Captain America: Brave New World Review (Part Two)

Okay, Tessa fans, she’s here with her review of the newest MCU flick. Let’s see how her opinion holds up to mine. Fun! Take it away Tessa!

Hi guys! I haven’t been on the blog in forever (because Marvel has been flopping recently), but I’m back! I’m excited to review again, I’m sure my fans missed me.

I’ve always liked movies more than my dad, or the average person. A movie has to be really bad for me to not like it. But thankfully, this movie wasn’t really bad at all. It probably wasn’t great, but I found it’s flaws easy to look over. My dad did a summary in his review, and I’m not typing all that out, so go read his if you don’t know what the movie is about.

I really liked Sam Wilson as Captain America. Anthony Mackie is just a charismatic guy, and his performance has such an ease to it, it makes it hard to question why Sam is the new Cap. I miss Chris Evans as much as the next person (maybe more), but I’m really glad Sam is filling the role well. I also think it’s kinda cool that he gets to keep his wings. All his usual gear is back and now made of vibranium, which is pretty sick, and his new costume resembles his old one a lot, while also looking like Captain America. The costume designers honestly did a great job with his suit.

However, I did not like the new Falcon’s suit. It doesn’t look like the old one at all, and is such a gross shade of green. It might not be his official costume that will stay for the rest of the series, but it is definitely ugly. I thought Joaquin as a character was fine, I didn’t remember much about his from TFATWS, and there was pretty much no recap on who he was or why audiences should care about him. I honestly doubt that having a Falcon Jr. is necessary in the long run anyway, but you never know. He was kinda funny, and felt realistic to a modern young person in his situation, but that doesn’t really make up for the poor writing of his character (or poor acting). I don’t hate his inclusion, he was just integrated strangely.

But I did like Isaiah Bradley a lot. I find his story so fascinating, and he had a really cool arc in this movie. He was a character you wanted to root for, even if you didn’t remember him at all from the series or know anything about his story (side note; watching this movie made me realize how little I remember of TFATWS. I was like thirteen and only watched it for Bucky, so most of the actually important stuff slipped my mind). The actor’s portrayal of Isaiah was wonderful, and I definitely hope he comes back in more movies or another series.

Another portrayal that stood out was Harrison Ford’s work as Ross. I thought it was a great casting choice to replace the actor who died, and he stole the show in all his scenes. However, I honestly wasn’t expecting characters/scenes from the original Hulk movie to ever become relevant again. I thought Marvel was trying to sweep that movie under the rug and make it not canon to the MCU. Most people were treating it like it wasn’t canon already, since an entirely different guy played Bruce Banner, and it was virtually never mentioned again. I think it’s cool that they brought it up again, though. It kinda just made me feel like a true fan for remembering things from the movie no one talks about, but it was also cool to bring back those aspects of Ross’s character that weren’t really touched on again. It was unexpected to have a lot of the focus on Ross and Hulk, but it was well done. I’m honestly happy that the movie didn’t spend so much time on Sam adjusting to being Captain America, since it made room for this cooler plotline.

I didn’t care much for the main villain of this movie, Samuel Stern. I didn’t like looking at him, for one. The SFX artists did a good job on his weird brain-shaped-head, and it was probably intentionally gross, but it was still gross. I honestly didn’t understand a lot about his character. One flaw of this movie was that they were very bad at explaining who characters were, and just expected viewers to be MCU superfans who remembered every single character ever, which most of the viewers are not. I left the theater a little confused on a lot of characters, and then promptly forgot about all of them. I can’t even tell you what I didn’t understand about this guy because he’s that forgettable. He had a lot of cool villainous aura and a weird head, and that’s all I remember.

All in all, I think this movie was pretty good. I think I’m a little less critical of it than most people since I love Captain America and am of the firm belief that all Cap movies are good. And this movie felt like an old Captain America movie. Like my dad said, it felt like a phase one or phase two movie, which was probably the wisest decision Marvel could’ve made with this film. It would’ve been a flop if they tried to do the same thing that they’ve been doing with tying every single comics character into one movie. I’m glad they didn’t, even if their character integration is still shoddy. It definitely had some more flaws I didn’t even touch on, but I found a lot of plot holes easy to overlook. This movie’s jokes were honestly pretty good, I know everyone hates on Marvel humor, but I honestly think it works in this film. The fight choreography and costuming was pretty good, and while the special effects weren’t exemplary, I think they were still pretty good. It is isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s still a great experience because it feels like an old MCU film.

I would give this a 4/5, since I really liked it despite everything I dogged on it for. I think it was a pretty good reset for the MCU, and I’m super excited for some of the upcoming films. That’s it for my review! Thanks for having me back on the blog, Dad!

P.S.-Someone behind me in the theater fell asleep during the best cameo ever, and I almost missed it because I was trying to see who it was. Don’t be the person literally snoring in the theater, you might make a teenage girl miss seeing her favorite character on screen. (On an unrelated note, I’m super excited for The Thunderbolts! I will review that one too, trust.)

There you have it, MonDavers (and Tessa nation). thanks for reading. Back soon with more stuff!

Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review (Part One)

Okay, it’s not a Monday, but y’all know what that means.

The newest Marvel movie has been unleashed to the masses. So far it’s taken a big hit from the critics, and from some comic book nerds as well. But what about us average folk who just like watching the MCU movies and have no ulterior agendas (in that we dont get paid to watch stuff) or pre conceived notions about how the characters or storylines are supposed to go? Well, that’s what I’m here for. the everyday fan’s perspective.

Regular readers take note: normally daughter Tessa would join me for these reviews, but we weren’t able to see this one together. Never fear though, Tessa fans, She will see it tonight and I’ll let her post something on the blog later on. That’s why this is part one of the review, because it’s just my thoughts and you’ll get her POV on it all tonight or tomorrow. Anyway, let’s get to it.

Captain America: Brave New World is the first film to feature Sam Wilson as the Cap, and is somewhat of a continuation of the Marvel TV Series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It is also a sequel to Endgame and to a lesser extent, Eternals. What it really is though, is a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.

As the movie begins, Lieutenant General and former Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross has just been elected the President of the United States, and Sam has well and truly taken over as Captain America. Though their relationship has been adversarial in the past (what with the Sokovia accords and all) both men realize they need to make an uneasy alliance and work together for the good of the country. An assignation attempt is made on Ross, sending Sam into a story that involves conspiracy, misinformation, the threat of international war, and Red Hulk smashing his way into the picture. So, you know, standard Marvel stuff.

This film isn’t so much a super hero movie as a political action thriller. I mean, sure, lots of stuff goes “boom” and there’s some major feats of derring-do, but the action takes a backseat to the story itself. Which in this case is both good and bad. Honestly, the story is a little thin in places, and some characters and aspects could have been delved into more. There are multiple interesting aspects, both from the political and moral issues raised and from character development standpoints, that are mentioned but glossed over-even for a Marvel movie. That’s a bit of a misstep, but it’s okay because the movie is still entertaining enough to keep the interest level up.

As for the action scenes…they’re fine. There’s not much we haven’t seen before, but again, that’s okay. While none of the action really brought me to the edge of my seat, it was all done perfectly well. It’s just that in this day and age audiences have seen big action scenes a billion times and they all tend to get a little same-y after a while. So while there was nothing particularly wrong with the action in this movie it didn’t knock me off my feet either. So I’m not sure if it’s the film itself, or just me on this one.

Well, that is, until Red Hulk shows up anyway. Those scenes alone were worth the price of admission, but Red’s screen time is regrettably short.

It was kind of nice, though, to have a Marvel film rooted firmly on Earth and in our reality for a change. The MCU has been so into the Multiverse for the last four or five years that the films were getting a little crazy. I actually liked some of those movies, but most of them were pretty spotty. Captain America Brave New World provides a nice soft reset for the MCU by giving us a movie that is more grounded than anything we’ve seen for a while and actually kind of feels like a phase one or phase two MCU film. It’s far from a perfect, sure, but it might just be what Marvel needs right now.

Okay, let’s talk performances. Anthony Mackie (Cap) is a big onscreen presence and an effortlessly cool guy, which makes him a treat to watch. The only downside is that Mackie has too much swagger ,just as a human being, that it almost makes the more emotional scenes difficult to buy into for me. I’m not saying he can’t act-he certainly can, I just don’t relate when he’s playing the softer scenes. That one is just me. Other cast members are exceptional too. Carl Lumbly elevates the character of Isaiah (a holdover form the TV series) well beyond the scripted work. Tim Blake Nelson is reliably good (if you remember his character from back in phase one you know where this movie is going) but both he and his character are underused. This is Marvel we’re talking about here, though, so he could always come back. Again.

Harrison Ford absolutely steals the show, because of course he does. Ford takes over the role of Ross from the late, great William Hurt, which is kind of a shame, really. You see, this movie is just as much about Ross as it is Captain America. Arguably more so. It would have been cool to see what Hurt would have done with this script, and to see him get a big payoff on screen for what he’s done in the franchise. Be that as it may, Harrison Ford does a superb job in the role. He’s not just cashing a check here, or appearing in the MCU because it’s the thing to do, he gives an actual performance and the movie is all the better for it.

Okay, so what’s the verdict overall?

I think this movie is flawed, but fun. The pace is a little slower than what we are used to with other Marvel movies, and the whole “undercutting drama with bad jokes” Marvel movie trademark is kept to a minimum, which is kind of an unexpected change but a refreshing one. It could have been a touch more exciting, and could have gone deeper, but there’s plenty to like about what’s there. Also the cameos are cool but I won’t spoil them. It’s a little clunky, but it also feels familiar and is a solid, but not mind blowing entry into the MCU canon.

As a sequel, a connector of story lines, and a touchstone for future projects I’d say Captain America: Brave New World works well. As far as standing on its own two feet, well, it’s a little wobbly but at the end of the day it still stands.

I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5.

That’s it for now. See you soon with Tessa’s take, and back again later for more MonDaves!

P.S.-The after credit scene isn’t really worth it. It’s fine but not all that cool or revelatory.

P.P.S.-On a side note, why do we need the character of Joaquin Ramirez? If Sam still has his Falcon style wings, why do we need Falcon Jr.? It bugged me in the series and it bugs me now. That alone (and, sorry/not sorry, Danny Ramirez’s bland portrayal) kept this movie away from the 4 star rating. I was trying not to go there but here we are.

Daddy/Daughter Movie Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3

Well, opening weekend has come and gone, but just in case you didn’t get yourself out to the theater, here’s the official MonDAVEs Daddy/daughter movie review of Marvel’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3”, featuring guest reviewer/blogger Tessa to provide us with the teenage perspective. There may be a mild spoiler or two, maybe not. I don’t know. I’m not editing this either way. You get what you get.

Say hi to the people, Tess.

Tessa: Hi!

Well done. Okay, you’re up.

T: Overall, I liked this movie. I’ve heard people say this was the best movie since Endgame, and I think calling it the best since Endgame is a bold claim, but I do think it’s one of the best. Phase 4 and Phase 5 (so far) are wild because each movie is very hit or miss. Movies like No Way Home and Shang Chi were amazing, and movies like Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder kind of missed their mark. I think this was one of the good ones, which makes me happy. It would’ve been sad to see a franchise like Guardians get ruined with it’s third movie. I loved seeing the group together again, and the soundtrack was amazing as always. I think Rocket’s backstory was very heartbreaking and well done, and the pacing was pretty well done in my opinion.

But I do think bringing Gamora back was unnecessary. She didn’t really do anything, I thought she would regain her memories or fall for Peter all over again, but then she just didn’t and it felt weird. I know her arc came to a close by her finding a family within the Ravagers, which is cool and all since she’d always wanted a family and to belong and be loved, but I feel like the payoff isn’t as effective when it isn’t our Gamora that’s getting the family. Why should we as the viewer care about a new Gamora who doesn’t feel even close to the old one? I feel like there was a missed opportunity to expand on her character and actually let us care about the new Gamora. I understand that the movie was already really long and if there was any development on her it was probably cut for time, but I wish we got to see it. I also understand that any problems I have with the plot can’t always be taken up with the movie writers themselves because most plot points come from the comics, which is another thing to keep in mind. The High Evolutionary I think was also a missed opportunity to elaborate upon, I kind of just had to figure things out about him and use my context clues instead of actually being told who he is and what he does.

But I still really enjoyed it, since those are my only complaints. The CGI was really good, you could see all the emotion on the faces of Rocket and his buddies, which is impressive considering they’re all just computer generated images. I think the ending was really well done, and I got all sentimental during the credits when they showed different pictures from all the Guardians movies. I would definitely watch this movie again!

D: Interesting perspective on Gamora. I think it was necessary to bring her back so we could finish the story between her and Peter, also it was useful to the overall story so that Peter’s character could move on.

T: It was already done though. Like I feel like Peter and Gamora’s arc could’ve ended when she died, and Guardians 3 could’ve focused on him moving on without her.

D: Fair enough, but I think people would be mad if she wasn’t in the movie at all. A solo Gamora movie with the Ravagers might be cool though.

T: Real. How about you review the film now.

D: ‘Kay.

I didn’t love it.

Didn’t hate it either, but I didn’t love it. I wanted to love it but just didn’t. It just seemed to be missing something for me. The thing about the last two Guardians movies is that they were a blast to watch. The humor flowed freely and honestly, mixing in well with the action sequences, and the emotional tug-at-your-heartstrings moments were highly effective. This one just didn’t work as well. The humor seemed to be almost an afterthought. It just felt a little forced. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good lines and some truly funny moments, but not anywhere near the level of the last two,

While GOTG3 was definitely action packed, there seemed to be a lot more camera trickery during some of the scenes that kind of took me out of the action, in that I noticed the film making more than the film itself. It wasn’t like Matrix level, but I got that vibe a little bit. I just never got totally swept up in the moment like I have with the past offerings.

As far as emotions goes, this movie swings for the fences and very nearly achieves its lofty goals. Rocket’s backstory is full of heartwarming and heart wrenching moments, but the rest of the movie mostly falls flat. Again, there were scenes that should have led me through the full gamut of emotions but, meh.

Also, this is a really dark movie, both visually in places, and otherwise. That didn’t bother me too much, I like dark. I think though, that the reason this movie is so unbalanced is because there is so much screen time given to the darkness that it wasn’t really possible to balance it out properly. I mean, you need the dark so the light will show (as Bob Ross would say) but the mix was a little bit off.

As far as the story goes, it’s pretty much all just “We gotta save Rocket!” with little subplot in my opinion. What subplots exist are not really given enough time to develop and made some major characters like The High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock less effective than they could have been.

Okay, just so I’m not dogging it too much, there were lots of things I did like. The cast is awesome as usual, and as Tessa said the CGI is just wonderful. Even though I felt it uneven overall there were enough cool ideas to keep my interest. The standard theme of family in the Guardians movie is once again well explored, with new and old characters adding different levels to the mix. The soundtrack is pretty cool too, I was pleasantly surprised by a few selections!

Concerning the fate of the Guardians themselves, I think the movie provides a fitting conclusion to most character arcs, even if they were not what one would expect. Before the movie premiered there were a lot of rumors flying around about which major character would die. While I won’t go into spoilers here, I would have gone in a slightly different way and kind of felt cheated in a way with the direction the filmmakers chose. But Howard the Duck does have a cameo and that’s really why I turned out, so all is good.

T: A lot of the complaints you had I also noticed, but I guess they didn’t affect me as much. I agree that some new characters were very underdeveloped, and it would have been better if there was a bigger subplot than just saving Rocket. I feel like those weren’t big enough things to make me dislike this movie, but I can see why they could change your opinion on it.

D: I didn’t dislike it, I was, let’s say unfulfilled. Maybe the failure doesn’t lie with the movie so much as my expectations though. I don’t know. I will definitely watch it again, and maybe now that I have seen it once and know what to expect I will be able to focus on different things. Sometimes repeated viewings make you understand movies a little better, and the original cynicism fades away. Hoping that happens here because I want to like it way more than I do.

Okay, rating time. Scale of one to five, five being the highest, what do you think?

T: I give it a four out of five.

D: Reluctantly I give it a three, though the four rating you gave is probably more fair and accurate. Cue the haters!

Thanks for chiming in Tess, and thanks for reading this everybody else.

MonDAVEs will return.

Daddy/Daughter Marvel Movie Review, Quantum Edition

If you made it to the end of the last blog you will remember that I mentioned the possibility of a tiny update this weekend, and here it is. The official MonDAVEs review of Marvel’s Ant Man And The Wasp:Quantumania! Ha! See what I did there? Tiny update? ‘Cause y’know, Ant Man? He gets small? Whoo! Comedy!

Tessa: That is a solid joke.

Dave: Really?

T: Yeah.

D: Huh. Oh yeah, teenage daughter Tessa is here too and she will give us her thoughts as well. As always, we will both give our reviews on a scale of 1 to 5 and we will try to get away with only light spoilers if any.

Just in case you’re unfamiliar, this is Ant Man #3. During this adventure, the entire family gets sucked into the Quantum realm (see previous Ant Man movies for info on that), at which point they learn about Janet’s history of being trapped in the realm and all the adventures she got up to. Of course, she is brought right back into the thick of things, endangering the family (particularly Cassie), greeting old friends and new, causing a revolution, and getting Kang The Conqueror seriously ticked off. This will soon have major reverberations throughout the MCU, affecting multiple timelines, alternate realities and pert near anything else you can think of.

Now that you’re mostly caught up, let’s talk about it. Take it away, Tess.

T: This movie was pretty good. Phase 5 of the MCU has been hit or miss so far, when the movies are good they’re really good, but when they aren’t they’re mid and forgettable. In Phase 5, a movie has to have something extraordinary to be remembered as one of the good ones, or to be remembered at all. I feel like Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania accomplishes that. This movie was mostly a segway to the future movies, setting up Kang as one of the main villains of the MCU from here on out, and I understand that. But I feel like this movie was missing the character development I felt it needed.

Films can focus on one of four things: Plot, Emotional Effect or Mood, Style/Texture/Structure, or Characters. In my opinion, this movie (along with pretty much all Marvel movies) was focusing on plot. Which is all fine and dandy, I just feel like I personally tend to like character driven films better. I like when there are characters to focus on and analyze as a viewer, which I thought this movie lacked. Sure, Scott and Cassie’s relationship was expanded upon, and Janet played a much bigger role than in the other two Ant Man and The Wasp movies, but the plot was so aggressively shoved in our faces. There was like ten minutes of exposition at the beginning, ten minutes of Lang family bonding at the end and the rest of the movie was about the plot. And to be fair it was a good plot.

Kang was set up as a new villain really well. He has the potential to be really threatening and he could be used in lots of cool multiverse and time travel plot lines. The quantum realm was actually really cool, and I liked all the characters we met there. However, they were not expanded upon at all. I can barely remember any of their names. This comes back to the main point I have, there was no character development. I understand that this is just a set-up movie, and I get they had to take out a lot of things because they wanted it to be more plot driven. I get that this was intentional, I just didn’t like that aspect very much. There was also no Luis, which is sad. But I liked most of this movie, and the cut scenes were pretty cool! I’m excited for what comes next with Kang the Conqueror and the Ant Man gang.

D: I agree with the character development point, although I think the mains were known well enough by fans of the MCU. It would have been nice to know a little bit more about the new characters we met , though, so that we cared a little bit more about their fates. I think perhaps that decision was made in an attempt to shorten the movies down timewise until we get to the big ensemble pieces later on.

I think this movie was quite enjoyable. It was a lot of fun, beautiful to look at, and I think it works as a transition piece. It was a good science fiction adventure movie, but I don’t think it was a good Ant Man movie. I feel like Ant Man works best in his small world, and as a part of the Avengers team. This film just feels a little out of place. With all the new worlds we were witnessing and the multiple alien species involved, it felt more like a Star Wars movie to me than a Marvel movie. That’s okay, I enjoy both, but it just didn’t feel right. But then, I thought that the Star Wars Rise Of Skywalker movie felt like Marvel, so what do I know?

Lastly, I think the cast were all very good, but I’m not so sure about Jonathan Majors as Kang. No disrespect as an actor, but I wasn’t thrilled with his performance here. Kang didn’t feel very menacing to me, but that may have been an intentional choice to introduce us to the more human, relatable side of the character before revealing his true evil in future installments. Still a very interesting character though, and it’s clear that Kang isn’t going to mess around.

T: Side eyeing that last paragraph, but I won’t argue. I give this a 4 out of 5.

D: I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Which feels a little low, actually, but I was probably too kind to the last Thor picture, so I guess this evens that out. Again, I enjoyed it, but it just didn’t floor me.

Alright, there you go. See you next time for more stuff.

Another Daddy/Daughter Movie Review! Black Panther:Wakanda Forever

DAVE: Welcome to another Marvel Movie MonDAVE! As usual, I am joined by a guest reviewer, my 14 year old daughter Tessa…

TESSA: What’s up?

D: Um, hi. You’re a little early.

T: Sorry Dad, that’s my bad.

D: No worries. Anyway, we will be giving you our opinions on the newest Marvel movie, Black Panther:Wakanda Forever, and rating it on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest. I will, of course, be using a scale of 1-5 Dave’s, whereas Tessa (with a change up) will be using 1-5 slays.

T: Oh my gosh, it rhymes. I love that.

D: Quality stuff here folks. Also, we try to keep these reviews relatively spoiler free, but a few minor spoilers may occur. Okay, Tess, you’re up.

T: Since Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played the original Black Panther, died a couple of years ago, everyone was wondering how the sequel will be handled. The movie starts immediately with a very powerful scene, showing Shuri trying to save her brother from dying of an unmentioned illness, which she ultimately fails at. We get to see how Wakandans handle funerals, dressing in all white instead of all black, which I thought was very interesting. The audience gets to see the many ways Wakandans and individual characters deal with grief and mourning, and we see firsthand on multiple characters the effects of loss, specifically Nakia, Queen Ramonda, and Shuri. The main antagonist, Namor, also experiences loss, which turned him into what he is. This movie does a great job at showing how much losing somebody close to you can effect your mental health and who you are as a person.

D: Agreed. The emotions behind this film are very raw. Bring your tissue, you will probably need it.

While the theme of dealing with loss is prevalent, this movie is also about maturation, and in a weird way, about unity. Both family unity and societal unity are examined to different degrees. The journey of Shuri’s character may be front and center throughout this film, there’s plenty of sub text to chew on as well. Broken people and broken homes figure prominently in this story. This is one of the more character driven films in the Marvel canon, but in the best possible way.

That being said, it is still an action heavy Marvel movie. It feels much more like a traditional Marvel movie than the last few have, which isn’t a knock on the Phase 4 movies (most of which I have really enjoyed), but this serves as an excellent close to the current phase of films.

T: Another thing I wanted to mention was the acting. Obviously Letitia Wright (Shuri) and Angela Basset (Ramonda) were great, but Danai Gurira (Okoye) really stood out to me. Okoye also went through a really interesting character arc in this film, and I think Danai was really good at conveying that.

D: Oh yeah, pretty much everybody brought their A game, which is probably the best tribute they could have made to Chadwick Boseman. If the story had been there but the acting not, it wouldn’t have been nearly as touching.

There are only a few negatives I can give this film. One is that it’s a little long, but then it’s a Marvel so, duh, of course it is. I also think it gets a little bit clunky in the middle while changing between plot lines. These are minor complaints, however, because the acting, story and surprises are more than good enough to get you through.

Oh, and Martin Freeman returns as well, and that’s always a fun treat.

Okay, Tess. Final thoughts?

T: All in all, this movie conveyed a very deep message about life, loss, and love. It also introduced Ironheart, which was pretty cool. And the cut scene is super cool, as it usually is with Marvel movies. This is definitely one of my favorite movies from Phase 4, and I’m excited to see what the MCU has in store. I give it 4.5 slays. It slays the day away!

D: Cool. I agree. I give it 4.5 Daves. It Daves the day away!

T: No.

D: Slays the Dave Away?

T: Just stop.

D: Okay.