Star Wars: The Force Awakens

"Coming to your galaxy this winter"

Finally, the most awaited movie of the year! After months of hype and rumours all over the Internet, I finally got to watch it. As a die-hard Star Wars fan, I couldn't have been more excited and carged up for this instalment. Just so you guys know, Star Wars movies are schdeduled to be released every year now! What a time to be alive!

The Force Awakens is set approximately 30 years after the second Death Star was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi. The galaxy now faces a new threat in the form of Kylo Ren and the First Order. We follow Rey, a scavenger from Jakku, who is joined by Finn, a defector from the First Order, and the cute little BB-8, who takes it upon herself to make sure the Resistance gets hold of a map which will lead to Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi Knights.

My whole experience of the film is a blur. I was so excited to be there that at first I walked into the wrong hall. Anyways, The Force Awakens was a great addition, and something worth waiting months for. There is so much to praise in this movie. Let's start with the musical score. John Williams has amazed again. When I heard that he was brought back to work on The Force Awakens, I was so excited. Every new tune was literally music to the ears! The special effects were top-notch, and didn't fail to amaze me. Every laser bolt, lightsaber duel and explosion kept me at the edge of my seat. The new characters of Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren were good additions, though I felt that Poe's character lacked development in certain places. It was like I'd gone back in time when I saw Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 back on screen, though I missed R2-D2's continuous chittering (I won't say any more about that). The actors didn't fail to perform. Harrison Ford made a stunning return as Han Solo, and the only different thing about Han in The Force Awakens was that he had white hair. Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, the new actors, shined brightly throughout the movie. So far, not a single Stormtrooper has been given even an ounce of personality in any of the previous instalments. It is good to see that Stormtroopers are now being seen as actual people, not mindless killing machines as shown previously. Maybe this will open up some pathways for Star Wars spinoff movies about clone troopers and stormtroopers in the future! While the movie was great in all these aspects, I did have a few criticisms. The plot was very similar to that of Episodes 4 & 6. In Episodes 4 and 6, the major part of the plot includes destroying the Death Stars. In The Force Awakens, the plot included destroying Starkiller Base, which was basically another Death Star. Also similar was how Han, Rey and Finn end up at a bar/restaurant to meet someone, just like in Episode 4. Anyways, all in all, the movie was great, and I eagerly await the next!

• Genres- science fiction, action, adventure
• Director- JJ Abrams
• Producers- Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk
• Starring- Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max von Sydow

My rating

9/10

Picture from- http://i.imgur.com/mml6T1h.jpg

Video from- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE

Captain America: Civil War - Trailer Analysis

This is a new thing for me: analysing trailers. Since I'm unable to watch and review movies as quickly as before, I decided to take a foray into other movie-related subjects; namely analysing the newest trailers.

Everyone I know has watched Civil War's trailer, and it doesn't get more pumping than it already is! And it features more than just Captain America. For this one, Marvel Studios has brought almost all the heroes from its previous movies plus more. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers face off after a grave disagreement over a new Act by the government.

In case you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, or if you just want to watch the trailer for the millionth time like me, here it is:

Wow... I CANNOT wait for this one! Anyways, let's get on with it!

The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes

The Winter Soldier was last seen at the end of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', after he'd rescued Rogers. He seems to remember his old life, and "Doesn't do that anymore" when asked about all the assassinations he's carried out ever since the Second World War. However, the rest of the world doesn't seem to care whether he was brainwashed or not: they want him dead, which is why the polizei are after him in this scene:

The Winter Soldier is also one of the reasons Tony Stark squares off with Steve Rogers in the first place. Howard and Maria Stark, Tony's parents, were killed by the Winter Soldier in a car accident planned by HYDRA and executed by the Winter Soldier. 

The Winter Soldier's metal arm is made from vibranium- the almost indestructible metal that Cap's shield is also made of. Since the main source of vibranium in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Wakanda, a small African country which the Avengers visited during 'Age of Ultron', thw Winter Soldier's arm one of the reasons why we see Black Panther in the trailer. More on that later. 

The Sokovia Accords

In the comic books for Civil War, the main cause of the civil war was the Superhuman Registration Act which called for humans with powers to register with the government to prevent them from acting on their own accord. Captain America is anti-registration, while Iron Man is pro-registration. 

The Sokovia Accords are a substitute for the Superhuman Registration Act, and were created after the events of 'Age of Ultron', when the Eastern European country was destroyed and also due to the unsupervised mucking around of the 'Science Bros' aka Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, which created Ultron. So its obviously no surprise that Stark has sided with the government for this one. Stark has also sided with the government because of another international incident he probably had a part to play in, maybe something to do with this huge fiery explosion:

By the looks of it, the explosion seems to be at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which would become a major international incident, seeing as delegates from hundreds of countries would be present. On IMDb, the roles many of the supporting actors play are delegates from other countries. There are UN Delegates and there's also a Swiss Ambassador. This confirms my point.

In the picture below, if you look closely, the document seems to be handed to Scarlet Witch. She has the most personal connection to Sokovia: this was where her brother Quicksilver was killed by Ultron, and also where she was experimented upon. 

Who else would wear black nail polish?

Black Panther/T'Challa

When Marvel announced that Black Panther was getting his own movie in Phase 3, everyone was excited. But why is he in Civil War? He isn't an Avenger, and most likely has no allegiances with any of the characters in the movie. But like Stark, he may also have a connection with the Winter Soldier. If you scroll up, I wrote about how the Winter Soldier's arm was made of vibranium- a metal found only in Wakanda. As the head of state, Black Panther's role is to protect Wakanda, and maybe he feels Wakanda is threatened after whatever international incident sets of the war between Rogers and Stark. He is seen in pursuit of Bucky in the trailer as well as kicking him away:

Part of the film also takes place in Wakanda: another potential reason for Black Panther to get involved. 

General "Thunderbolt" Ross

Remember the villain in The Incredible Hulk? After 7 years of inactivity, William Hurt returns as General "Thunderbolt" Ross, even though Bruce Banner/The Hulk won't be in the film. Since S.H.E.I.L.D no longer exists as of the movies, General Ross will be the military presence in the movie, and in the trailer, he visits the new Avengers facility to remonstrate the Avengers for the events in Sokovia and for whatever incident that they had caused. 

In the comics, Ross had his own group of villains known as the 'Thunderbolts'. If he continues to show up in more of the MCU films, he and the Thunderbolts may eventually get their own standalone film, similar to DC's 'Suicide Squad'. 

Who dies?

There is going to be at least one death in the movie: Captain America. Sorry for the spoiler, but in the comics, Captain America was killed by Crossbones. Since Frank Grillo is playing Crossbones, it only makes sense that he will kill Cap. Watch this short clip:

I know, he could be saying anything, but this makes the most sense. We also learn that The Winter Soldier may be able to pull out the arc reactor from Iron Man's suit. 

Another character who may have been killed is Rhodey. Remember this from the trailer?

Notice how Rhodey' suit's arc reactor is missing, and how it appears to have been torn out. Since the arc reactor is what powers the suits, if it were removed during flight, the suit would lose power and crash, and that is exactly what has happened here. You can see that the two are in some sort of a crater. Tony Stark's expression is also one of anger and shock, as if he can't believe his best friend was killed. But is he dead or just unconscious?

Other Important Characters

While a lot of heroes are going to be in the movie, two of them failed to make an appearance, namely Vision and Spider-Man. In the photos released before the trailer was released, Vision was seen on Team Iron Man, but rumours say otherwise; he probably switches sides and then leaves Earth, which could mean he crosses over with Star-Lord in the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie. 

The other wild card is Peter Parker. Due to a deal between Marvel and Sony Pictures that thrilled many, Marvel is now allowed to incorporate Spider-Man in the MCU! He is going to be introduced for the first time in Civil War, and he's the youngest hero in the movie. In the comics, he first sided with Iron Man and then switched to Captain America, so that's what will happen in Civil War too. 

We also don't see Scott Lang aka Ant-Man in the trailer, but that's probably for obvious reasons.

Here's a list of who's on who's team-

Anti-Registration/Team Captain America:

• Steve Rogers/Captain America
• Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
• Sam Wilson/Falcon
• Clint Barton/Hawkeye
• Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
• Scott-Lang/Ant-Man
• Sharon Carter/Agent 13

Pro-Registration/Team Iron Man:

• Tony Stark/Iron Man
• James Rhodes/War Machine
• Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
• T'Challa/Black Panther
• Peter Parker/Spider-Man
• Vision

Who are you rooting for? Let me know in the comments!