Friday, February 21, 2025

Recent Watch: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Sam Willson holding his Captain America shield to block a punch from the Red Hulk 

That's 'Captain America: Brave New World' watched. I really, really wanted to like this film more than I did. Wouldn't call it bad, despite the overall lack of character development and humour, certain plot holes, and a geopolitics-heavy storyline that went out of its way to not go anywhere, not say anything, and to remain ironically apolitical, the movie had its moments. So, all in all, it was...um, fine? Okay? Adequate?

Really wish they didn't use the Red Hulk so much into the marketing. With the character being practically in every piece of promo for the film, it's rather surprising how little, and how late, he comes into the plot. Given how clear it is that the movie itself intends him as its main big reveal, I think it would have worked much better if they kept the whole thing as a surprise. Same goes for a certain character appearance or two. There's a reason *those* scenes in 'Deadpool & Wolverine' worked so well and had the impact they did.

For better or worse, in true MCU tradition, 'Brave New World' offers several nods to things that happened before, which after 17 years of films and TV shows can give someone a lowkey "have you studied for this test?" feeling while trying to keep up, that unavoidably takes away some of the enjoyment. It also offers several promises of what is possibly coming next, some interesting, some too vague to decipher. I just wish more focus was also put into what story the film was trying to tell before the credits rolled.


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