That really is all we want, right? I wanted to be excited for this, but as I entered the movie theatre, my biggest wish was that it wouldn't be boring. Luckily, it wasn't.
This is an aggressively fine movie. It's relatively short (only 118 minutes) and is largely carried by a handful of amazing performances. It also feels like it's three different movies that have been grafted together by a committee, which judging by the number of reshoots it went through, is probably exactly what it is. There is very little cohesion here, which means that the sense of stakes or momentum is practically nonexistent.
But let's talk about the good first, since that's a lot more fun. Harrison Ford takes over for the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, and he's not only great but also a much larger part of the movie than I expected. I would actually be really curious to see how long he was onscreen compared to Anthony Mackie, because it feels like Ross was more the main character than Sam Wilson was.
I do wish that they had kept the Red Hulk under wraps as opposed to plastering him all over the trailer and commercials, but the CGI for him looked particularly strong. Especially the closer shots where we're just focused on him as opposed to any carnage that may be happening around him. There was actually a pretty good resemblence to Ford, which was a nice touch.
Carl Lumbly reprises his role of Isaiah Bradley, and while he's only there briefly, he absolutely kills every scene he's in. He acts circles around everyone else. In a different timeline, Brave New World could have leaned more into that and maybe be something pretty special. But it didn't, so I'll force myself to be satisfied with the parts of it that we did get.
Danny Ramirez also returns from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Joaquin Torres, and I really enjoyed the dynamic that he had with Sam. He brought a real brightness and energy to his scenes, and managed to be comedic without also being annoying. I really expected to dislike him (again, due to the countless commercials flooding my TV the last few months) but instead I'm looking forward to seeing him again in future movies.
Unfortunately, that's kind of it for the good stuff. Like I said, this film is saved by a handful of performances. Everything else gets bogged down by the obviously tortured production that it went through.
The first half of the movie is a lesser man's remake of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It follows things almost beat by beat, right down to small details that just make the echoes all the more apparent. Remember how Steve took off his helmet before he fought Batroc during the opening mission? Sam takes off his helmet before he fights a similarly large henchman with very similar skills. Only remember how Steve ended that fight basicaly without a scratch? Yeah...
It's very difficult to walk away from this movie without the impression that Sam really is just objectively worse than Steve when it comes to being Captain America, and that's... rough. You're hit over the head multiple times with the fact that Sam is just some guy. He isn't a super soldier. He can't do what Steve did. He winds up with broken bones and his costume damaged for Maximum Symbolism. And sure, the movie tries to say that this is a good thing, but the sentiment is immediately undercut with a joke and it still isn't enough to erase what we've seen with our own eyes.
Anthony Mackie is fine, if a little flat. He does a decent enough job. He just has incredibly little to do. We've seen Sam be angry, be heartbroken, be just emotional in general, but the intensity is missing here. Which, as I write that sentence, might be deliberate. One of the half dozen ideas that the script half-heartedly gestures towards is the ideal of a Model Minority and how they're not allowed to be anything other than perfect, but it just feels like lip service instead of anything that's actually explored.
What's explored instead is the concept of whether or not people can genuinely change, and if someone should even be given the opportunity to prove that they've changed in the first place. There's definitely some interesting ground here, especially when looked through the prism of institutionalism and whether or not it's better to potentially compromise some of your ideals if it means that you can make true progress.
The movie doesn't really do that, though. It's far more shallow, and at times feels like an uncomfortable comparison to the current American political climate. I'm not saying that Ross is meant to be Trump-like. At least not deliberately. But there's enough there that it just gives a weird, slightly uneasy air to it all that I found distracting and hard to ignore. Your mileage may vary here.
The second half of the movie is a direct sequel to The Incredible Hulk. It's a weird choice after 16 years, but I guess it does a good enough job of it? I wanted a lot more out of our main villain. He will definitely go down as one of the weaker ones in the MCU, which is a shame because there is a pretty solid performance in there that could have been really effective if the script was stronger.
I also keep going back and forth on whether or not I like his design. Parts of it, like his eyes, were really cool. Everything else unfortunately looked kind of silly, especially out in daylight. It wasn't comic book enough to be fun, realistic enough to be cool, or gory enough for it to be enjoyable.
Multiple characters, like Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder or Shira Haas' Ruth Bat-Seraph are given nothing to do. They simply exist. Ruth, in particular, was a little disappointing. She's initially set up as a really intriguing character with uncertain motivations and loyalties and she just completely disappears by the time the third act rolls around.
The third act is your standard MCU third act. Lots of CGI. Lots of fighting. Very little reason for the audience to really care. It's the same kind of act three that we've been complaining about for years now.
I peeked at the reviews after I got out of the theatre, and was surprised that it was hovering in the 40s and 50s at Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. It's definitely not that bad. It's fine. I don't know if I would go out of my way to watch it again, but if it happened to be on the TV then I wouldn't change the channel either. Very serviceable popcorn movie.
Random Thoughts
There is a post-credits scene, but it really tells us nothing new besides that yet another threat is coming.
"I love you, buddy." And I adore casual platonic love between friends.
Expanding upon this a little more, I expected Sam and Bucky's friendship to be a complete non-factor here, but I was pleased by the little nods to it that we did get.
Sam's costume is different now. Apparently, it's tradition to get a navy-heavy suit in your second outing in as Captain America. Gotta sell those toys somehow! (I do actually like the new suit a lot more than the white one.)
~~~~
An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
I managed to get out to see this one too, and I think I came away from it with a bit more of a good impression than you did. I think Mackie did a good job in a relatively thankless part. I actually liked the way the story flowed, even if it was a bit by the numbers. Sure it felt a bit stitched together, but I think the seams were fairly well closed if still visible.
ReplyDeleteHarrison Ford was basically the star, and that was clearly intentional, and yes I wish they hadn't spoiled the Red Hulk thing, it was not the first time Marvel has done this and it probably won't be the last. But spoiling the biggest surprise in the marketing was kind of weird.
The backdoor sequel to the Incredible Hulk was kind of great IMO, although with leaks I knew who the villain was before he was revealed and who was going to come back. I was surprised they didn't lean heavier into the cameos, so that was nice.
I thought Carl Lumbly was amazing in this, even with the limited screen time he got. So was Giancarlo, despite being very underutilized although I understand he was added after production was completed so that's a product of timing. I thought you had some very good points about the main villain, and he felt like he should've had a bit more gravitas, instead he was fine. Not the best villain by far, but not the worst.
Thanks for reviewing this one!
Yes, from what I've read, Giancarlo was added during two different rounds of reshoots, so it makes sense why he was so limited. It's still Giancarlo, though. He really does have amazing screen presence.
DeleteI'm glad that you came out of it a bit more positive than I did!