his movie may revolve around Hydra or another outside organization coming to take Wakanda tech, Vibranium reverses or Bucky himself.  This is only assumed because since we leave the Black Panther at Wakanda along with the Winter Soldier.

Captain America and his side of heroes: The Avengers split, and Captain breaks out all captive members incarcerated within the ocean jail headquarter…thing.  What does this mean?  The Secret Avengers of course!  Since Captain America did not follow up with the Sokovia Accords it can only be assumed that Captain America along with the rest of the heroes who were imprisoned will become their own group not under any jurisdiction (this includes S.H.I.E.L.D or whatever is left of it).  In future installments of the MCU, this could only mean that this group of heroes may not appear elsewhere until Infinity War begins.  If mentioned or certain members make cameos, the best possible movie to do so would probably be within Captain Marvel if it does not follow an origin story (unless the writers make the origin happen after the events of Civil War).

Iron Man and his side of heroes:  More than likely this will be the side we see most of because of the consequences they will have to face for having signed the Sokovia Accords.  If RDJ signs a new contract to appear in more films and not just Infinity War we may see Tony Stark take lead as the new S.H.I.E.L.D head after Nick Fury made an exit in Winter Solider.  With The Avengers now under the United Nations jurisdiction, we may see The Avengers not be as effective in stopping threats leading to the remaining members questioning the effectiveness of the Accord.  In regards to Rhodes coming back as War Machine, he may be after either one of three things happen, 1) Tony builds him an exoskeleton of some sort of use the War Machine suit properly 2) he completes his physical therapy and manages to walk again allowing him to use the War Machine suit properly 3) he quits and lives a normal life.  If option three is the case, I am sorry but it would have been better to see him die.

Spider-man:  Not many details have come out about his solo-movie except that at the moment of finishing this article Michael Keaton has officially been casted for this movie.  Some are saying that this could mean that the possible villain for this movie may be Vulture which would actually be pretty damn great.  Alongside this prediction, since RDJ has also been casted to make an appearance here we could possibly see an Iron Spider-Man suit cameo since Tony Stark served as a mentor for young Peter Parker.  The movie did little to nothing to show us what his possible solo movie could lead to and not until more details emerge, any predictions about this movie concerning the plot would be more along the lines of what we would want, rather than what we could possibly get.

Only time will tell what the events of Civil War will lead to, but honestly this movie (as harsh as my fellow co-host are) got me excited for what’s to come.    

A Swing and a Miss: Game of Thrones Best May Already be Far Behind

Game of Thrones EP 04 Season 6 Review by Hugo Guzman

Episode 03 of Game of Thrones (“Oathbreaker”) was simply awesome. I didn’t do an article review on it (sorry!!) but if I had, I would have said things like, “blindsides you with killer characterizations and unexpected developments” and “shows what you can do when you let the characters speak for themselves”. The Stark children took center stage in “Oathbreaker”, and last Sunday’s “Book of the Stranger” tantalized us with the possibility of more.

Possibility that was ultimately squandered. This episode, as I told my friend Adam, was both “stupid” and “shitty”. In fact, it sucked so bad, we were at CAUSUALties had to come up with a customs system for analysing key elements from this episode!

Fig. 1: The MemeScale^TM. If it’s pretty good, you get a seal of approval. If you tried but it’s still shit, a tiny pupper will pat you on the head. If I straight up can’t tell if you’re serious or joking, Xzibit will inform you of your foolishness!

It’s called the MemeScale^TM, and I’ll be using it to analyze some key scenes from this episode and tell you where they fell on the scale.

Stark Siblings, Unite!!

“Oathbreaker” ended with a gripping moment where Jon Snow killed the men who had stabbed him to death at the end of last year’s season. Then, he abandoned the Night’s Watch to its fate, and walked out the Northern Gate.

Instead, “The Book of the Stranger” has Jon sitting and mostly waiting around after his climax in the previous episode. Despite the tension in last week’s cliffhanger, Jon spends much of the time until Sansa arrives a few minutes into the episode.

I have to give Sophie Turner props. I’ve had doubts about her acting ability in the past, but her subtle interactions with Jon Snow really made me feel like the character had come into her own. Sansa finally has her motivations in order, and it definitely comes through in Turner’s performance. She’s driven to avenge her family and retake Winterfell for the Starks, but Jon isn’t so sure. But when he gets a letter from Ramsay Bolton, he’s put in a bind. After all — He’s got Rickon!

Verdict:

Jon Snow was a huge drag on the episode, because he made the classic GoT mistake of not capitalizing on an awesome moment from the previous episode.

Osha Does Things

She dies, mostly.

Rickon Stark arrived in Winterfell in “Oathbreaker”. Osha the wildling was with him, and so was Shaggydog’s heard. The internet instantly exploded with theories that the youngest Stark might have a plan of his own to fight back against the Bolton, and that we’d get to see this epic confrontation played out in the next few episodes!

It’s an an exciting theory, but everyone’s favorite Bolton had different ideas. Osha, Rickon’s erstwhile wildling companion, is introduced to his chambers, where she tries to seduce the vicious killer. Ramsey stabs her in the neck when she’s dumb enough to climb on his lap.

“Sorry, Internet!”

That ABSOLUTELY destroys any theory that involves Rickon fighting back, and kills off a beloved character for absolutely no good reason. The scene is short, and to the point. In case you hadn’t heard: Ramsay is a bad person and he kills people!

The Verdict

I was pretty disappointed that Osha was so unceremoniously killed off. I don’t usually buy into the misogyny arguments that surround Game of Thrones, but did the writers just go through a bad breakup? This was a pathetic moment for all involved.

So what has everyone else been up to…?

Generally Bad People, Unite!!

Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, the High Sparrow is continuing his reign of terror. Cersei and Jaime are trying to work with everyone else on a solution, but no one seems to appreciate their efforts. It’s not until

Fuck, honestly it was just a boring development. We knew that the Tyrells didn’t like Cersei, and this definitely fixed that gap. I’m ready for a big showdown with the High Sparrow, but given the showrunner’s track-record, I’m not sure if they can capitalize on it. The High Sparrow got some interesting development but COME ON, WE’VE ALREADY SEEN HIM DO SH*T LIKE THAT. Margaery’s brother is in trouble, so just GET TO THE PART WHERE YOU KILL SH*T. F**K. THAT’S THE ONLY REASON I STILL WATCH THIS SH*T.

Instead, we’re gonna get more small councils. Hooray!

Verdict

NOTHING F**KING HAPPENED. I don’t like any of these particular people except for Jaime. It was just a weak moment where things only happened because they had to.

The “““““Climax”””””” (Feat. Daenerys)

It’s not secret that I absolutely detest Daenerys Targaryen. All she’s done in this show is ruin other people’s civilizations, and not conquer the absolute sh*t out of Westeros, which is what she set out to do when her dear old husband died. She’s been captured by Dothraki, who are now in a very flammable building, with a woman who is immune to fire.

And as she emerges from the flames, all the onlookers fall to their knees, and Khaleesi is back!

Also, Jorah and Daario Neharis tried to rescue a girl who needed no rescuing.

WHY?

I don’t understand why the Dothraki didn’t just f**king stab her! She murdered their leaders right before their very eyes. And also, why does this show constantly give us brown people who end up worshipping the perfect white princess? Who can’t even run one conquered city!

 Verdict

I wish the beetle from a few seasons ago had killed her

Final Verdict

With only one really strong scene, more than a few weak moments, and the return of Daenerys doing stupid things and being pat on the back for it, I might have no choice but to unleash Xzibit.

But! I will say one thing. Much of this episode consisted of scenes that “needed to happen.” I didn’t mention Theon arriving in the Iron Islands, Littlefinger’s scheming, nor Tyrion stalling for more time in Meereen. Even the strongest scenes, between Jon and Sansa, are only setting the stage for future epic moments ahead. As terrible as this episode was, it was a necessary evil. I might have to expand my rating scale…

And at least it wasn’t Dorne.

Game of Thrones: Season Anticlimactic, Episode Boring as F*** (TV Review)

Game of Thrones EP 02 Season 6 Review by Hugo Guzman

Sorry it’s late, guys! I realized after the podcast that we have a pretty strict 2-day spoiler rule. Hopefully, this warning reaches you all in time! Make sure to catch my Game of Thrones Ep. 01 review on the latest CASUALties episode, along with our hopes and fears for Captain America: Civil War and Bishop’s review of Green Room.

CASUALties Episode: https://soundcloud.com/casualties_podcast/the-pointless-war-ep022

I’ve often said that the first few episodes of Game of Thrones are indicative of how the whole season will turn out. In fact, I said that in this week’s episode.

I really, really, really hope this season proves me wrong.

Oh Joy, it’s the Greyjoys

For the first time in way too long, we’re visiting the Iron Islands, home of the Greyjoys, everyone’s favorite fantasy-vikings. Last time we checked in on them, action girl Yara Greyjoy failed miserably in her quest to rescue her brother. This time around, her dad Balon is chewing her out for suggesting they stop trying to conquer the North.

And then Euron shows up, and everything goes to sh*t.

Euron Greyjoy is the kind of guy who doesn’t need an introduction baddest of all the Ironborn, and gets himself proclaimed king of the Iron Islands when he promises to marry Daenerys and control her dragons.

 but gets one anyway. In the books, he’s one of the most feared pirates in the world, a mysterious man of deep magical knowledge, and a generally bad dude. He’s the

He made his first “in the flesh” appearance in the third book, however, meaning he should have appeared in season three (since the show was still following the books closely). Instead, we got only a hint that Balon would die, and then a whole lot of nothing. In fact, the whole ironborn plot came to a screeching halt — Yara only appeared in one episode in season four, and not at in season five. No Euron either — he was only ever referenced by Tywin in season one.

So Balon steps out into the world’s spookiest, most dangerous looking rope bridge, where he meets his brother Euron… Who proceeds to ramble about how he’s a god. Balon’s actual death is quick and seriously anti-climactic, and the sudden cut to another scene didn’t help either.

This is in fact the clearest we get at Euron. Shortly before he delivers a multi-season climax in 30 seconds

Later on, at Balon’s funeral, Yara swears how she’s gonna find the killer and bring them to justice. Her uncle has his doubts, though — the Kingsmoot has to declare her Queen of the Iron Islands first. Which they might not even do, because this is medieval fantasy, Yara is a woman, and despite being one of the most competent characters on the show, we need to remind viewers that sexism is still a thing.

This was the real misstep of the show. D&D portrayed Euron as… I’m not even sure. He’s obviously batshit crazy, and he thinks he’s a god. He’s no interesting, or mysterious, or even obviously evil. He just kind of shows up and makes good on Melisandre’s curse from a few seasons ago (the same one that got Robb Stark and Joffery killed).

Speaking of which…

Melisandre Brings Jon Snow Back

There’s only one real word I could use to describe this scene: Boring.

This is the big resurrection we’ve been building up to for months. Everyone knew it was coming. We’ve seen people get resurrected on screen before — Beric Dondarrion, from a few seasons ago, for example. And THAT scene was cool as f***. The Hound fought for his life. Some swords caught on fire. It was dramatic and badass.

This scene starts with a haircut.

It really doesn’t get better than that. Melisandre has been feeling like crap and doubting her faith (probably because she burned a child alive, and has nothing to show for it). She doesn’t look like she’s doubting her faith, though. She looks BORED during this ritual.  I can imagine her asking “Why am I even doing this?”

There’s a lot of Valyrian we can’t understand (the Dondarrion scene from earlier was all in English), and everyone actually leaves the room for Jon to come back to life. It’s anticlimactic, so much that the resurrection actually feels shoehorned.

When your key plot element feels shoehorned, you’ve gone wrong somewhere.

I understand that you wanted to keep viewers guessing. You really wanted to make everyone feel like he wasn’t gonna come back. That’s shitty and you suck, D&D. Everyone knew he was gonna come back, and instead of a cool and heroic return from the dead, we got… BORING.

Tyrion Drinks, Knows Things

Luckily, Tyrion Lannister is here to save this episode from being absolute trash!

Tyrion is in Mereen, which is seriously screwed. Dany’s enemies are all around, escape seems impossible and there’s no sign of the Khaleesi anywhere. But Tyrion has a plan — They need friends, and there’s no better friends than motherfucking dragons.

So, after some fun banter, Tyrion and Varys venture into the catacombs, where Dany chained up her dragons (minus Drogon). Tyrion goes up to the dragons, and seriously, actually tries to make friends.

“How do you make friends with a dragon? Very carefully, reveals local drinker/thing-knower!”

It works! Tyrion manages to pee his pants, unchain the dragons, and scurry back to Varys’ side without being roasted. The dragons skulk back into the shadows, but we finally have something we can work with! This was probably the best subplot of the episode, because things actually got done. We had some more great writing for Tyrion, dragons were freed, and it looks like Mehreen’s story is finally picking up after entire seasons of druggery.

Bathing in the Blood of Bolton

Ramsay Bolton is a bad dude. He’s probably the only major character worse than Euron Greyjoy in the books, and in the TV show he raped Sansa Stark and castrated Theon.

So I have to hand it to the writers. I actually did feel something when Ramsay killed his dear old dad, despite having seen that coming for a while now. The moment was quick but effective, and great performances on both actors’ parts (and some funny camera angles) left me wondering for a split second as to who had stabbed whom.

But when Roose Bolton finally met his end, I knew the Bastard’s adventures had only just begun! After getting the sycophantic Lord Karstark into bullying a poor maester into helping drag Walda Frey out of bed, Ramsey prepared to give his newborn baby brother a lovely birthday gift.

The death scene was definitely tense, and had me on the edge of my seat. Seeing Walked slowly realize what was about to happen to her was a real treat, and with this act, the Bolton Bastard has solidified his role as the worst person in Westeros, and possibly the entire world.

… And Everyone Else

Honestly, if I didn’t mention them, then nothing important happened. We got to see Bran Stark for the first time in forever, although nothing happened there. Tommen and Cersei had a nice little moment, although I personally think it’s terrible that they’re trying to make Cersei a sympathetic character. In Braavos, Arya finally gets to eat, after getting her ass kicked again. And the High Sparrow is up to no good again, but this time, he’s gotta tango with Jaime Lannister. And nothing substantial happens in any of those scenes.

Oh, yeah. Theon decides he’s gonna go back to the Iron Islands. No clue why.

In Conclusion

Game of Thrones keeps missing its biggest opportunities. They made a serious mistake in waiting so long to kill Balon, and the resurrection scene is just bad. Key characters are tossed aside or just misused, especially Euron Greyjoy. This episode’s strongest moment comes from relying on its characters to make an impact — any time it strays from that, it turns into a dragged out, boring as hell scene. Ramsey Bolton and Tyrion Lannister continue to bring the heat, but otherwise, this episode is a solid BORING/10.