Captain America Brave New World Movie Review

[00:00:00] This is Movies on TV Podcast Industries. We're back in the MCU with our spoiler-filled chat all about Captain America Brave New World.

[00:00:30] He's been working for me in the raft. Hounded me, Steve, and Natasha for years. So why are you working for him? As long as you do, Captain America stands for people like him. You've got no business working for the government. You see what's going on out there? The country is lost. I'm standing next to the president, even if it's Ross. He gives people hope.

[00:01:14] Welcome back, fellow defenders, to Movies on TV Podcast Industries and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We are chatting about Captain America Brave New World, the 35th movie in the MCU. I'm one of your hosts, Derek. Hello there, fellow defenders. Yes, I am one of your high-flying other hosts, John. Good to be back on the podcast. It seems like an age, even though it's only been probably just literally over a month.

[00:01:40] I've been leaving it to you and Chris to take on Invincible. Yes, we've been covering every episode of Invincible. It started out with three all in one day, and then we've been doing one a week since then. It's good to be back. It's like being back in a saddle. Did I say saddle? I meant harness. Absolutely, absolutely. With wings and a shield. I'd go with the wings, I think.

[00:02:04] Yeah, you need both though, John. Yeah. But you see, I remember I was on Iron Man's side during the Civil War. Yes, true. I always forget that. But we are back in the Captain America-verse, which I'm really pleased about, actually. And, you know, really great to see Anthony Mackie here now as Captain America. I was really excited to see the new Falcon, who's played by Danny Ramirez.

[00:02:33] So it was good to see Danny Ramirez here as the Falcon. Back again after his turn in Falcon and Winter Soldier, the TV show, of course. Yeah, exactly. And I think that was nice. I'd like to see that he came through from the TV, you know? Yeah. It could be so easy to sort of do a replacement or just have a different kind of person there. I know that's not the style of the MCU, but you just never know.

[00:03:02] So that was really good. So yeah, I was really pumped for this movie. Excellent. Excellent. We will, of course, talk about all of our thoughts on the movie. We are spoiler-filled discussion. Just make sure you go out and see it before you listen to our chat all about the movie. It's out this weekend in cinemas all across the world. So loads of opportunities to go and see it. But we are going to go into our full-on spoiler-filled chat. What we would love you to do, though, if you haven't subscribed to our podcast,

[00:03:29] please pop on over to our website at tvpodcastindustries.com. Subscribe to the main feed there. You get access to almost a thousand episodes now of all of our coverage of all of the shows and TV shows that we've covered over the years, including lots and lots of MCU coverage. You can also send your thoughts in on any of the shows that we cover to feedback at tvpodcastindustries.com or pop on over to our Facebook group at facebook.com slash groups slash tvpodcastindustries. You can join us over there, chat about any of the stuff that we cover on the show here as well. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:04:00] Shall we get into our spoiler-filled discussion of Captain America Brave New World? Yes, we should. Derek, what are some of the movie details? Well, the producers for the 35th movie in the MCU are Kevin Feige, Nate Moore, Louis Desposito and Charles Newarth. This movie was directed by Julius Ona. Previously, the big movie that he directed, I suppose, was The Cloverfield Paradox, but he has done a number of very well-respected indie movies as well.

[00:04:28] So this is his first big MCU project, though. Interesting. Yeah. I kind of like that. I like that a lot. Yeah, it seems to me that the fact that Marvel tend to take is bring somebody on board that's done a small movie, an acclaimed movie, and bring them on board to tell the story of one of their big characters, and then they have an action director come on board and do the action stuff in case they've never directed it before. So I'm sure we had very similar people behind the scenes doing the action sequences here

[00:04:54] as we had on other Marvel movies and Captain America and the Winter Soldier TV show as well. So, yeah. Yeah. Excellent stuff. Yeah. Now there are lots and lots of writers on this. The story for the movie was done by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman and Dallin Musan. The screenplay was done by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dallin Musan, the director, Julius Ona and Peter Glantz. Malcolm Spellman was the head writer and executive producer on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Dallin wrote the penultimate episode of that series as well.

[00:05:21] But there have been a number of rewrites and additional writing happened since the original series came out. This was supposed to follow on directly from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when that originally came out. But it's been quite a long time since that's come out. And the world has changed a bit and things changed in the MCU as they do on a regular basis. Lots of moving pieces. This movie was supposed to come out a while ago as well. It's been delayed a few times for various reasons like the writer's strike, the director's strike.

[00:05:48] So it's interesting seeing how many people are involved in the writing for the movie. Yeah, no, it is interesting. And maybe that in the end is a bit more representative actually what certainly used to happen. I guess it'll change that up as they try and cut costs down the line. But it seems like, you know, the writing element, you know, you always think of a book, don't you? And you think of a single author. Yeah.

[00:06:17] And yet we know from TV that there are writers rooms and showrunner and then main writers. And that, you know, in a franchise type movie situation, you're going to probably have significant number of people involved in that.

[00:06:39] And then that gets compounded by the fact that you have writers strike, directors strike COVID, you know, and these delays that have kind of bed in and the need to revisit certain things, I guess. Yeah. From the studio's point of view. Yeah. I think we'll probably talk about it as our discussion of the movie goes along.

[00:07:02] For me personally, while I absolutely accept there are writers rooms and there's no denying that within the Marvel Studios system, Kevin Feige is at the top. There's a ton of writers underneath them breaking the stories, coming up with ideas for all of the 20 more movies that are planned to go and the 35 that have gone past so far. But they do usually leave it to a head writer, a lead writer to break the story and to give us a Marvel movie.

[00:07:27] In this case, having Malcolm Spellman and Dylan Masan, who both worked on Falcon, the Winter Soldier, being the original lead writers for this movie, felt like it could have been a direct sequel to that show. We know that show didn't land exactly as they wanted it to land because there's a number of re-explored ideas, I guess, in this movie. Yeah. The movie itself has changed name from the original title that it had, which was originally supposed to be New World Order, but that had other connotations out in the world that they didn't want to explore.

[00:07:56] So it has now become Brave New World for its final release and added on, I think, two different rounds of writing where the writers took the original script and rewrote it in their own way to suit the story they wanted to tell in the end. One of the things I just wanted to call out was the music for the movie was done by Laura Cartman. Laura Cartman coming on board from the What If TV show, from Ms. Marvel and The Marvels as well. So Laura Cartman, another one of the creative founders behind some of the Marvel movies and TV shows as well.

[00:08:24] So kind of cool to have her on here doing her take on the Captain America themes for this version of Captain America. Absolutely. Really good. John, do you want to tell us what they all gave us with your synopsis for Captain America Brave New World? Sure. After being diagnosed with a terminal heart condition, cantankerous General Thaddeus Ross turns his life around and is announced as the new US President, promising togetherness in the face of overwhelming challenges in the world.

[00:08:52] Following the discovery of a brand new element, adamantium, in the body of the Celestial Tiamut that still resides in the Indian Ocean, countries across the world are battling for control of the powerful new material. When the Serpent Society, a rogue special ops group led by Sidewinder, steals a sample of adamantium, President Ross sends Captain America to Oaxaca in Mexico to retrieve the item.

[00:09:17] Backed up by his guy in the chair, Joaquin Torres, who wants to be the new Falcon, Cap recovers these items but Sidewinder escapes. If Torres is to be the new Falcon, Sam wants him to train with the best, so he sets up a session with another super soldier, Isaiah Bradley. To thank them for their service, President Ross invites Sam and Joaquin to the White House. As recompense, Sam asks for an invite for Isaiah too.

[00:09:47] But as Ross thanks the heroes, a song begins to play, triggering multiple attacks on the President. Isaiah is one of the shooters. He takes his shot and escapes the White House, pursued by the Secret Service and President Ross's private guard, former Black Widow, Ruth Bat-Seref. But Sam reaches Isaiah first and manages to calm him down. He soon realises though he has no memory of the incident.

[00:10:14] But with the high profile attack, Isaiah is imprisoned while the investigation takes place. As Sam tries to clear his friend's name, he and Joaquin learn there is one person behind everything who they must uncover. President Ross has a secret. Following Bruce Banner's escape 16 years ago, Ross locked up his scientist contact Samuel Stearns, forcing him to be his own personal think tank and to create a cure for his illness.

[00:10:44] But imbued with supreme intelligence, Stearns has used his skills to plant commands in agents across the world. He created a statistically probable chain of events to get payback on President Ross. When the Japanese government chooses to take the Asemanium for themselves, the US tries to intercept them. Stearns' manipulation almost leads the two countries to war until Captain America and Falcon convince them otherwise.

[00:11:12] But Falcon is injured in the crossfire. As President Ross announces the new cooperation between Japan and the US, Sam learns that Stearns' real plan was to turn President Ross into a real monster. The life-saving pills he created to save Ross were infused with gamma radiation, which transforms the President into the aggressive Red Hulk. Sam has to use all of his abilities to calm the monster inside Ross,

[00:11:38] who finally gives himself up and is taken to the RAF prison, where his estranged daughter Betty pays him a visit. With the true culprits in custody, Isaiah Bradley is rightfully freed. And Samuel Stearns warns Captain America of the impending arrival of others, who will destroy their world. Meanwhile, Sam decides Thaddeus Ross was right about the need for a new Avengers initiative.

[00:12:04] He officially recruits the recovering Joaquin Torres as the new Falcon, as they set out to find their new teammates. And Breathe. Uh-huh. Yeah. That was very long, fellow defenders, so apologies for that. But it's a big movie. It's a big movie. Lots of different elements to it. But I think, you know, it was... I think there's a good, fairly direct storyline in here.

[00:12:30] But it's good to see it bringing the events of the Incredible Hulk there, with Samuel Stearns, who's played by Tim Blake Nelson, who I absolutely love. All the way back to Oh Brother, that where I kind of first really sort of got to see him properly, I think. I think so. He was great in that. You know, I think he was in all the stuff as well before that. But that's where I really kind of,

[00:12:59] well, maybe leap into Tim Blake Nelson as an actor and really enjoy his stuff. Yeah, it's really interesting that they take some of the lead from Incredible Hulk. That was the second movie released when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was getting established. It was just after Iron Man. It's largely forgotten because Edward Norton played the role of Briggs Banner in that movie. A lot of people kind of ignored it. They didn't really realize it was as incorporated into the world.

[00:13:28] We didn't see many of the characters before, other than Thunderbolt Ross, who is now played by a different actor. Thunderbolt Ross originally played by William Hurt, all the way back to that movie, and has appeared himself a few times across the MCU for the last couple of years in big movies like Civil War, like the Avengers Endgame. You know, he's appeared a number of times and unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago, so has been replaced here by Harrison Ford. But it's really interesting hearing and seeing some reviews. The numbering of the MCU gets changed sometimes.

[00:13:57] People sometimes call this the 34th movie instead of the 35th movie. And a lot of that is because people have discounted the Incredible Hulk so much that they feel it's not part of the MCU. And also people just getting the numbering wrong as well. Well, I'm not saying I'm 100% sure it's the 35th movie either. But according to my numbering, it's the 35th movie. But it is an interesting jumping off point. Absolutely. And the other big jumping off point, of course, is the fact that Winter Soldier TV show and the other Captain America movies. We will get into our major bullet points about it.

[00:14:27] But the first thing I would say is one of the kind of drawbacks for this movie for me was the amount I knew about it going into the film. I think the advertising for it, the marketing for it, the casting announcement for it from a company like Marvel who tends to keep a lot of that stuff back felt like I was prepared from the moment I sat down for what was going to happen at the end of the movie. Some character appearances that I probably shouldn't have known about until the movie was over and the credits are rolling. I knew about months and months in advance.

[00:14:56] So I was quite surprised at that. And I feel like as we go through the movie, I wonder whether I would have had a different experience on opening night if I hadn't have known all the things I knew going into the movie. Yeah, I mean, I think for me, I would have done. Yeah, for sure. I mean, the Red Hulk is a huge spoiler. I think so. It kind of, in a sense, sort of pulls the rug under the feet

[00:15:26] of the whole movie to some extent. It does, doesn't it? I feel so, yeah. Because that's kind of the big reveal, but you know it's coming. So in the end, my big debate is about whether the pills that Thaddeus Ross or President Ross is taking is the ones that are preventing him from turning into the Red Hulk or causing it. And we find out that it's actually causing it.

[00:15:53] And I'm like going, this doesn't feel like it has the same cultural significance as Red Pill, Blue Pill from The Matrix as to does it have gamma radiation or not? And I mean, it just undermines, I think, this. And it means that I think a few other things are undermined as well. But I wonder if that's only for us. Like we have covered every Marvel movie,

[00:16:21] we've covered every TV show, you know, maybe not. Had a podcast about every single one, but we've watched every one of them. We've covered all the TV shows, we've covered everything. We are fully aware of the universe. And we're now 35 movies. And as pointed out in this movie, 17 years into the MCU, you've got 17-year-olds who weren't born when the Iron Man was out, you know? So I think for me, it was stuff like knowing Liv Tyler was going to be in the movie. She's the last new character to appear in two seconds of the movie at the end. Knowing Tim Blake Nelson comes back, his reveal is an hour into the movie

[00:16:51] that this is a character we knew before. And knowing the Red Hulk is there, which understandably, it's the cool thing that will draw people into the movie. So it just felt odd that it was something revealed towards the end of the movie. But I don't want to be too down on it because we knew this stuff. No, absolutely. I mean, ultimately, you know, spoilers, I enjoyed this movie. I'm certainly going to recommend it in my out of five. And, you know, just to counter my own point previously

[00:17:19] that, you know, knowing the Red Hulk was going to come here undermined it. It did because it was so obvious. But I do actually need to counter that myself because I think the thing is, is that Captain America Winter Soldier, the actual title gave away that the Winter Soldier was coming. And yet that movie had an edge and an eeriness to it

[00:17:46] despite knowing that it was coming. He was coming. It was how he arrived in the movie, how the tension and the pressure built up. And I just, that just didn't happen for me on this movie. So this to me as a Marvel cinematic movie felt really by the numbers and not to the same extent as the Sony Marvel. Yeah.

[00:18:15] Like absolutely nothing like that. They're by the numbers 90s Marvel movies. This is by the numbers MCU. Yeah, exactly. Which is still a very high bar in comparison to the crappy Marvel movies over in Sony. Like the real heart and soul and I think the real edge in this movie came around Isaiah Bradley and Sam and Joaquin. Yeah. And that also was brilliant,

[00:18:41] but also some of that you felt you'd seen in the TV show. And so again, slightly undermined. But ultimately I enjoyed the movie. And Anthony Mackie, I'm always going to turn up to the cinema to see because I just really, really enjoy him and his characters as he's portrayed them in the MCU, including in this movie. Absolutely. You know, despite maybe me not having

[00:19:08] such a warm sense to it initially. But I also need to probably re-watch it because I've seen The Winter Soldier a million times. This I've seen once. But I think that's the main thing, really. You know? Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting that you mention The Winter Soldier because this movie, of course, is going to have the comparison that that is the best of the Marvel movies. It's the best Captain America movie. And here we are. Basically Captain America for a brand new Captain America here. And also really interesting

[00:19:37] that you mentioned The Winter Soldier because we knew that was Bucky from the start. From the comic book fans. We knew it was going to be Bucky. There were probably people in that audience who went to and went, oh my God, that's his friend from the first movie. You know? That's true. So here you will have people that will be really surprised at some of the reveals and some of the moments that are going on. I do feel it's a bit of a reset for the MCU as it gets into a new wider world coming along to the first Captain America movie and hopefully going to enjoy this as much as we enjoyed those movies

[00:20:06] as they were coming out as well. But in that vein, our bullet point number one, just like Captain America's Winter Soldier started out with a big mission for Cap to establish him in this world. Here we have the Mexican mission where we establish how our new Captain America, how Sam Wilson is in this role and who his new sidekick is, Joaquin Torres. We say that he was in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a very small role really in Falcon and the Winter Soldier because they were dealing with those two major characters.

[00:20:35] But really cool to have this sprightly enjoyable character here in Joaquin Torres, the guy in the chair almost, but he also wants to get access to Sam's Falcon gear, wants to become the new Sam, which we see in this whole Mission Den of Mexico. Yeah, he's effectively Sam's army liaison support guy. But he's been doing that job for too long and is excited about what Sam does. He wants to be a part of that,

[00:21:05] wants to be the new Falcon. I really, really enjoyed that. I really liked as well that this mission introduces Sidewinder. I love the fact that it's played by Giancarlo Esposito and Seth Volker, Sidewinder. And I guess this was a kind of interesting surprise for me. I thought Sidewinder was going to be the main antagonist here.

[00:21:35] And in a sense, wasn't. But I do like the fact that Sidewinder persists in this world still. Yeah. And, you know, could be that Winter Soldier type antagonist to Sam, but without any history. So actually it's worse because there's no chance of a resolution to it. Well, exactly. So, you know, maybe that's a really interesting kind of duo,

[00:22:05] you know, the dark and the light here being introduced. And again, Giancarlo Esposito really enjoyed his character. I mean, I think the moment where he sort of crashes into the big truck that Sam is driving and comes out guns blazing as he does this ambush almost of Sam. And, you know, you really get the sense that Sam is in trouble here. Yeah. But also, you know,

[00:22:35] he's upped for the task. And I like that because there is that sort of thing pervading through this movie about, well, he doesn't have super soldier serum. So, you know, he is in a sense human. He's not pumped up with serum. Yeah. And I think this is one of the things that they have to deal with in the MCU as well, isn't it? When you have a TV show that takes one of the major storylines out of the movie, out of the cinema, puts it on TV, explains the story, and then you come back

[00:23:05] to the cinema again with this character under the title of Captain America and now it's Sam Wilson, now it's Anthony Mackie. They do have to address those people that only see the movies. They have to do it. So, when someone walks into the cinema and goes, hang on a second, that's Sam Wilson. How would he have the power to deal with this stuff? So, here they upgrade a suit. Now we've got a brand new Captain America suit. I think it's pretty damn cool. Love seeing him with the wings that are now provided to him by the Wakandans who had a good part

[00:23:34] in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is their reward, I suppose, for him dealing with Baron Zemo who also played a major role in the series. So, what I love about this really is the fact that I feel like you should see the TV show. I thought the TV show was really good and it's taking jumping points off it but there is an explanation for how Sam is able to deal with these kind of superpowered villains that is given to you on screen here as well. He's also got this brand new suit which he gets off screen.

[00:24:03] We didn't see that in the TV show but here he is fully powered up and able to deal with it. He's using Captain America's shield just like Steve Rogers did in the past and he's using his wings now the way he used to use them but also with the added benefit of the vibranium that Wakanda have infused into it so he's able to take the damage and he's able to do the energy blast. That you can then release back to sort of create a shockwave and all that. So yeah really good. Excellent.

[00:24:33] And very handy when up against the Red Hulk. Well absolutely it comes in very handy later on and as we mentioned we do have the new sidekick in Joaquin Torres being the new Falcon which comes in really handy when things split. You know we have the Serpent Society trying to keep the brand new Captain America at bay while they get away with the stolen adamantium. Falcon goes after that while Sam is trying to stop Sidewinder here from getting away as well. Yeah exactly.

[00:25:03] So it was it was a good little opening actually it was. Good action and a good sort of connection made and I think that's really important here you know because okay I don't want to be using comparisons all the time but Cap had Bucky and ultimately I think here what's great is Sam and Joaquin they really really connect for me they look and feel like a really

[00:25:32] good partnership moving forward and I think what's really good as well is very early on as well you get the requests coming from the newly elected President Ross to form a new Avengers so I think onto bullet point number two because after that mission both Joaquin and Sam get invited to the White House to be sort of

[00:26:02] recognised for their work and for recovering this stolen adamantium from the Serpent Society yes exactly lots of little things revealed in the start here I love the reveal that the item that they've recovered is adamantium we know adamantium from the comics because it's what Wolverine's claws are made of so a big connection into Wolverine big connection into the X-Men here

[00:26:31] who will be appearing in the MCU pretty soon but here's where we bring in another character that was I think a real standout of Falcon the Winter Soldier Isaiah Bradley just absolutely great and played by Carl Lumley in the TV show and of course in the movie here the way they bring him in I think is really interesting having this constant push from Joaquin Torres to become the Falcon and Sam goes well do you know what you can't get to meet Ant-Man you're not an adventurer yet if you want to learn how to become Falcon I'm going to get you

[00:27:01] taught by a former Captain America I did like Sam's constant not by Ant-Man I like the fact that Ant-Man has still got Captain America riled up yes yes of course they met in the first Ant-Man movie that was one of the plot points I like that little touch I thought that was nice coming from Sam again I think for me the Isaiah Bradley story is really really powerful

[00:27:31] it was in the TV show and it continues here it's very heartbreaking it is that soul I think of this about the bad things that were done and forced upon Isaiah Bradley back in the 50s for the Korean War and that's really powerful in the TV show this idea of justice no matter who you are the idea that you get justice for bad things that are done to you

[00:28:00] and I do like how this is brought through into here I like the fact that Sam is maintaining that sort of that close friendship with him and trying to see that his wrong is right is it's really tough almost because we've seen the history he's gone through we've seen that he's disavowed nobody knows who he is one of the plot points at the end of Falcon the Witcher Soldier is that Captain America

[00:28:30] puts an extra wing in the Smithsonian exhibit dedicated to this lost Captain America Isaiah and here Sam and Joaquin are getting the invite to go to the White House and he refuses it for something that he was not in control of I think the other thing I like the nice little touch point around the suit that he's wearing which was when he the suit that he wore to get married and he's

[00:29:00] kind of like don't don't hurt don't wreck the suit don't destroy the suit as he's getting arrested but yeah again it's this next layer of injustice because in this assassination attempt on the president it's not just Isaiah Bradley we get this song that comes through their mobile phones and there's a number of different personnel that are then shooting in the

[00:29:30] White House I think there's five of them that stand up the biggest one is the former Cap America Isaiah Bradley I really like that touch as well as you say there's five people in the room that stand up to take their attempts but he's the one that gets closest and he's the one that's chased down and arrested he's the one that's the most important because he's got a super soldier shirt inside him so he takes those three shots from the gun they all smash into the glass the presentation glass that the president's using and it all falls to the floor because oh wow

[00:29:59] you've just got an assassination attempt from a former Captain America and then he runs gets out the window is chased down by Sam the secret service guys everybody is chasing after him to stop him from running away and then it's revealed that he has no idea what happened to him he remembers earlier on in the day he remembers arriving there a little flash on his phone and then that whole period is wiped from his memory yeah absolutely I mean I think the other thing that really nicely kind of contrasts this whole part of the movie

[00:30:29] is Sam Joaquin and Isaiah arriving and all their banter in the back of the limo you know we know that Isaiah wasn't particularly keen on sort of joining them but is persuaded and we know that he Sam is looking for him to sort of teach Joaquin and there's a great energy and banter between the three just before this and that's what makes

[00:30:59] it more kind of heartbreaking really is that in the end Bradley is arrested for this attempt on the president's life because immediately what becomes apparent is that both with Bradley but also with the other people that took shots not only do you have this cue music that plays in the White House Mr. Blue but also

[00:31:30] they capture on CCTV just the phone their mobile phones flashing and almost conditioning the prospective assassins prior to the event by the president yeah this is kind of where one of the new characters Ruth Batzaraf is introduced in here and we're really in that you know those 70 conspiracy theory movies here you know like of course Manchurian Candidate would be

[00:32:00] the big one similar to Winter Soldier isn't it these are the moments where you're feeling those political thrillers of the 70s coming out through the storytelling absolutely and I think what's really powerful here I think it's just the thing that maybe they just let go of really a bit too soon is the paranoia like the Manchurian Candidate is a really good example of where you know the people in power don't know whether their

[00:32:29] best colleague their brightest colleague their best friend who's also a colleague at the highest levels of national security aren't also working against them and that paranoia you know the deep throat element and I think you kind of get that sense initially here yeah and I think they just kind of let it go because there's some really good aspects firstly that you know these people have the potential

[00:33:00] on cue to be conditioned to turn violent who else is that you know has it gotten to Joaquin has it even gotten to Sam you know that distrust and I don't think it necessarily comes through that well and then on top of that there is President Ross's own paranoia about the person who he has had imprisoned for so long and like immediately after the attack

[00:33:29] he's asking the person in charge of the incarceration of Samuel Stearns is he still there because he's concerned that he's escaped and gotten out and this is the attack on him and that's it it's getting that balance right which is the really difficult part isn't it because of course the Manchurian candidate that was the entire movie it was only about who could be the traitor in my midst yeah so that is the entire plot of your movie with the MCU

[00:33:59] you have to also add in well there's Captain America in there he's got to have a big action sequence fighting against some bad guys you know you've got to have that you've got to have the friendship between him and Falcon building up so that does get a bit lost in there and again having this character of Ruth Batsaraf supposed to be the investigator she's going on the investigation route but you don't see much of that on screen that's a bit that does seem to be cut quite a bit out of the movie yeah I find she gets lost a bit on the investigation

[00:34:28] because it's almost like she's doing the leg work she is yeah but ultimately it keeps coming from other people where she should go and what she should do and there's literally just a point when she appears in the movie in front of her own guards and goes I trust this man about Captain America you know because she's been doing the investigation off screen for about half an hour and then she even turns up with a super suit at some point later on in the movie you see her in her black widow outfit and you're kind of going does she just have that in the bag in the back

[00:34:58] of her car ready to put that out there there must have been more of this character in there and interestingly also there's a character agent Lila Taylor who is the security head for the president you see him confiding in her when he's talking at the graveyard to his wife or confiding in her about the fact that he hasn't seen his daughter for 15 years she also is in a security position in the White House and it feels like those two characters probably did have two very defined roles in the past

[00:35:28] and in the final movie they seem to both be doing a very similar thing for the president they both seem to be in charge of his security it felt a bit odd I will also say I thought Ruth Batsaroff had a name like a James Bond character because of the way a lot of the Americans were pronouncing her name it sounded like she was called Betzeroff so all bets are off when she's in the room it felt very James Bond to me which is also in keeping with the Winter Soldier of it all I suppose

[00:35:59] but that's kind of the big point around Bradley that it is his story in here that he once again is being accused of something that he didn't do by the US government and is going to prison for it he's being incarcerated for the foreseeable future unless Sam can free him unless Sam can find out where this all came from yeah absolutely which brings us on to our bullet point number three the leader's plot we'd mentioned Samuel Sturds earlier on a character that was in

[00:36:28] Incredible Hulk back in back in well back 17 years ago Mr. Blue yep so back then he was called Mr. Blue when he was talking to the Incredible Hulk who was called Mr. Green in their conversation so he's the one that uses this song Mr. Blue to brainwash almost or to ignite the people that he has that he is able to use for his missions his character is really interesting here the leader has got additional super powered intelligence from an

[00:36:57] interaction with the blood of the Hulk back in that movie he now has enhanced thinking he is able to look at all probabilities of all situations and come out with the perfect probability of all events going in his way but it seems like a real superpower something that we haven't seen in the Marvel cinematic universe very often other than you know this person was created by gods or this person is a god therefore he has super strength or super speed or something like that

[00:37:27] here this super enhanced intelligence seems very different for the MCU it seems like something we I think my main thing here is I wish they had slightly I guess it's just my presence I wanted more like Zemo you know I really kind of wanted to

[00:37:57] understand better his absolute contempt for Thaddeus Ross and I don't think it came across enough and I think aesthetically I wanted it more like Baron Zemo because ultimately you got the sense that Baron Zemo again hugely skilled at the probabilities of it not in the same sense as the leader but coming at it from a very personal point of view that absolutely was the you know

[00:38:27] you immediately Hydra or something because of the Russian book but ultimately it's a very personal thing for Baron Zemo Zemo's plot was hinged on the fact that he was a simple person who couldn't go up against superheroes who will have them tear themselves apart here it is absolutely a superpower he is playing with the probabilities of everything around him and when some things are really convenient and happen

[00:38:56] very conveniently there's no way he could have known that Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres and Isaiah Bradley were going to be in that room with the president and he would be able to get Isaiah Bradley to pick up a gun and shoot at the president except it's his superpower to know exactly those outcomes of every situation so I think we should have had a little bit more explanation of that I felt like the thing they wanted to explain more so was why did he do it at the end of it rather than how did he

[00:39:31] do it I actually aesthetically I wish he wasn't deformed okay right and I just wish he came across without the knobbly head or even that as he thought about something it kind of pulsated or rippled in the hair line in fact I think when the blood goes into him in Incredible Hulk when he's lying on the floor it's a little cut in his head and you see it pulsating a little bit with the green blood I just felt that would have grounded

[00:40:01] it a bit more because I think like you say sometimes unless it's by divine intervention or through books and learning like Doctor Strange it's like these things that people are working at I think with the Hulk it's because you have to be exposed to gamma radiation and like with the Hulk I would like to see that kind of dichotomy of the fact that

[00:40:30] he's not green he's not got knobbly head to all intents and purposes he comes across as quite normal but the gamma is working on his brain and his thought processes and his ability to work out all and manipulate the probabilities of things happening and working towards that seeing those outcomes and impacting and influencing those outcomes like it's said in drop lines it's explained a bit but I think

[00:41:00] it's just about how well it's done like for example they try to make it really clear but I don't think it is clear the reason why Thaddeus Ross is president of the United States of America having been this really curmudgeon general who everybody hates the reason why he's there is because of all of the manipulation done by this guy done by Samuel Asternes he looked at all the predictable outcomes of everything that's happening to get Ross into the position as

[00:41:30] president he became the president's one person think tank who was locked up in a prison working only for Ross for 16 years to get him in this position where he stands in front of the American people and goes together is how we will win this thing even though anybody who knows Ross from the movies everything that he's done has always torn everybody apart I mean he's that character for me in Marvel comics in the Hulk TV show in the

[00:42:00] movies that really gets under my skin I really dislike him and it's such a great characterization because that's exactly what he's supposed to be and I think Harrison Ford does a good job of getting to that point as well and actually at the start you're kind of going why is Ross talking about togetherness how has he been able to transition from being a military

[00:42:30] general to present there are absolutely examples of that in the US like Eisenhower and Grant there's also examples of octogenarians over 80 year olds being the only option for president of the United States and then not getting their position as president and somebody else who is also way too old to be president becoming president probably in the editing time period for this movie coming out so I kind of feel there was a couple of things cut from

[00:43:00] maybe a Biden version of Harrison Ford's character may have had to been edited around to a tantrum throwing Red Hulk character more like the actual president would you think possibly who knows part of the editing and rewriting that I've got I mean I kind of don't know now I think for me the whole White House thing it probably imbued with too much rawness like the lesson

[00:43:29] of the tale is I don't need it to involve the White House I mean you know I think ultimately I think you have the leaders plot as you say getting Thaddeus Ross to the White House and then setting up the situations like the Serpent Society in Oaxaca in Mexico to the confrontation with Japan and the

[00:43:59] US to bring about these events which increasingly is putting and adding layers of pressure onto President Ross and you see him almost breaking down and there you go you see him taking the tablets and you think that's what's calming him down most notably when the US and Japan send their fleets to the celestial Tiamat island in order to claim

[00:44:29] the adamantium this new precious material that has been found on Tiamat the celestial island as they're calling it I like that I'm really pleased that they involve the celestial that you've got that recognition of a huge rock celestial coming out of the Indian ocean from the eternals of course from the eternals but the leader is bringing all these together and being able to mind control at various aspects we have

[00:44:58] the assassination attempt in the White House but now then as the US and Japan send their fighter jets towards one another you have him controlling the mind of the pilot so that they engage with one another and you get the pressure of this situation building on President Ross and you see him grabbing and a little squeeze of metal pipe so

[00:45:29] it's building there and it's all there to force out the monster of Thaddeus Ross and I do like that symbolism that the Red Hulk embodies the monster that Thaddeus Ross is as a human it's the inner demon being let out it's that metaphor you know for Thaddeus Ross and I just really really kind of enjoyed

[00:45:59] that and I liked seeing him kind of getting a little bit shaky as he knows something's happening to him yeah and it's interesting thinking back because again when we were going to the cinema watching the movie and going throughout I absolutely thought there had been other instances in the past when he'd become the Red Hulk in the privacy of his own home or something and here he was trying to prevent it from happening again whereas watching the movie again thinking about it you go well actually he never knew that's what was going to happen to him he never

[00:46:29] knew he would literally blow his top and become the monster that he chased down 16 years ago but even more aggressive even more angry that's all he was this mindless monster we're so used to seeing Bruce Banner over the last couple of movies being Smart Hulk for example we're so used to seeing him being really restrained in the role just being a very powerful person we've seen She-Hulk an entire series where we had a person in control of the monster inside and here we have Thaddeus Ross who has no control at

[00:46:59] all he is completely mindless when he does eventually become the Red Hulk so that was really interesting I was kind of hoping we'd just see it a little bit more early on you'd love to see him transform back into a human and go what the hell just happened to me there you know we're kind of expecting a little bit more of that but with the leaders plot setting US versus Japan against each other we also have Sam as Captain America and Falcon having to go out to this battle and stop two mind controlled pilots

[00:47:28] from starting World War 3 basically so we do have the involvement of them and they don't really know what's going on they still haven't fully worked out that it's to do with mind control yeah and I mean it slowly though gets exposed where the prison that the leader has been kept in and they do meet him like I really enjoy that moment where he the prison bars come down on the doorway and you have Sam in there

[00:47:58] with Joachim and you just have the silhouette of the leader really really enjoyed that I love him just sending the guards after them as they pursue him all of that I just really really enjoyed again it was like Steve Rogers and Black Widow investigating what was going on in Witcher Soldier exactly and I as I say I think that could have been

[00:48:27] I just think it could have been drawn out more I mean I do think that there is a moment where the leader suddenly turns up at a place there's another one of the army guys what's happening and he just kills them but like and I know he knows that they should be there because he's seen all the outcomes probabilities but I just don't think it comes across enough like they're kind of going like he's just literally come out

[00:48:57] of prison and yet he's shown up in all these places and I'm like I know that's his superpower but like he doesn't teleport he's still got to get a train or a car or whatever to get there and I'm like but I think part of that has to do with this being the shortest MCU movie in a very long time it does feel like there's 10 or 15 minutes to cut out of this I suppose for that scene what does make it worse is when we have Samuel Stearns confronting Sam later on Sam works the whole thing out without

[00:49:27] the help of the person he'd sent off to get to find out about the tablets about what was happening to the president he works a lot himself oh it was the tablets are they stopping him from becoming or are they causing him becoming the Red Hulk so there needed to be a little bit more work here or a little less editing as my feeling I think there was a lot of work there with five different writers some on the story and some on the screenplay I think it's the midpoint where it just gets a little bit sort of

[00:49:57] unfocused to be honest and they try to focus it with editing is what I feel rather than with expanding and writing a bit but that's the complexity of the leader's plot for bullet point number three one of the things that does happen in that battle over the sea is that Torres goes in too hard as the falcon and almost gets killed an interesting little touch that I only remembered afterwards this is what happened to falcon's

[00:50:27] partner in the past before he met up with Steve Rogers his partner died in a similar situation when they were both using their wingsuits that's why he originally met up with Steve and that's why he had left the army at that stage and that's why he joined up with Steve and actually there was a nice moment where they touch back on Sam's role as a rehabilitator of former veterans which I really kind of liked absolutely and I thought that was a nice touch that they sort of

[00:50:57] point out around I think it was Joaquim yeah that you know well you're the right person to be there for him but having said that I do wish they hadn't taken him out and effectively put him in hospital for the remainder of the movie yeah and that mainly is to do with kind of the final big showdown between Sam and the Red Hulk to be honest I know what you mean I felt there was something missing

[00:51:26] I felt like if we had the two of them side by side it would have set up a really strong team up and I think it really sets up the notion that ultimately is the end point which is that yes Joaquim you're on my new Avengers yeah I know Jermaine I feel like it would have been great to have Torres at Sam's side at the end having the brand new Falcon standing beside Captain America at the end of the movie but I guess the argument in the writers room must have been we want to show that

[00:51:56] Captain America can deal with every problem on his own he doesn't have to have a team around him that's for the next Avengers movie to explain I'm sure that's what the discussion was going on a decision had to be made so they take Torres out here it's a reminder that Sam has lost people in the past it's a reminder of what Sam continually said to him don't you die out there it's on me the blame falls on me if you do die so so I get why that

[00:52:28] it does make sense but there was just a little part of me that felt like it would have been nice to have him there at the end in the final showdown not for all of it but as this I've got your back or on your left whatever you want to use for that way of saying we're all in this together exactly exactly

[00:52:57] I suppose it does speak to the MCU a little bit more when they deal with their human characters that they do tend to see them actually getting hurt you know like even Sam here at the beginning of the movie he gets his arm injured and throughout the rest of the film he's not fully up to speed again you know he is worried about the army he is trying to make sure that is kept safe he is recovering from his injuries let's say and here Torres is in very real danger just because he has a wingsuit doesn't make him

[00:53:27] invulnerable invincible or a superhero so I can see why they did it but it does lead to our bullet point number four he gets his own bullet point John a visit from Bucky Barnes being the other central character in Falcon the Winter Soldier I suppose we should have guessed that the Winter Soldier was going to come into this movie that we would see Bucky Barnes in this movie but I was quite surprised to see him appear here me too as Torres is recovering in the room he's getting

[00:53:57] an operation Sam is watching over him and Bucky arrives in the room to give Sam some advice yeah I think this took me completely by surprise I mean firstly in a good way because it was like it's Bucky Barnes I absolutely love Bucky Barnes I love the Winter Soldier Senator Bucky Barnes I mean I'm guessing it's to do with Thunderbolts and so on that's great yeah

[00:54:26] but like for me the promise of the White Wolf is still there from Wakanda and I'd have preferred to have seen something like that I mean it really did kind of feel like a little bit too cameo for me I would have loved to have Bucky Barnes that kind of connection between the two yeah B involved a bit more than being Senator Bucky Barnes who sort of like basically gave

[00:54:56] you know that kind of two cents book up Sam so I think if Bucky wasn't saying the things that were as important as the things he actually said to Sam this is the post credits scene this is where you have Bucky setting up his appearance in Thunderbolts coming up in just a couple of months time because the question you come out of it with is hang on a second what do you mean Senator Bucky Barnes how does that happen and we'll see that in a few months time we will have that moment it

[00:55:44] may may may he may not be able to walk after is what is going on in Sam's head and Bucky is here to tell him you don't have to worry about it you can lead the Avengers but don't do it

[00:56:14] who Sam Wilson is look I actually I think that's it's really important like it's not so much his cameo was here it's just that I wish there had been more yeah yeah and it's also one of those things were absolutely he's doing two things he's setting up that he's going to have to be a senator in Thunderbolts but also you know being that connector here

[00:56:44] giving Sam his pep talk you know around that really really important but also I just felt like bringing back again I think I just walked out the movie going I wanted the white wolf and I got a public senator yeah yeah but I also think he's so important to

[00:57:16] TV show to explore the two of them as characters together and what Bucky's actually doing here well it's as I say it is a great line it is a great moment but he is basically reiterating what Sam felt like at the end of that series where he finally accepted the mantle and became Captain America he's going back on himself Sam going back on those thoughts again in this movie but that's for those in back that didn't pay attention to the TV show that Sam questioning himself am I the right person here again and Bucky is

[00:57:46] here to reiterate absolutely you are the right person they could have done something different we wanted to see Joaquin Torres at the Creed and that's the thing

[00:58:15] they're all so interlinked they've got to be brought in to set up that other movie and sometimes it's at the detriment of the movie you're currently watching it's actually in and it's not so much great line about Steve gave people something to believe in you give them something to aspire to because there is the essence of the difference who better to do that than Bucky who as I say is that bridge but equally I think with the new Avengers thing he's there

[00:58:45] giving that advice again if he showed up at some point to help with the Red Hulk and maybe I part of it goes I'll always be around but I've got something else to do you know on to the thunderbolts yeah so love

[00:59:15] Bucky because he's such a great character and so glad he was in this really important thing I kind of just wanted more to be honest and I wonder was this a light rewrite was this something where they went oh actually you think we can get Sebastian down here he's doing so many movies god this guy is nominated for Emmys he's nominated for Oscars I think this year or at least the BAFTAs this year he's done so much since the last time we've seen him on screen and of course he's in the Thunderbolts he's quite

[00:59:44] a big character I believe in the Thunderbolts so it even if we don't have Bucky in his full outfit going toe to toe with another Hulk we have Sam with the reminder of who he is and why he should be able to stand up to all the

[01:00:29] character other than Sam Wilson in the scene it did feel like maybe they just added that to because they had some time with Sebastian Stan and because it

[01:01:00] hopefully as the white wolf or back as the winter soldier which I can't take it anymore

[01:01:31] we have Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk we certainly do so the leader's plan comes to fruition at a press conference as we see President Ross getting more and more aggressive and aggravated about what's going on and then it's revealed that Starnes is free as well something he had been trying to keep under wraps for 15 or 16 years at this stage that he just been keeping this guy prisoner using him as his think tack for that long yeah absolutely again

[01:02:00] I kind of I don't know I don't mean to be too down on this ship but we did see that too yeah slight turn but he doesn't turn the

[01:02:30] press are really annoying in America at the moment I get it but it's just like it and then partially dismantling the White House exactly so we get it it's for the look but

[01:03:01] well we've seen we've seen Statue of Liberty torn apart we've seen the monument the Lincoln memorial that was torn apart as well both in Spider-Man movies it was also torn apart in this as well it was we have him sort of crashing into the Washington memorial so that's the one sorry not Lincoln memorial sorry Washington memorial so it's chasing out Captain America because Sam is

[01:04:08] the way at the movie is I'd love to take a walk with you in the cherry blossoms and then by the end they're just all on fire and in bits absolutely I mean I love that they've given Falcon Wakandan technology to absorb all this power because he

[01:04:39] power within the vibranium the mix of having the vibranium shield and the suit having both of those things together means he's able to take on a little bit of the Hulk's power at least and the fact that as the suit absorbs the power he's able to use the blast so we do see Sam reacting to that as one punch from the red Hulk lights up his suit probably more than he's ever seen before I think that's a great moment so that was really good

[01:05:10] and I he's always trying to keep the Hulk under control you do see him in fights but it's usually with the abomination or it's throwing stuff around

[01:05:40] here it's just this unrestrained red Hulk the aggression has totally overtaken him he's the first powerful Hulk we've seen on cinema screens for years so it's cool to see a moment when we just see this unrestrained power absolutely and it really comes across I love that I love that within the fight sequence I mean almost to the point as I say because we've been told that he doesn't have the serum like how is he surviving this with

[01:06:11] smart and Wakandan technology ultimately I really like the fight and I just think it to control this red Hulk because Captain America has always been about the team you know as well as being

[01:06:40] in and of himself individually strong like you kind of forget you know I did say I feel like this was the discussion in the writers room we want to give Sam Wilson his moment as Captain America not not Falcon and the Winter soldier he's now Captain America it's about him being Captain Captain America Steve Rogers was never really just Captain America he was Captain America and the Howling Commandos when he was in the first movie and then became the new person hired

[01:07:10] into the Avengers we had in the team in Winter soldier with the introduction of Black Panther Black Widow working right by his side all the way through that movie and then we had him with all the Avengers in Civil War and you saw how depressed he got when 50% of his mates went absolutely beside himself yeah yeah yeah but here we are given a moment where we have Sam standing up on his own versus Red Hulk but I love that he uses the tricks that he learned over the years so he is using what

[01:07:40] Black Widow did to calm down our Hulk let's say the Mark Ruffalo Hulk he's using that calming tones to soothe the savage beast even just taking him to the cherry blossoms to try and get his mind elsewhere to think about his daughter to think about the fact that he does have someone to make amends with to think about Betty so he's using those tasks and also the fighting and the Wakandan wings and the

[01:08:10] Captain America shield so he's using everything every tool at his disposal to get the Red Hulk to go away really and it works we have the melting down of the Red Hulk into this 82 year old Harrison Ford it's a cool effect again I always love this transformation effect when they melt down into the human being and then he gives himself up and gets himself put in the raft yeah I thought that was sweet sweet justice

[01:08:40] he goes into the raft yeah and just because of all the heroes that were put there by him as a result of the Sokovian Accords exactly and so yeah no that was good I I like the fact that as well you have Isaiah Bradley sort of getting released yes and also getting his suit back which was a good little touch and I like those two

[01:09:10] moments with Isaiah Bradley just his response to that and then we have Ruth coming in with his suit fully dry cleaned and ready to go and he just got to go exactly as it

[01:10:22] it is neatly tied into a bow in the sense that you know Sam really does take on board what togetherness Ross was talking about around the new Avengers that's required and I like that he's putting his stamp here and I like that it becomes the Falcon or Joaquin's Falcon that is the first one to be effective

[01:10:53] invited to the new Avengers table yes absolutely I also think it's really interesting that the original offer that was put in front of Sam was do you want to form the Avengers and Sam's big complaint about it was well we'll have to answer to you Mr. President if we become the Avengers which echoed

[01:11:23] Captain America I think Steve didn't want to be beholden to President Ross of all people if he was going to set up the Avengers now President Ross is behind bars Sam is setting up the new Avengers probably with a little less oversight or a little less connection to a specific sitting president

[01:12:19] I they're with a secret service agency that is outside of normal government structures but not entirely and sometimes might need to investigate government structures when one of them happens to be a red hulk so maybe the oversight of a president that

[01:13:02] is able to do everything that you do you're always able to achieve all the goals you set for yourself and Sam tells him the truth he feels that if he's not on point he'll let down someone else with their seat at the table he'll let somebody down that pressure he's under constantly to be the best in his field is because he feels somebody else is looking up to him somebody else will see a failure on his behalf and think that they're going to fail in what they do so I thought that was

[01:13:32] a really interesting idea that pressure that Sam's under yeah definitely and that closes out the movie until our little post credit scene missed a few movies in the past over the last couple of years or some of the TV shows that were on Disney plus the post credit scene here is Stearns telling Sam watch out

[01:14:02] for other heroes other people from other worlds they are coming down the line and that's kind of it it's something that we as people who've watched all the movies and all the TV shows know that there is this other world the other multiverse that's all going on that's all out there and it is something for the heroes in this main world to be worried about but that's the stark warning that's coming from Stearns oh yeah absolutely I mean this to me is just another way of talking about incursions which

[01:14:31] was done more explicitly at the end of multiverse of madness and by incursions I mean were two universes two worlds collide together and at least in the comic books one will get wiped out and gradually to remain with just a single world or single universe and patchwork I think it's another

[01:15:00] way and I like I know there's been a lot of writers strikes and so on and so forth but I kind of wish some of these storylines would stop playing out in the movies and not be left to post credit scenes because in some ways that's almost like one of the most interesting parts of this movie as well is that thing you know even if you had stern talking about it all the way through the movie yeah

[01:15:30] and you know yeah but because you know again equally it feels like there's the need for a lot of reputation of stuff and themes that went in the TV in this movie because so decide where they're playing out I think and maybe it's part of the fault that everything is connected but I've always said that I I

[01:16:00] don't know sometimes if you're comic fans you know these terms that are being bandied around it's almost like the story is being played out in these mid and post credit scenes yeah I don't you know what

[01:16:30] happened to the big moment at the end of end game and a couple more TV shows as well so I guess yeah and also the other argument as well is you know the Marvels came out over a year and a half ago that was the last MCU movie we've had Deadpool and Wolverine that came out but that really wasn't connected to the other movies very much it was a goodbye to the Fox universe it wasn't really part of the MCU story and there's only one more

[01:17:00] movie to go in this multiversal saga these stories that are telling different parts of the multiverse before we start getting into the buildup up to the Avengers movies so I think you're probably right I waiting for something much bigger to

[01:17:29] happen because so much had been spoiled going into the cinema I still like the post credit scene I like that Stern is telling Sam to watch the film it gets you salivating for what's to stuff in the MCU I really like this element and yet people are now saying we've got the last movie and they're sick to death

[01:17:59] of the multiverse stuff and yet nothing really seems to have happened in it and this was all set up for the next phase which is in two movies time and they've got to be careful because maybe lightning doesn't strike twice and what they did previously with the Thanos run to get to end game is not something that is easily bottleable again but having said that you know

[01:18:29] again to counter my own point when it does work like with WandaVision and it connects in really nicely with multiverse of madness for me at least I'm not saying it was perfect but it connected into the multiverse of madness really nicely and it also sets up the current journey that we're on with incursions and I know again lots of water under the bridge and it seems to

[01:18:59] be a problem of the timings haven't worked out because of external factors yes yeah I'd say that that's one of the big difficulties that Marvel has been hitting up also recasting major characters unfortunately people passing away other people being taken out of their universe like a very central character in Jonathan Major's role

[01:19:29] as Kang having to be completely removed luckily those movies hadn't really come the Marvel universe is dead maybe that's just to them maybe they just aren't people that are going to enjoy the rest of the MCU but there's lots and lots of people out there making this movie successful

[01:19:58] and who are willing to go to the cinema to go and see Marvel movies still so that's a great thing we're going to get more stories in this cinematic universe in the future and I'm looking forward to them I think we've covered everything that I wanted to talk about very good I just want to mention the arrival of Liv Tyler

[01:20:28] was nice to see her back because she was an interesting casting back in Incredible Hulk she's an actress I've always liked she was great in the TV show The Leftovers she was really good in Lord of the Rings loved her in that of course so having her back here in there or it wasn't just another phone call with her dad I'm glad it was actually her on screen that was cool she has reprised the role in what if she has voiced the character in what if

[01:20:59] in the past but it was nice to see her on screen so hopefully we do see her in the future again in the MCU all is forgiven to all the cast of Incredible Hulk except apparently Ed Norton I don't do you defend Captain America Brave New World I do defend Captain America Brave New World I'd give it three red

[01:21:28] hot hulky wings out of five I thought it was a really good movie I just think it could have done better I think it could have been an even better movie I really like Anthony Mackie as Captain America I love the relationship that formed the with Joaquin and with Isaiah I really pleased for Tim Blake Nelson to come back as the leader

[01:21:58] I really enjoy that character and yes some visuals of him really I thought it could have the aesthetic of him could have been better for me and for I really like this character and a really interesting character almost like a soothsayer type person and Harrison Ford I think really brought the cantankerousness of Thaddeus Ross

[01:22:28] to the Hulk because I do feel this uncontrollable rage not seen that for a long time in the Marvel movies with the Hulk and you know yeah there are different versions but I kind of like Angry Hulks I like how uncontrollable chaotic dangerous they are

[01:22:57] and how that messes with their hero friends when the beast is released and I thought it came across really well with the Red Hulk love seeing Bucky Barnes in there and I think for me this movie sang with the trinity of Sam Wilson Joaquin Taurus and Isaiah Bradley and I felt the paranoia the Manchurian candidate

[01:23:27] level of Samuel Sterns his relationship with President Ross the whole confrontation with Japan over Adamantium could just have been ramped up that could have been the edge that this movie had like with Winter Soldier I

[01:23:58] just absolutely down for this I feel focus on Captain America a bit you know just to make it as good as it can be and I think they didn't necessarily do that here but all the performances were really good I think if anything it was more that Giancarlo Esposito Sidewinder and Shira Hass' Ruth Bat Seraph

[01:24:28] and Osha Rockmore as Agent Leela Taylor they almost got lost or slightly just misjudged in their roles but I think literally their scenes were caught that's all I can Red Hot Hulky Wings out of five

[01:24:58] if it was Super Bowl night I'd say Chicken Wings Derek do you defend Captain America Brave New World I do defend it I was going in setting my expectations where I thought the movie was going to

[01:25:53] I have to question himself in the future it felt unusual I suppose there is the old adage of leave them wanting more if you create good entertainment leave them wanting more right and I want more I want more of all the characters that have seen scenes cut I want more of other characters in the MCU coming in here one thing that kept going through my head it being a sequel to the incredible Hulk and us having that scene in She Hulk of Mark Ruffalo

[01:26:23] trying to get Tatiana Mislani to accept her time as the Hulk it being totally uncontrollable well maybe he should have done that with Ross maybe we should have had a moment where we have Mark Ruffalo Bruce Banner talking to Ross about what it's like to be the new Hulk and calming him down and bringing him off to his island getaway in Hawaii doing that little comedy moment at the end that would have been a nice little tie in to some of the TV shows again it would be

[01:26:54] great to see Mark Ruffalo there to help calm down the Hulk because I'm not totally sold on how that final scene worked when we have a completely new angry red Hulk being calmed down by Sam I

[01:27:28] way too far with telling us who was going to be in it and revealing last 10 minutes of the movie scenes is it just to get younger people who aren't sitting in the cinema to watch a two hour movie is it to get them in there to watch all those scenes is that what happens you have to tell them

[01:27:58] didn't come to the end I was waiting the entire movie for Liv title to appear and she didn't come until one line at the end of the movie so I think they need to sort that out for the next for the next one but maybe they don't they took in 200 million dollars internationally over the first weekend this movie opened so that's pretty good numbers to do in your opening weekend second highest of all the Captain America movies is what I saw so maybe I'm completely wrong and I'm glad there's people out there that are enjoying the movie and enjoying

[01:28:28] going to see this in the cinema I first up we got an email in from coffee and vodka who says greetings fellow foul following defenders a really good movie that could have been better and I'd like

[01:28:58] to have seen the cut before the test audience has prompted the power is the be to send it into reshoots this especially considering that 54% of that audience might consider bad anyway all the usual great action direction acting and mid writing which announced twists and removed consequences big pluses adamantium a decent leader foreshadowing of battle world sam's second costume and acknowledgement of the big baby sticking up out of the ocean my MVP Giancarlo Esposito Sidewinder who was yours an alright star to

[01:29:28] a great cinematic year looking forward to superman fantastic four and the thunderbolts 3.5 whiskey shots betty laced the nevers and parked for out of five peace and take care coffee and vodka fantastic coffee vodka excellent coffee and vodka love the betty the nevers perfect stuff there my MVP I'm going to say a whacking the new Falcon probably could stayed on

[01:29:58] the field of play for the full movie but I really really enjoyed him and Sam sort of pitter patter and I enjoyed that from the TV show as well so I'm glad that this kind of crossed over into the movie for sure my MVP Isaiah Bradley absolutely brilliant I think every time Carl Lumley was on screen he was great he was great in the TV show and great to have him back here the real heart of the movie for me absolutely loved him and

[01:30:28] I mean like yourself having adamantium and what that tells us for X-Men and the Wolverine in the MCU really good and I agree I think a decent leader here I really enjoyed his propelling of this storyline and I hope he comes back actually I could really see him in another movie actually and

[01:30:58] whilst he's in the raft you know I'm sure he's seen the probabilities and knows when he'll escape I presume when Red Hulk has his first bad prison meal you'll just have him whispering to him like Hannibal Lecter did to Meeks in Sounds of the Lands he's been whispering to him today for days maybe that'll be the way it'll go great stuff thanks coffee and vodka over

[01:31:27] on Facebook we got some feedback as well first up Claire Owens she says just came out of the cinema it was okay a lot of little easter eggs but the end credit scene left me like yeah well we know all that and I'm kind of with you there Claire to be honest and certainly that was my initial thought coming out of the cinema was you know that was

[01:32:06] going to propel that storyline forward because it's fresh in the door quietly hopeful for the fantastic four but I was very hopeful for fans four stick and that was very disappointing exactly this is a very different one and it's in the MCU so all good thanks Claire for your thoughts Felipe over on Facebook as well says had a good

[01:32:36] you can clearly see that the reshoot scenes feel weird but the movie was used to fix some loose ends from previous movies the Incredible Hulk and Eternals for example Anthony Mackie is

[01:33:06] Captain Captain America 4 Brave New Stars out of 5 PS hated the villains look excellent Felipe totally with you on that it looked like he had smallpox or something on the head and the green hue to him just yeah didn't I didn't like the look either for sure so with you on that Felipe but I love the leader for sure I think as well he was kind of like a grey silvery green

[01:33:36] not even green I know but a little nod to all the different colours of all the different hulks I wonder whether it was a touch of his Mr. blue coming in there was kind of a blue green I yeah very good thanks Felipe I did mention earlier on about that

[01:34:05] scene with Sebastian Stan talking to Anthony Mackie being a cool scene but being filmed in isolation yes the Giancarlo Esposito scenes with Anthony Mackie I think they were also filmed in isolation rumour has it we know definitely that Seth Rollins the WWE wrestler was supposed to be in the movie he

[01:34:53] was

[01:35:32] thanks I did enjoy it, but I'll probably never watch it again like I haven't rewatched any of the MCU movies since Endgame, with the exception of Deadpool and Wolverine. My favorite scene was the gym scene with Sam, Isaiah and Joaquin. It made so much sense that Sam would train with Isaiah, and I loved their chemistry. Thanks, Sandy. I totally agree with that. Yes, Sam, Isaiah and Joaquin together. Fantastic. Really enjoyed that as well, Sandy. Weirdly, I'm probably on the other side of it with the MCU.

[01:35:59] The ODMCU movie I haven't rewatched since Endgame is Deadpool and Wolverine. I can't find a day that I want to rewatch that, but I'll definitely stick on most of the other movies just in the background, as I always have done. Yes, me too. But I can see, to some degree, as I say, it's a question of what were they doing? I mean, unless it's your own personal fandom, like Multiverse of Madness for me.

[01:36:26] But again, that's to me where Doctor Strange is treated as that character and taken through. I mean, I know, like Captain America, where there's almost their own little trilogy or podrilogy happening in these bigger films. So it's kind of also contained. And that was always great about the original trilogy of Captain America.

[01:36:51] It's just how nicely contained it was for Captain America, but ultimately brought in then the wider cinematic universe through Civil War. Absolutely. So it was just so expertly done. Yeah. And yeah, so I do see where Sandy's coming from, for sure. But yeah, really good point. You know, the leader looked terrible. It did look like sort of carton of eggs on his head or something.

[01:37:22] Anyway, thanks, Sandy. Absolutely. Thanks, Sandy. Michael Carrier says, solid Marvel movie experience for me. The final fight with Red Hulk had me jumping in my seat. I had no idea how the heck Captain was going to put Red Hulk down. I think Sam's long-term movie franchise credibility as Captain America, he had to defeat Red Hulk alone. But him doing the talking down gave the Martha moment vibes from Batman and Superman.

[01:37:50] I think it should have been the president's daughter. Four and a half out of five, I hope Bookie took the Wakandan Laboratory's extended warranty plan option when he purchased Sam's wings. P.S. I avoided all previews and trailers for this movie, so went in spoiler free. Good man, Michael Carrier. That is the way to do it, said Punch to Judy, I guess. That's the way to do it. For sure.

[01:38:20] Try and remain spoiler free because, yeah, the Red Hulk was a massive spoiler. But when we were buying our food before going in, there was a book, the popcorn book, it was the Red Hulk. The poster going in, the door was the Red Hulk. It was just because it was so pervading. It wasn't even just in the trailers. It was like they want you to know the Red Hulk's in this movie. If you just wait around long enough, you'll get to see him for five minutes at the end just before we go to credits. Yeah, absolutely.

[01:38:49] That was more of my problem, but I'm glad it didn't spoil your experience at all, Michael. And I'm really pleased you liked the final fight because I think I did too. I really liked the power that the Red Hulk portrayed and how vulnerable Sam felt. And I totally get it. You know, he needed to defeat him alone.

[01:39:13] But I do think there is an idea behind Captain America that certainly from the Steve Rogers era, but also within the comic books, he is part of a wider team or leads that wider team. And I think with the new Avengers element here, I think you could have had Joaquin, maybe Bucky coming in. But I totally get where you're coming from for sure.

[01:39:39] But there's even a moment on the battlefield at the end where you see Ruth Batsaraf and Sam Wilson and Leila Taylor beside each other. You see the three of them all there. And I think there's one other person as well that you see from the movie. And they're all supposed to be teaming up with Sam. It's like as if they were all supposed to have a big part in the fight. And then they went, no, actually, we'll just keep this to Captain America versus Red Hulk.

[01:40:01] It is a decision, whether in the editing room or the writing, one or the other, probably both that they wanted it to be Captain America versus Red Hulk in the end of this movie. But there's definitely more there that we haven't seen and we may never see, unfortunately. But a good movie overall. I really enjoyed it. Yeah. Thanks so much, Michael, for your feedback. Really good to get your thoughts.

[01:40:25] And of course, everyone else who sent in their feedback for Captain America, Brave New World. Absolutely. Absolutely. Not long to wait until we're back at the cinema again. We'll be going back to the cinema on May 2nd for the next MCU movie, Thunderbolts, Asterix. Which, don't forget, of course, does feature the Winter Soldier and the other Captain America, Boo John Walker. Wow, that's true. Yeah. Well, does it feature the Winter Soldier or does it feature Senator Bucky? It does feature Senator Bucky, I guess.

[01:40:55] But we've seen him. Well, there's a new thing. We've seen the trailer. We know we will see him in action in there. Winter Wolf. Which would be good. Winter Wolf. But knowing Marvel now, that might be the last five minutes of the movie that they put into the trailer. So maybe I should stop watching trailers. Yeah. But as I said, that is the final movie in Phase 5. The multiverse saga continues and goes on to Phase 6. So maybe that is the reason for the asterix in the Thunderbolts asterix.

[01:41:24] That it's the end of Phase 5. Or maybe it's not going to be called Thunderbolts. It's going to be called Senator Bucky. Bucky Barnes's team. Doesn't just roll off the tongue. It doesn't. Yeah. It really doesn't. But if you do want more podcasts, more stuff to listen to, we are covering Invincible. The third season is available coming out weekly on Prime Video. Myself and Chris are covering those episodes as they come out each week.

[01:41:50] And the other big one that we'll be covering coming out from the start of March is Daredevil. After 10 years covering the MCU, we will be returning to what started it all for us, which was Daredevil on TV. Definitely. Yeah. No, I can't wait for the return of Daredevil as well. Really, really looking forward to that. Yeah. Should be great fun. So it should be great fun. And of course, loads of other stuff as well over on TV podcast industries, such as Wheel of Time.

[01:42:20] Oh, yes. Which will be wheeling its way in. So please subscribe to the podcast on any good or evil podcast catcher of your choice. You can do that through our website at tvpodcastindustries.com. And of course, please remember to subscribe there and to share the podcast. Because sharing the podcast is, of course, sharing the love. Yes, it is.

[01:42:47] And thanks once again for joining us for another wonderful Marvel movie and a great podcast. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Thanks once again for joining us for our podcast all about Captain America Brave New World, another MCU movie in the books, John. Yes, absolutely. Good stuff. Thanks, fellow defenders, for joining us. As always, until the next movie, which is very soon indeed. Keep watching. Keep listening. And don't get killed. No dying. Copy that. Bye. Bye.

[01:43:21] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.