Picoreview: Brave New World: This is the weakest of the Cap films, but it’s still in the top third of the MCU, as far as I’m concerned. Maybe the top ten, but I haven’t stepped back to do a top ten list lately. But I thought it was solid and sort of uncannily timely.
Prior to its release (possibly in the relatively early stages of production) I’d heard that it was going to be “Sam’s journey toward earning the shield” which would have been FINE if they hadn’t JUST DONE THAT in Falcon & Winter Soldier, so I went in trepidatious, not gonna lie. But they didn’t screw around with that, it opens with Sam fully engaged as Captain America, and there isn’t any in-story question about his right to carry the shield.
AND it brings Carl Lumbly back as Isaiah Bradley, and OH, GOD, but he’s SO GOOD. AGAIN. I mean, of course he is, he’s Carl Lumbly, but the rage and the devastation and the heartbreak he brings to Bradley is really bar none. Sam’s determination to rescue Bradley after putting him in the position of being endangered again is another callback to the fundamental idealism and decency of the Wilson character: it is, in fact, what Steve Rogers would do (just slower).
I’ve watched BNW and F&WS twice now and you know? Honestly I don’t know if Sam should take the serum or not. I can’t decide. His, “Bucky was full of shit, I should have taken it” as he’s squaring up with the Red Hulk is funny and completely on point, but on the other hand… Steve couldn’t have beaten a Hulk in a punch-em-up, either. And that’s not how Sam does his best work. It’s not how he solves this issue, just like it’s not how he’s solved nearly everything else he’s been presented with. But he’d be less fragile with it, and, y’know, I worry, and stuff.
On the other hand, Brave New World is one of exactly three Marvel movies that’s actually made me tear up at the end*, and it wouldn’t have worked if Sam had taken the serum. His conversation with Torres is perfect, and it’s all the reasons Sam is right for the decisions he’s made. I’ve cried both times, watching it.
So, yeah, overall I think BNW is a really solid entry in the Cap story arc, and wraps up my reCap, although I am EXTREMELY interested in seeing where it goes next, what with the post-film scene for Thunderbolts, because it really feels like there’s a reckoning coming…
*Guardians 2 and Endgame, because somebody’s gonna ask. :)
I also think BNW is better than its reputation makes it out to be. I do think it would have had a better reception, closer to the Winter Soldier (movie), if they hadn’t shown off the Red Hulk ahead of time. In the movie, it’s played as though the existence/appearance of the Red Hulk is a surprise twist, but everyone knows it going in so it falls a lot more flat.
Also, personally, the one thing I hated in BNW was Stearns killing the soldier who was investigating the pills for Sam, as it turns out that character was Dennis Dunphy (Demolition Man, a rather minor partner for Cap in the comics). Why bother naming him that and just kill him off? Especially since it didn’t really have a big impact on the plot. It didn’t cause much of a delay in Sam finding out about the pills. It felt like a waste to me, and the worst kind of use of an “Easter egg”. Unless they have plans to bring him back later, since in the comics he got his powers from the Power Broker, in which case I’d retract my negative comments about it.
But that’s a relatively nit-picky minor rant, and I completely agree that Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley was outstanding!