Captain America: Brave New World review

Captain America: Brave New World -- it sucks.

As a MCU fan and a Red Hulk fan, it's disappointing to have to deliver the bad news.

BAD WRITING, ok-ish acting, = MEH.  

While I'm all for the 'changing of the guard' as RDJ and Chris Evans are leaving, still gotta have excellent writing.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Plot holes & general criticisms:

SWilson - Capt America

• How does him throwing the shield hurt anyone?  He has no powers!
• Why does he need a shield now that his outfit is pure vibranium?  Also, wouldn't anyone want to steal his suit now that it's worth $100 billion or more?
• His winged suit goes faster than military jet fighters?
• Vanishing helmet is pure BS.  If he has Nanites, say why.  If he doesn't have Nanites, then do something with the helmet.  (Even tho the helmet looks super stupid anyway.)
• Red Wing is more effective than SWilson Cap.  Red Wing can be ordered to do anything and it does it, no questions or further commands needed.  No info on where / how SWilson Cap has Red Wing or why.  Did Stark make it?  Does he have replacements for when they blow up?
• Red goggles - they worked in Ant-Man as high-tech doohicky that enhanced his vision.  Now they don't do anything.
• Sonic wave after landing - it doesn't break any furniture, but it knocks everyone down?  Uh, WTH?

President General Thunderbolt Ross / Red Hulk

• Had a heart condition, couldn't get help -- so instead he got medical help from a mad supervillain!??!  No one else would help him?  WTH
• Ross' supervillain doctor says "take these pills, no more than 3 a day" and Ross doesn't check what they are with anyone else?  The freakin' President doesn't have anyone else knowing his medications?!?!?!
• He invites super heroes / supervillains to Whitehouse, but has no super security onsite?  Just a RedRoom ex-Widow?
• Does everyone have an ex-Widow?  How does he know for sure she's an ex-Widow & not current?!?
• Ross seemed like a vague Trump reference, would've been so much more hilarious to have a combover Hulk!
• Red Hulk keeps his intelligence after transforming.  What happened there?
• Doesn't Red Hulk burn?  Or is it now nerf'd into only when transforming?
• Getting Rulk to cherry blossoms to appeal to his humanity -- that shouldn't work & SWilson should know that.  His plan to 'relax the Hulk into giving up' shouldn't make any sense and shouldn't work.  Having Betty actually there, or using a hologram of her, would've been a better idea.  Or what about getting Ant Man or Wasp to go mini and enter Red Hulk, then expand inside his heart or brain?
• Red Hulk can be contained in The Raft?  Hmmmm....  I don't think so.  Plus what a waste!

The Leader

• The Leader - super-genius, but couldn't escape Ross' prison.  Had to invent mind control and Hulk-weapons in order to beat Ross?!?!?  Still was under Ross' influence.
• The Leader can hypnotize anyone to kill anyone using a phone app (???), but can't make Ross do what he wants?
• The Leader's plan was to bring in Capt America & his buddies and have them attempt to shoot Ross / Red Hulk?
• The Leader can't escape 'The Raft'?!?!?
• The Leader looked horrible in this movie, but in the comics the Leader looks amazing!  Can't he use his super-powerful brain to make himself look better?!?!?

Other Stuff

• Isaiah Bradley's old 'Orig Capt America' - when he's mind controlled, he shoots at President.  Why doesn't he punch him?  He was shown punching bags thru the walls just minutes prior.
• Bradley's old 'Orig Capt America' - he shoots the President, but after Leader is exposed, he is released?  WTH?  Maybe he'd get released as a secret agent into Shield or Avengers, but the idea that he just goes free after assassination attempt on TV is quite a reach.
• Betty Ross / Liv Tyler - why did she speak so slowly all the time?  Is her character supposed to be gloomy or pining?  Is she still upset over Banner?  Did she get a brain injury?
• New Falcon - I wanted to like him, he's charismatic, but his best scene was laying in the bed all burned up.  Wouldn't it have been better if he had died?  Maybe make SWilson Cap a little tougher?
• New Falcon - How did he get picked to wear the suit?  What are his qualifications?  Why did Sam pick him -- or did the military pick him?  Normally, I hate an origin movie -- but a little backstory here could go a long way.
• "Why didn't I take the super serum?" <-- was it an option?  Thne give him the damned serum!   The guy desperately needs an upgrade!   No one likes weak heroes with no powers except gadgets!  (Even tho Iron Man was essentially powerless w/o the armor, he was rich and supersmart and had super-tech.)  What does SWilson Cap have?  A stupid looking suit!  Get the guy something and fast!
• The movie doesn't even let SWilson Cap call in favors from his super buddies!!!  If I were writing, I'd have SWilson Cap calling Thor, Dr Strange, Spiderman, Ant Man, Nick Fury, and Shang Chi at least every other scene.  If they showed him teaming up with everyone, maybe that would make sense why he could make the Avengers later.  SWilson didn't even CALL anyone off script!!

I could come up with a million other complaints about the film, since so much was badly thought out.  Such a wasted opportunity!!  

Hard to imagine spending $1 million on something like this. let alone $100 million.  I'm glad it's successful and profitable, and MCU isn't hurting. 
In the arc of MCU movies, this one is going to live down near the bottom with The Marvels & Ant-Man and the Wasp (& Kang): Quantumania as one of the worst.

Shills

I hate when someone online calls me a shill because they oppose my viewpoint.

I mean, shills should be getting paid?!?! Where's my money! Ha Ha Ha 

In other words, don't accuse people of being shills unless its really clear they are bots or paid counter-intel folks. Saying, "Im not a shill," doesnt make someone a shill.

I'm just a guy in the USA who doesn't believe Trump's goals or values align with my best life. To me, this seems like a common sense position.

When Musk, Trump, Zuck, and Bezos are all holding hands, every worker in USA should be concerned. If you think, "Gee, this is what draining the swamp looks like", can you tell when you're looking at a swamp???

Trump 1 had Ivanka and Jared, two unelected family members trying to make Daddy happy and bungling everywhere.

Trump 2 has Musk and a ton of scary cabinet nominees with agendas, and we should be concerned that these folks may be more competent than Trump 1.  Also, Trump 2 has more to lose now, so he's more committed to not fucking up as badly this time because he's scared.  Some scared folks go on the offensive -- like this golden cockwomble nincompoop.

Lastly, you know Giuliani is gonna pop up sometime soon, scaring everyone!

Joker: Folie à Deux - review - MEH 😑

Well, it was entertainment.  But Joker 2 was all build-up and nothing delivered.

While I wasn't expecting it to be so interesting -- particularly Harley Quinzel -- the movie writing was so convoluted and a let down at the end.

Much of the movie was a great build-up, but instead of delivering on that build-up, we get sucker punched right at the end twice.

To double-down on this point, the filmmaker had no obvious reason to reverse-pivot the film's build-up and drop the audience on our heads: the comics have a Joker-Harley Quinn relationship, the cartoons do, the entire milieu has them as a duo and it re-invigorates the Joker.  But in this movie, the writer is unable to go there.  I can't fathom why not, as that is the payoff fans all deserve.

Another painful flaw of the movie, which happens over and over, is the incredibly slow pacing.  We watch people walk, smoke full cigarettes, and sit in silence.  I fast-forwarded the stillness a bunch of times, only to be surprised that it was continuing.  So grateful not to see this in the movie theater!  If there was ever an example of seeing a movie at home being better than in a theater, this is it.  I'm not a captive audience, I have a remote!  Ha Ha!

I also fast-forwarded a number of gratuitous musical numbers.  I appreciated !the concept of it, but was not a fan.  Nope.

So the movie is a combo of many movie failings -- - protagonists unable to take their own actions, 

- prolonged scenes with no real action, 

- the dramatic tension released unnecessarily by out-of-character foible (aka 'screenwriter's betrayal') that doesn't do justice to source material / character, 

- gobs of musical scenes,

- more unnecessary origin story arc,

- a final act that comes off as 'ok, lets wrap it up' with something that doesn't fit the tone or timing of the last 2+hrs.  

While visually interesting and bursting with potential, the writer/directors were unable to give permission for any characters to 'do their thing' and instead left a movie that almost had stuff in it, but didn't.

Do writers / directors expect something like this to get audience approval?  Seems impossible!  They want blockbusters, but then remove the heart of the story (aka climax or pinacle) and leave the audience with a gaping hole.

Saw that film & actors are nominated for Razzies - worst film & worst actors.

Film writing / director maybe deserves a Razzie.

Acting however was truly incredible, so I dont see them deserving the negativity there.