Little Reac : Captain America Brave New World

There it is! It feels like an ETERNITY, I can't believe it happened lol I'm still shaking in my narwhal sleepers!

Little disclaimer : I'm not good at reviews, I'm not a cinephile, I'm not an expert so see it as a personal opinion and stick to your own!

I'll make another post to talk longer about MCU Sam (Sterns) because I have so much to say about him specifically so I'll try to keep his part short here.

Anyway, let's go :

I think the movie suffers from the very visible last minute changes and its length. There's a lot of very nice ideas that are under exploited (Sam Sterns, FOR EXEMPLE).

A shit tons of things were removed from the trailers, it feels like they marketed a different movie. I mean, we have official merch of characters that aren't in the movie, of design that aren't in the movie and it's just incredibly weird. So many good shotsand quotes I was looking forward to got removed, it's disappointing, I don't even understand why they used shots of stuff they changed (like Sam's old design, the whole Funeral, why is it even in the trailers if they weren't planning to keep that already when they made the damn trailers?). And I can't even blame myself and my own expectation because, again, IT IS IN THE GODDAMN TRAILERS!

It's pretty damn visible how Disney censored this movie to avoid hurting these poor lil' ultra rich investors and it's very frustrating. I love this movie and I can't help but see the big potential it had. I'm angry they tried to please a crowd who weren't planning to see it instead of focusing on fans who have been supporting them against the World lately.

And of course it's my gamma boy who suffered it the most.

While I think changing his design was the right call, they also obviously nerfed his plot and writing and it makes me FURIOUS. Not even for myself, but because Tim was SO looking forward to it, he was so proud of what he did and all that to get 2 sentences and 5min screentime JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, he deserves better. I'm way too positive for my own sake though so I'll give the benefit of the doubt and I'm gonna assume it's for a greater purpose. I mean, I get why he's no in the promotion, in no posters, no merch, nothing at all, why he doesn't physically interact with Harrison Ford (a PITY given the plot revolves around Sterns/Ross war) and why he got a way smaller screentime. It's because of the design change they made a few months before releasing the movie, so yes, getting new merch ready, new posters ready, giving him more screentime and bringing Ford in for like one week reshots was impossible and too expensive. I get that. But it's still insanely UPSETTING, both Tim Blake Nelson and Sam Sterns deserved better than that so I hope the reason they went through so much trouble to change my boys is because they have a future for them.

That being said, I loved the movie. I liked the thriller/geopolitical part, though the conclusion felt a bit rushed and I wish they went deeper with Sam (Sterns) trying to reboot America and not just messing with Ross, like I said above. At some point he says "I'm the hero" and this sentence would go hard if he was after the system like it was teased in trailers but when you hear it in this context it's just "ok but why?". It's not clear enough that he's not only seeking revenge but also trying to change the system and it makes his writing and dev incomplet and harder to understand.

I'm sure Tim had more to offer than a revenge and like I said, it's my biggest disappointment with this movie, removing that part of Sam. It's still here, Sam is still about justice and all but it's not obvious enough for the big audience who isn't as crazy as I am about small details and reading interviews and having no life. It feels more like a personal revenge and I know, because it's crystal clear through interviews and trailers, that it was more than that. He was great, don't get me wrong, but I know he was meant to be way better and it's very frustrating. It's kinda ironic that Sam is comics accurate in this way too, full of unexploited potential. Sam only going for a revenge is very in character and I loved that but I'm just incredibly curious of this "what could have been" movie we'll never, ever heard of. What made Tim so excited about Sam? It frustrates me that I'll never know.

I'm happy with what we had, I'm glad the final design wasn't reveal (for once) and I'm glad they went for this one rather than the one they choose first. I really wanted an horrific Sam, because as much as I love his main most famous design, I thought it would hit harder for a live action movie and matches the thriller and paranoid ambiance better. I don't wanna talk too much about the design here, I'll keep that for another post but there's a lot of moments I felt destabilized because what he said or what he does was literally things I've been talking about online, to explain what Sam is and should be if he was properly written, things that aren't in comics but should have been through my useless deep analyzis and need to turn plot holes into something cool. It felt like seeing something I would write so I was like "h-how" and it was amazing having all my headcanons becoming a reality. This Sam is so different from comics Sam while respecting his roots, I'm really happy I got to meet him.

But enough about Sam, I said I would keep a post for him.

It's crazy to me that they didn't use a super soldier plot, it would be enough to justify Ross, Sam Sterns, connect to Incredible Hulk, the title and to give Sam Wilson a real temptation and struggle will still matching the plot.

I'm not gonna delete nor edit the post I did about Super Soldier and how I thought it would be in the plot 'cause theories are theories, they're not meant to be a reality and if they're not I don't care, it's part of the game. I like the road they took but it would give that moment with Bucky a lot of senses too. Imagine Sam Sterns tempting Sam Wilson through the serum and all. Could have been interesting. But hey, fan fantasies are here for that anyway.

Speaking of Captain America, he was really good. I liked him as a mentor, he felt older and more mature and he truly had the aura of a Leader, to me he's ready to properly lead the Avengers and I'm looking forward to that.

Even before knowing we would get Sam Sterns, Cap 4 was the MCU movie I was looking forward to the most, because Sam Wilson is my fav Cap and Anthony Mackie is just perfect in a lot of ways for this role. It's only the beginning for him and I can't wait to see where the future leads him. My only complain for him isn't about him but rather how the movie was a better Hulk movie than a Captain America movie and he feels kind of irrelevant to his own movie from time to time. I also don't like what they did with him in that post credit scene. Going to Sam Sterns to mock him right after forgiving Ross. What kind of message is that? Ross is the physical representation of the Gov and the system and Sam Sterns is a direct victim of it and you have fucking Captain America forgiving the system while blaming the victim?? He forgave Bucky, he forgave Ross, Hell, he even kind of tolerate Zemo but he can't forgive the guy who was tortured for 16 years and dehumanized? I get it, I get it, he killed one of his friend. But it was still an odd thing to write for Sam Wilson to have him go mock him. He's rather the kind of guy who would look at a way to fix everything for everyone and that includes Sam Sterns, that's what he does, it's even said in the movie. I know this post credit scene is largely hated and I do agree it was incredibly clumsy in a lot of ways (though I don't hate it, hate is a way too strong word for a few sec long moment in a Marvel movie lol) and I think it's the perfect illustration of WHY MARVEL NEEDS TO STOP TEASING MOVIES YEARS PRIOR THEY START THE PRODUCTION. As we saw with this saga it brings an ABSOLUTE CHAOS when you gotta makes some change (which happens a lot) but it also spoiled that post credit scene for everybody because we KNOW, we fucking know there's an Avengers movie coming, we KNOW, it doesn't have the impact Thanos had in post credit scenes because we didn't know about Infinity War back then. But here we KNOW. And yes, Sam Wilson didn't byt post credit scenes are here to please the big audience and the big audience KNOW so it felt useless. I strongly disagree with the critics about Tim not properly portraying Sam, that's just a dumbass reason to add to their hate for the MCU. It was very in character, given the kind of character MCU Sam is, to behave this way.

I'm gonna talk about the cast while we're at it, Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross is still such an unbelievable cast for me lol. He was great, moving even. His Hulk crisis felt incredibly familiar for me who's dealing with anxiety and panic attack. And boi, after what we got in Ragnarok and Endgame it feels good to FINALLY have a serious proper depiction of that and not to be seen as a joke and a FREAKIN' punching-ball. The way Ross couldn't ear shit, sweats, couldn't walk straight, had to leave etc... It was very accurate and FOR ONCE very respectful. It made it easier to feel empathy for Thadd, I genuinely felt bad for him (AND I HATE THAT). Same when he talks about Betty or with her, it's very cute.

Though the most moving character was certainly Carl Lumbly as Isaiah, he gave me tears. His performance was really great. Honestly if it wasn't for me simping over both Sam and Tim Blake Nelson it would be my fav performance in this movie (I felt genuinely so bad when he was on the ground begging to the cops to spare his suit).

Esposito was just here to have fun and hit on stuff honestly lol it's hard to say more about his character considering it's only the beginning for him but I thought he was cool, I don't mind seeing more of him.

Danny Ramirez was very great as an actor but I have a hard time liking character like Joaquin Torres (I'm a grumpy bitch) so it's hard to really say anything about him because I think he's mostly a character made for a younger audience, definitly not me, but I don't think he was bad just because it's not the kind of character I enjoy and it would feel very unfair to slander him over my own tastes. I'll probably have to rewatch the movie to appreciate him, but I think he will be very popular among Cap 4 fans so I don't worry too much for his future lol.

There's Tim Blake Nelson, of course, but again I keep that for another post haha.

I can't talk about Liv Tayler that much because she was more of a cameo. It was a nice cameo and unlike most people I like that she was just a cameo, she felt like the final reward and it hit harder this way. Again, it's not a Hulk movie. And it's weird to complain it's too Hulk while complaining it's not enough.

Speaking of which, I hear you "where is Bruce Banner?" and if anything the movie did an incredibly good job to properly write Ross and Sam (Sterns) without him (and BOI it's not easy to write a good Sam without Hulk). Adding him would have been a bad choice imo (it's an unpopular opinion, I know). But now that we got Sam Sterns' back story and given Bruce heard of him (there's no way he didn't), I do want to see them interact. But in a project dedicated to them, not in Captain America.

The rythm was very good, I felt entertained the whole two hours (unlike Endgame LOL).

The final fight with Red Hulk was also very nice, we had the transformation, the moves (though I think they didn't use the heat power enough), it was the best Hulk moment we got these past 17 years on screen honestly. The CGI was a bit weak in the background here and there but it was nice anyway. The choregraphy are ok I guess, I'm not a big fan of impressive blockbuster fights (I'm the only Hulk fan who don't give a single fuck about his fights) so I'm not the best to talk about that, I liked it, that's all I can say. The movie was more colorful than usual but some parts felt weird, idk how to explain but the way it was shot feels odd to me, kinda cheap from time to time. Like these low-angle Sam Sterns shots, they were kinda poorly executed and gave him a ridiculous aura in important moments of his writing.

Also I think focusing on Red Hulk for the promo was an awfully big mistake, in the way that everybody expected something longer, the trailers were still very good without him and I don't believe in the "we had to because fans knew". So what, fans knew about Thanos snap and they felt excited when it happened BECAUSE THEY KNEW, like "Avengers Assemble". To me the real reason they were so annoying with Red Hulk is because they didn't have faith in the movie and wanted something big to bait people into seeing it.

The main complain I saw is how the movie didn't bring anything to the MCU, first of all I disagree, it brings Adamantium, it teases the new Avengers team and Secret Wars. Second, I really don't understand why it's a bad thing. People are crying "we miss the old MCU", you have it right here, a movie focusing on itself that isn't just a giant trailer for the next giant trailer, why are you even upset it stands for itself? You need to re-learn to appreciate a movie for what it is and to move on, Endgame happened 6 years ago, let it go. This last point applies to Marvel Studios too, Endgame is never happening again, just let it go.

I personally loved how the movie focused on itself, I missed that. It makes it feel really like an old MCU movie through it simplicity and I enjoyed that. I think the movie will suffer it's very chaotic marketing and production, the fake news, the comparaison with more "spectacular" movies and the length. I think the movie would have been better with an extra 20-30min thriller based and add more dev to Sam Sterns (and I'm not saying this as a fan who wants more because I saw a lot of people agreeing to that, saying he would need more dev). To me it's a good MCU movie, closer to the root of Marvel movies than everything we got these past few years. But I think it will suffer an Eternal treatment (people complaining it's not Endgame, not a big teaser and alt Right bigots being upset at it). I would give it a 7/10 if I was objective.

It's flawed, it's very, very flawed and it upsets me because Tim and Sam Sterns are the first victims of that. But as flawed as it is I really had a great time and I loved the movie and Sam Sterns. The fun the whole casting had is really obvious and somewhat contagious and you can't help but have a good time with them too. I wish we had more.

You see, I'm perfectly capable of objectivity. But why shouldn't I love and appreciate something flawed? Everything I love is flawed, it's the point of Art. It shouldn't prevent us to have a good time. It's important to admit our flaws and the flaws of what we like because we want it to grow for the best but that shouldn't prevent us from deeply loving it. We live in a world where people are actually HAPPY to feel disappointed, they're happy to be able to hate and trashtalk things and it's just sad. People don't want to feel happy, they want to be able to be mean to something.

I had so many people joking about how I should feel disappointed and it makes me feel so uncomfortable, why are strangers even joking about that, wishing, even, about how I would feel disappointed? Why would you want to see someone feeling disappointment? What's happening to genuine passion?

I waited 17 years for this moment and I walked through Hell for it, you think I'll be disappointed? If you're looking for hate you're not in the right place and I'll kindly ask you to get the fuck off. I share passion here, I'm not chasing clouts.

And that's the thing, the conclusion I wanna give. I'm not a cinephile, I just want to have a good time, to feel and to enjoy the moment, it's no deeper than that. I don't give a single fuck about reviews and notes and shit and you shouldn't either. They're interesting yes, especially for me as an artist. But it shouldn't define your tastes, it shouldn't be used as a way to tell people they're allowed to like something or not and ultimatly it shouldn't be used as a social statut. I wish people wouldn't base their own experience on a rate. I wish they would just connect to things on a personal level. I wish they could live what I lived with this movie, even with its problems.

Because what I'm saying apply for both side of the coin. Just because something has meh or even bad reviews doesn't mean you should dislike. But just because you like something doesn't mean it's not flawed and you cannot talk about its flaws the way I just did and will do again. Nothing is that manichaean and certainly not something coming from the mind of an imperfect humanity.

I had an incredibly great time because as I explained in the previous post this movie means more to me than a random movie. I can't rate it because the connexion I have to it is way too intimate. It doesn't matter if it's flawed, if it could have been better, if people dislike it, if it's underrated, the only thing that matter is how I feel about it, my own fun, my own feelings and boy, I had the time of my life. What I did to see this movie, what I went through, the weekend I spent after that, I will never ever forget that. This is what passion is about, it's not about a rating, it's not about a trend, it's about feelings. And it will forever be one of the best experience of my life and I'm so happy I was alive to see that. I don't care what haters and specialists think about it, I will always love this movie.