Captain America: Civil War

**Spoiler Alert**

Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo/Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle, William Hurt, Daniel Bruhl, Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland and Frank Grillo

Geez, the cast list alone for Captain America: Civil War could almost be a posting in itself. It's fairly impressive. All those bodies have to share screen-time, which makes the film's 146 running time an imperative.

Watching the latest Captain America movie, the audience might be deceived into thinking the latest Avengers was playing instead. If I'm not mistaken, more superheroes have been assembled for CA: CW than all other Marvel adaptations, including the X-Men movies--and I'm not even factoring in Thor and Hulk, who are absent from this story. No fewer than twelve superheroes fill the screen for directors Anthony and Joe Russo's dizzying but entertaining action extravaganza.

In the opening scenes, we find Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Secretary of State, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) gathered at the Avengers complex to listen to Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) discuss the issue of vigilantism. As Ross explains, the U.S. government and world leaders are concerned The Avengers have become a destructive force operating without oversight and without restraint. Citing The Avenger's operation in Sokovia (remember The Avengers battle with Ultron?), which caused untold carnage and death, Ross proposes the crime fighters deploy only with UN consent; an idea Iron Man and most of the gathering are receptive to with the exception of Captain America, who finds the proposal unreasonable. The plan is formalized in what Ross explains is the Sokovia Accords; a proposal that grants the UN the control they seek, thus preventing unnecessary destruction and loss of life. Following Ross' departure, the members discuss the issue further as Iron Man and Captain America lock horns in a disagreement over whether the Avengers will cede control of their organization.

During the Sokovia Accords, which take place in Vienna, the King of Wakanda addresses a gathering of world leaders. Unbeknownst to the attendees, a terrorist act takes place outside the building, which comes to the attention of the King's son; T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Powerless to stop the bomb detonation, the blast destroys much of the building and takes the life of T'Challa's father. Blame for the blast is assigned to Captain America's old friend; Bucky Barnes or as he is commonly known; The Winter Soldier; a Soviet-trained assassin and soldier. Aware of the shoot-to-kill order issued in the manhunt, Captain America finds his friend; hoping to save his life. After a scuffle, The Winter Soldier loses his friend on a motorcycle chase through the city streets. As Captain America follows in hot pursuit, he finds someone else has joined the hunt; a character known as Black Panther; T'Challa's alter-ego, who wants nothing more than to kill Winter Soldier to avenge his father's death. The violent chase, which takes place on the city street, is kind of an all-against-all fight; each party trying to stop or destroy the other.

But Captain America's effort to save his friend is complicated by the Accords he has violated, which make him an international criminal in the eyes of the law and the other Avengers. Shortly thereafter, Iron Man manages to catch up with Captain America with the intent of bringing his friend to justice. Iron Man finds the plan is easier to conceive than execute.

Another party interested in Bucky's capture is a shadowy figure by the name of Zemo (Daniel Bruhl); who is after information regarding Winter Soldier's training; a special project conducted by the Russians in the early 1990s'. How and why the project is of interest to Zemo is revealed later.

Before long, tensions between Captain America and Iron Man escalate, which draws Avengers members loyal to each side into a war of sorts. Black Panther joins the fray on Iron Man's side; his commitment to the Accords his father helped establish being one of his motivations. A surprise visit to Queens by Tony Stark brings another fledgling superhero into the fray while Ant Man (Paul Rudd), is brought into the fight on Captain America/Steve Roger's side. The ensuing battle is a carnival of mayhem as a dozen superheroes unleash their powers, weapons and martial arts skills on one another in exciting and sometimes humorous ways.

In time we learn Zemo has been searching for the location of five other Winter Soldiers; a secret he manages to pry from Bucky. We also learn of his culpability in framing Bucky for the Accords bombing.

A showdown with Zemo and a brutal battle between Iron Man and Captain America makes up the film's third act. The end doesn't come with a neat resolution but minor dissent within the hero ranks. No rapprochement but no permanent split either.

Amid all the noise and destruction and the film's breakneck pace is the issue concerning the moral and ethical applications of power and how its unbridled use can be as pernicious to the world and society as the destruction unleashed by criminals. The film's perspective on this issue is hardly black and white. Various shades come into play as Stark realizes power cannot always be contained and can be a detriment even in the service of good while Rogers sees the the application of power as a positive absolute if used for the greater good. Stark has firmer argumentative grounds. Early in the film, he meets a mother whose done died in the Sokovia operation; a loss for which she holds The Avengers culpable. The Sokovia incident is also the catalyst for Zemo's wrath, for he too blames the costumed crime fighters for the destruction visited upon his country.

Captain America: Civil War is an entertaining movie and a comic book geek's delight. Crowding the screen with superhero bodies is a great way to keep the fans turned on and a sly way of introducing characters who are sure to have franchises of their own, like Black Panther.

The story isn't bad and action is guaranteed every few frames so there isn't much to gripe about, though there isn't much that resonates either. What more can one say about a Marvel movie? It delivers what we've come to expect and leaves room for more, which is sure to come.

Miles Ahead

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Don Cheadle/Starring Don Cheadle, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emayatzy Corinealdi and Keith Stanfield

Though I really enjoyed watching Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead, I can't help but wonder if the documentary platform might be a more effective way of telling a musician's story. Cheadle's film is the third music biopic I've seen this year and I can't say my appreciation or understanding of the various musicians has been broadened by any of the films. In documentaries, the ratio of personal life to music is more equitably distributed while narrative films weigh heavily on the personal. Any mention of or attention to music is usually incidental and is subordinate to sensational plot lines that deal with the musician in question getting high, fighting addictions or sifting through or jilting lovers. The best music film I've seen the last six months was Janis: Little Girl Blue; a fascinating documentary on the life of Janis Joplin. The film addressed her troubles but we also saw copious performance footage while talking heads elucidated the finer points of her singing and her music. When one wants to learn about the music, talking heads always help; a quality narrative films lack.

But back to Miles Ahead...

Much has been said about Cheadle's lack of fidelity to facts in his film. This isn't really an issue if the filmmaker hopes to capture the subject's essence. The problem with Cheadle's film is that I have no idea how truth, fact and fantasy are compartmentalized. Watching his film, you might think Miles Davis was nothing more than a gun-toting, coke inhaling, panty-chasing thug who moonlighted as a jazz trumpeter. But as Cheadle's Davis says to Rolling Stone's Dave Brill (Ewan McGregor); "If you're going to tell a story, come at it with some attitude." Those words eloquently capture Cheadle's directorial mind-set on how he chooses to tell Davis' story, or at least capture a period in his life and career.

Miles Ahead isn't a cradle-to-grave story, as biopics tend to be these days but a period in time; in this case the 1970s. We see Davis long after he has firmly established himself in the jazz world, living a hermit-like existence in his own house. While his record company badgers him relentlessly for new music, Dave Brill pounds on his door, hoping to coax Davis into telling his story for a Rolling Stone comeback piece. Brill's failed entreaty unfortunately earns him a black eye. Brill gets swept up in Davis' rancorous exchange with the Columbia company executives a short-time later when he demands to be paid partially up front for music he hasn't delivered. When the executives refuse him, Davis fires a gun menacingly in the direction of one executive, demanding all the money he has in his pocket.

Later, the two return to Davis' house, only to find his female friend is throwing a party, which irks him greatly. When Brill sees Davis lock up a reel of new music, he immediately plans to take it, having earlier promised the Columbia executives the tapes in a deal-making scheme. Meanwhile, Harper Hamilton (Michael Stuhlbarg) and a promising young musician named Lakeith (Keith Stanfield); both serving as operatives for the Columbia, arrive at the party. To their good fortune and Davis' bad, they find the drawer containing the reel has been left unlocked by Brill after the journalist used Davis' key gain access to the drawer. Hamilton and Lakeith take the reel and leave. After the party, Davis discovers the reel is gone. Learning Hamilton was present at the party, Davis arms himself and sets off with Brill to find the two men.

The story then becomes Davis' effort to recover his reel, which leads he and Brill to violent scenarios involving gun play and a cat and mouse chase with Hamilton and Lakeith. When the film isn't about Davis' gangster pursuits, his romantic life drops by to insinuate itself in the story. In nearly every biopic featuring a male, the protagonist is usually haunted by a love he treated badly or couldn't fully commit to. A beautiful dancer named Frances Taylor (Emayatzi Corinealdi) becomes Davis' wife but as the audience might anticipate, he alienates her and wrecks the marriage with his incurable philandering and his selfish attitudes about marriage.

We do manage to hear music in the story; glimpses of gigs and some studio work but not enough to satisfy even the most casual fan. Davis was a pioneer in the jazz fusion movement but his work is never mentioned and only later in the film do hear a selection. A significant trend in jazz never rates a minute of screen time.

Though Cheadle's film fails as a music biopic, it succeeds as a rousing crime drama. The film might have worked better as a thriller about a musician trying to recover his tapes.

The movie's salient attribute is Cheadle's electrifying performance. Cheadle mimics Davis' low growly voice with uncanny precision. He utters some quote-worthy lines we can imagine were culled directly from interviews. Davis' penchant for prickliness and hostility is well documented; a few foibles Cheadle does not overlook.

In his directorial debut, Cheadle shows some compositional flair. During a confrontation with Hamilton at a boxing match, the scene degenerates into chaos. As we see the crowd clash and disperse, a long shot reveals a younger Miles Davis in the ring, performing with his band. The shot is strange and effective. Cheadle also handles the action scenes with a seasoned action director's skill.

In spite of my fondness for Miles Ahead; it's hard to think of it as a music bio. My gripes about all the narrative musical biographies from recent years, particularly from 2016, apply here.

I implore the film industry to stop making films about iconic musicians. Pour budgets into informative documentaries instead; they are rarely disappointing. I sure hope the film on Nina Simone isn't more of the same; I don't think I can stomach one more music bio that has little or nothing to do with music.