Right on the heels of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Hollywood is yet again pumping out a superhero in hopes of taking over the box office. This time around the action takes place in the Marvel world, as it is Captain America: Civil War that is preparing to hit North American theaters.
Developed from the 2006-2006 Marvel Comics crossover “Civil War,” the movie centers on the aftermath that results from the massive amount of collateral damage that The Avengers caused. This destruction generates ample political pressure, which eventually leads the United Nations to create the “Sokovia Accords” – which is an international security system aimed to hold the ever-growing number of super humans accountable for their actions.
Unfortunately, this new global system creates a notable divide between members of The Avengers team. On one hand, Captain America is completely against the new security measures and believes that the government should not be interfering with the team’s efforts to defend humanity. On the other hand, Ironman strongly supports the U.N.’s program and feels that is a necessary precaution. This clash of perspectives ends up escalating, leaving other members like Black Widow and Hawkeye to choose sides.
As the movie continues an already established storyline, the majority of the cast members are returning to familiar roles, as they have starred in past Marvel projects. Robert Downey Jr. triumphantly reprises his roles as Tony Stark, otherwise known as the almighty Iron Man. Meanwhile, Chris Evans plays the lead hero in the movie, Captain America. Several of the other returning actors to the comic-themed movie installment include: Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle and Jeremy Renner.
Behind the camera, brother directing duo Anthony and Joseph Russo are back at it. After receiving high praise for their work on 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it wasn’t long before they were called back to work on yet another superhero installment.
With the impending US release of Captain America: Civil War, IMAX has released a special featurette that shares how directors Anthony and Joseph brought the action-packed story to life with IMAX technology.
The roughly two-minute long promo video starts with lead actor Chris Evans gushing about the directing team’s ability to capture the story in the most visually-pleasing way for the audience. It then transitions to Anthony and Joseph, who claim that IMAX technology is currently the most effective way of creating an immersive experience. Joseph goes on to explain that IMAX enhances not only the image quality and size, but it also improves the audio effects showcased in the film.
Later in the featurette, actor Anthony Mackie explains his perspective on watching a movie in IMAX. Anthony says that the difference between seeing a movie in regular 2-D and seeing it in IMAX is like the difference between “watching a movie on your iPhone and watching a movie projected on your wall.” He goes on to elaborate, “It’s the scope of it – the scale.”
Since the movie features a diverse group of characters, from those who can fly to those who shrink down to ant-size (Paul Rudd reprises his role as Ant-Man in the flick), the use of IMAX helps emphasize the unique elements embellished within the cast.
Lastly, the featurette ends with a preview of the hero-on-hero battle that ultimately goes down in the film. Chris Evan hints that the superhero civil war is one of the movie’s most epic scenes.
As comic book movies continue to draw in huge crowds, Hollywood shows no sign of slowing down on their production. Thus, the storylines, action sequences and battles continue to get bigger and more complex. Gone are the days of just one superhero battling against some villain. Studios are now teaming up their biggest moneymakers – such as Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man, etc. – to create a new generation of action-hero movies.
Considering how well received Marvel’s past superhero crossovers (i.e. Avengers, etc.) have been, as well as the success that this latest Captain America installment is seeing overseas, I think it is safe to say that Captain America: Civil War will be yet another movie that serves as motivation for Hollywood to produce even more comic-book block busters.
You can catch Captain America: Civil War when it is released in theaters on May 6, 2016.