Captain America: Civil War Movie Review

Released: 28th April 2016 (UK)

Length: 147 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director(s): Anthony and Joe Russo

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd and Tom Holland.

Kicking off the third phase of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe; Captain America: Civil War is the third and possibly final film centring on the leader of the Avengers.  Captain America has only gotten better with time and Civil War is the biggest and best of the three, ranking alongside the strongest films the company has put out.

About a year has passed since the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and the team continues to fight towards making the world a safer place. After an explosive operation in Nigeria that claims the lives of several innocent civilians, questions arise over the team’s place in the world. It appears to be the final straw for the government who take the Avengers to task over the destruction they have caused. From here, two separate camps led by Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) are established, each with their own ideas and perspectives on what the group stands for. All the while however, external forces are taking advantage of the rift within the team, meaning to turn them against each other in retaliation for the havoc they caused. It’s a web of political intrigue and rising tensions that bounces between many different locations and juggles all of its characters with a gusto that stands alongside the previous Avenger films. Civil War also boasts some of the more unexpected twists in the franchise so far, taking the characters to darker places. The escalation posed here is intentional. Captain American’s third outing doesn’t flinch or buckle under the weight of all its material; instead it gives us one of the most thoughtful and important narratives in the series so far.

With a set of characters fully established, Civil War can focus on creating dramatic tension between them and the results are both palpable and understandable. You can grasp the motivations at play here and you understand where they’re all coming from. Despite having so many characters (It’s practically Avengers 2.5 with ten heroes in all), what really holds the film together is the relationships between the characters. Steve’s near unbreakable friendship with Bucky Barnes (aka The Winter Soldier) fuels much of his motivation to uncover the dark secrets of the program that created them both. He’s steadfast and loyal to his own moral code which stands at odds with the other Avengers. Iron Man on the other hand has become genuinely concerned about the team’s actions and believes that signing away their authority is the better thing to do. Stark himself feels more human than before, his charismatic ego almost entirely muted by a sense of guilt. The other characters all have their own individual tales which are lesser in scope but still equally engaging; Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are particularly strong in the ways they play off each other with their powers. Civil War also brings a couple of new characters to the proceedings; I won’t spoil them here but the film does a fine job of both surprising you with their entrances and also giving plenty of backstory to make them worthy additions. What it all comes down to is that every character has their own motivations at play and they each contribute to the conflict in their own varying ways.

Captain America continues on from its predecessor with even more outstanding fight scenes that have drastically increased in scale. With some slick editing mixed with eye-popping special effects, audiences certainly won’t be disappointed by the action which never once becomes too over-bearing. Because of the coherent plot, the action feels much more immediate and captivating. The most impressive moment is of course the airport battle where the two teams square off; cutting between both the two sides as they swap between fighting different targets makes for one of the most intimate and tense fight scenes in the entire MCU. The film’s globetrotting narrative gives way to a greater variety of environments which in turn give off their own atmospheres. The Winter Soldier’s locales are especially foreboding, conveying the sinister experiments that were conducted on him to begin with.

With its detailed story, deep characters and standout presentation, Captain America Civil War is another superb addition to a wildly popular franchise; it’s easily the best superhero film of the year so far and seeing Marvel maintain their high standards thirteen films in is really encouraging. It deserves all the success it can muster.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Post-Play: Telltale Games and the need to embrace player choice

To get myself back into Game of Thrones in time for Season 6 of the TV series, I bought Telltale’s Game of Thrones last Christmas and just finished it off. It’s a good game in my book, but I feel that it was quite lacking when it came to player choice. People have been quick to call the developer out on this in recent years and I thought I’d give my own personal take.

Telltale Games are very story driven and the team has always stood by their writing staff, but in the modern gaming landscape, their focus is definitely starting to become a little stale. The player has some influence on specific story elements but for the most part, the developers demand that we experience their story their way with little in the way of variation. It’s a formula which may not last much longer, even if the developer continues to snag some of the biggest licenses in entertainment media.

As mentioned in my review, the last episode of Telltale’s series could have used a Mass Effect 2 style climax. How? Let me break it down…

The survivability of House Forrester is based on how many pieces you move into play for the final battle. These include…

1. Mira’s dealings in King’s Landing: If Mira can set up a strong deal for ironwood then there will be more reason to keep the Forresters around and the other rival houses won’t dare touch Ironrath.

2. Asher and his soldiers: How many soldiers did Asher recruit? How motivated are they to fight? These forces have the potential to greatly improve the central garrison at Ironrath.

3. Getting Ryon back: If Rodrick and company got Ryon back before the battle; the Whitehills will have nothing to shield themselves with, making for an easier fight.

4. Gared and the North Grove: If he was able to convince them, the fighters of the North Grove can provide extra reinforcement by jumping the Whitehills from behind.

5. The Glenmore alliance: Did Rodrick secure his betrothal to Elaena Glenmore? If yes then that family will also come to lend a hand against the Whitehills.

The following scale determines the House’s survivability…

0-2 Pieces in play: It’s a total loss; House Whitehill overruns Ironrath and murders everyone in the process. Time for a new game…

3-4 Pieces in play: A relatively good defence, but it’s not without casualties. One or two Forrester family members won’t make it and most of the small folk are either dead or missing. Better re-evaluate some of your choices…

5 Pieces in play: The Forresters are victorious! You built a near perfect defence with very low casualties. Few will dare to mess with Ironrath again, but winter is coming…

Depending on the outcome, the final speeches from Cersei, Margarey and Ramsay (Jon will remain the same) will be much different as a result. In this way, you can have either a hopeful or heart-wrenching ending which is much more dependent on your choices.

Those were my own ideas for how Telltale’s Game of Thrones Season 1 could have turned out with a few story edits and rewrites here and there. On that note, I can’t recall a single game I’ve played which fully incorporated every single choice and consequence the player ran into; Dishonored, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the Mass Effect trilogy all came close to varying degrees. They all have their own limitations due to game design and the way the story is told. From Telltale’s perspective, they have to find ways to squeeze into the canon of the Game of Thrones TV series; they can’t kill or maim characters like Ramsay for example which really limits player choice in that regard.

Telltale games need more dynamic elements of choice, more diversity with multiple endings. The Walking Dead Season 2 did manage to do this with Clementine ending up in different locations depending on the final choices. When your gameplay is relatively basic, the narrative needs to make up for it in spades; while Telltale may always wish to stand by their artistic vision, the way they work choice into the equation may need a serious upgrade in the future.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series Review (Season 1)

Released: November 17th 2015 (Episode 6)

Developer: Telltale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

Certificate: 18

Formats: PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PC, IOS and Android

Played on: PC

Telltale’s Game of Thrones is a relatively decent first attempt at adding additional stories to George R. R. Martin’s massively popular fantasy franchise, with some frustrating elements that keep it from the top of the heap.

The series begins at the Red Wedding during the show’s third season in which Robb Stark and all his forces are sadistically betrayed and murdered by Walder Frey. House Forrester, a loyal ally to the Starks is also present at the infamous event and after suffering heavy losses, the future of the house and its family comes into question. Over the course of six episodes we bounce back and forth between several different characters across Westeros and beyond. The Wall, King’s Landing and Meereen are just some of the locations featured as the narrative manages to capture the often harsh and brutal nature of the source material without much issue. With the use of characters such as Queen Cersei, Tyrion Lannister, Margery Tyrell and Jon Snow, the story here is able to carve its own slot to weave a tale that takes you beyond the events of the series. Like with other games from the developers, you’ll latch on to several main characters and root for them to win (or die) as you plough through the game, which lasts about eleven or twelve hours overall.

However, the story’s biggest weakness comes in the final episode; there’s an incredibly tense battle from a storytelling standpoint but when it comes to incorporating choice, the player really doesn’t have much of a say in the matter. An ideal payoff would have taken a cue from Mass Effect 2, moving all the pieces into place to calculate whether or not House Forrester would survive. The illusion of choice is a problem which rears itself once again in Game of Thrones which is too bad because the story is both well-written and acted, mixing excruciating tension, political intrigue and mystery just as well as the TV series it’s based on.

The gameplay of Telltale’s outings has always been fairly basic and it’s no different here. The mechanics are almost exactly the same as The Walking Dead and Tales from the Borderlands, making for a very accessible outing. You’ll be choosing conversation options from a list by clicking; wandering around the environments to interact and engaging in QTE based action sequences. These gameplay facets are all tried and true for these kinds of games, but for Game of Thrones things feel much more basic which often works to its detriment. There are barely any puzzles to mix things up this time around and some sections involve simply walking to a location without anything happening until you reach the next major story junction. Game of Thrones is fairly easy to get into, especially if you’re a fan of the TV series or books, but it comes at the cost of deep or memorable gameplay.

Making use of an oil painting art style, Game of Thrones looks quite good for an episodic game; the characters are all very expressive and the voice acting is fantastic. The developer drafted in the likes of Lena Headey, Kit Harrington and Peter Dinklage to play their respective roles and they do a brilliant job of further immersing the player in the world. The new environments introduced in the game are also well-rendered, fitting in with the fantasy world seamlessly. Some simplistic musical notes mixed with more epic drums do well to set the mood, with a particularly haunting theme at the end of an episode being a very strong highlight. It runs very well too on the PC; I didn’t have a single crash in my entire play through. Some hard freezes and awkward looking character models may distract a bit, but for the most part Game of Thrones runs well and does its damnedest to transport you into the Seven Kingdoms.

The gameplay is probably the most basic ever seen from the studio and there are some missed opportunities, particularly in the final episode but ultimately I did enjoy my time with Telltale’s series. The story, characters and setting all fit really well into the universe; I only wish we could have influenced it a lot more.

Rating: 7/10

Four Avatar sequels incoming: My thoughts

There’s been some fairly big news in the movie-going world recently. As some of you may have read in my one hundredth post last year, Avatar remains my favourite film of all time; I loved every minute of it from the phenomenal production values to the incredible battle scenes. On April 14^th 2016, director James Cameron, who has remained submerged from the Hollywood scene for the past seven years, announced that not three but four sequels were planned; it’s a rare move to announce so many follow-ups at once and I thought I’d share my impressions on the decision.

The reaction from the overall community has been quite mixed which tends to be associated with popularity. Whenever a piece of entertainment media becomes massively successful, the hate bandwagon becomes a common trend. With the highest grossing film of all time, you have to expect many naysayers who denounce the news. One reasonable complaint is that it limits creativity in favour of a profits pursuit; there’s a fair few people who would like to see Cameron return to the Terminator franchise which has recently been wreaked beyond repair. Others would like to see him branch out in a different direction again, promoting filmmaking creativity in the process. I wouldn’t have minded seeing the director do something new, but as it stands I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more from the world of Avatar.

My biggest concern with the Avatar sequels is that such a massive gap between films will ruin the film’s chances of gaining solid commercial success. By the time Avatar 2 releases (having been pushed back by Star Wars Episode VIII); it will have been nine years since the original. Audience engagement can drop massively over a long period, something which really damaged Sin City: A Dame to kill for in 2014. The film ended up being a commercial failure, making only 39.4 million dollars on a budget of 65 million; the original film came out in 2005 and the sequel’s lack of impact was magnified even more by the gap between the two. I’ll definitely be seeing each of the Avatar sequels, but many audiences may be disinterested when they arrive. The film will need to have a strong spread of advertising to bring people back into theatres; now that the series is competing with the return of Star Wars, Cameron and his crew will have to work even harder to stay relevant.

An epic five film saga has the potential to tell a deep and expansive story and with a bit of luck Avatar 2 should be a strong springboard for the next three sequels which will arrive between 2020 and 2023. James Cameron has rarely put a foot wrong as a director and surely with many years of work he’ll be able to create a series just as dazzling and gargantuan as the original film. He’ll also be co-ordinating writing efforts with the likes of Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds in 2005), as well as Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). We’re still a couple of years off, but nevertheless I’m hoping that this planned vision for Avatar turns out well.

The Jungle Book (2016) Movie Review

Released: April 15th 2016 (UK and US)

Length: 105 Minutes

Certificate: PG

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken and Idris Elba

The Jungle Book is the latest addition in a long line of film adaptations, and the latest Disney film to be converted into a live action version. It’s also a rare case of a remake which doubles down on its source material and becomes all the better for it.

Based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book centres on young Mowgli (Played by debuting actor Neel Sethi), a “man-cub” raised by wolves who lives a peaceful life with the other animals. But when Shere Khan, a powerful tiger who enforces his rule over the kingdom vows to hunt the boy down, it is decided that Mowgli must be taken to the nearby man village for safety. Mowgli reluctantly agrees, but through his own ingenuity and the help of his close friends, the cub will discover much about himself and his bond with the wild. Alternating between Mowgli’s exploits and those of the feared antagonist, the film has a great focus which always switches things up to keep the viewer absorbed, whether it’s a cheerful song or the entrance of a new character. But it never forgets about its central character and Mowgli’s journey is what makes it all worthwhile; there’s an innocent likeability to him and when the film builds towards its perilous climax, the notion of conquering his fears takes centre stage.

Led by an all-star voice cast, The Jungle Book most definitely lives up to the original Disney version. Bill Murray is a perfect fit for Baloo with all his laid-back, wisecracking mannerisms whilst Ben Kingsley brings a wise and thoughtful persona to the panther Bagheera. Idris Elba is excellent as Shere Khan; he’s so imposing and threatening with his command, crafting a foreboding presence that hangs over the other animals. For an introductory performance, Neel Sethi does really well as Mowgli; it’s a pleasant surprise to see him embrace the part despite having hardly any physical items to interact with. All the actors fit their roles so seamlessly; if anything I wished we could have had more of specific performances. Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Ka is deliciously creepy while Christopher Walken’s wild and charismatic King Louie could have had a lot more to show if he had been worked into later scenes. The film gets its characters spot on, but some of them could have had some extra material to work with.

The Jungle Book looks fantastic in every way; any sceptical thoughts surrounding the film’s use of computer generated effects should be completely shelved. The jungle we see here is a near flawless representation of Rudyard Kipling’s original vision. Neel Sethi is for the most part the only real actor present in the backgrounds which all blend in, along with the animals without a single hitch in believability. The environment is rendered with an impressive scale alongside a varied atmosphere that shifts from serene to mysterious and back again. The animals look near photo-realistic in their appearance from the lovingly detailed textures to the authentic calls. The soundtrack is also just as stunning with a fluently composed score from John Debney. Truly the film stands alongside the likes of The Revenant and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with some of the best CGI in recent years.

At first glance, the 2016 rendition of The Jungle Book may be off-putting with all its computer imagery, but to look at it that way would be a great disservice. Jon Favreau clearly understands what made the original films and the source material so magical; whether you’ve seen the original Disney animated classic or not, this is one exotic film that will whisk you away like nothing else.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Vivosmart HR Fitness Watch Tech Review

The Vivosmart HR fitness watch from Garmin is a relatively versatile and worthwhile product with plenty of features to keep track of everyday fitness. It’s got the common things you would expect from a gadget of this calibre; a heart rate monitor and step counter, alongside a fairly comfortable fit on both wrists.

After creating a profile and hooking up via Bluetooth to a smartphone app called Garmin Connect (Which is available on the App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone), the Vivosmart syncs different data types directly to your phone including step count, calories burned and sleep patterns. The app is very well designed with specific menus for each data set along with charts to give more information about your progress. You can also time and save your runs, which also link up to the app; there’s no GPS tracking on the HR but it’s not too glaring an omission. What really makes the device work is the subtle way it encourages you to live more actively. If you’re sat down for an hour or longer, the watch will vibrate and give you a gentle nudge to take a quick walk around. Combine this with target setting for steps walked or staircases climbed and you have a reasonably effective way of getting more active than you otherwise would be.

In addition to the data provided by the watch, the connection between it and the phone can also be set to display notifications from text messages to Facebook updates. It’s quite nifty to have access to emails, weather alerts and other alerts from your wrist, although the screen doesn’t always lend itself for effective viewing. You can also control music on your device using the menu on the watch. The watch itself boasts a straightforward and easy to use menu system, and has a battery level good for several days without needing to be recharged.

The device is not without other issues. The sleep tracking feels a bit limited, as you have to enter in specific times when you go to sleep in the evenings and wake up in the mornings. It could have a more organic way of tracking sleep patterns if it measured sleep based on lowered heart rate patterns rather than having the user enter specific times that can change at any time. The tracking mechanism for stairs can also be unresponsive and delayed, failing to register staircases climbed. There were also points where the device seemed quite inaccurate when reading my heart rate in the middle of a run.

Is the Vivosmart HR worth buying? That depends on how many features you’re after. If you’re massively into fitness, then the lack of a GPS or route tracking may be off-putting. But for those looking for a less flashy, more affordable fitness watch, the Garmin HR is a cautious recommendation.

The Vivosmart HR sells at common electronic retailers for between £100 and £150.

(Image used for purposes of review under fair use)