Cap 4: Brave New World
Mar. 10th, 2025 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hafitalBreezing through LJ real fast to dump some happy thoughts on the new Captain America movie, which I completely loved. *heart eyes*
I've seen it a few times in the theaters. It makes me happy. And I've wanted to share my thoughts but haven't managed till now. Let's blame work. So much to post about! Not enough brain. Or time. But I'm waiting for my mom at her dr appointment so maybe I can get this done now.
~ All I really wanted from this movie was to a) see Sam Wilson in his Cap uniform kicking ass, and b) see Joaquin Torres in a new Falcon suit also kicking ass. I got both things! Check and check.
~ The most moving part of this film was the relationship between Sam and Isaiah Bradley. Sam cares so much for Isaiah, feels responsible for him, and Isaiah returns that emotion. There's obligation there, and respect for who they are and what they are, to others and to each other. Complex yet also just simple caring and friendship. I was a little nervous going in on what they were planning to do with Isaiah, I didn't want to see him being mistreated, but I needn't have worried. I mean, he was framed, and that sucked, but the fact that he wasn't in control of his actions weirdly made it better. And i knew Sam would fix it though it was tough to see Isaiah being manhandled at first. But Sam made it all better! He didn't let Isaiah sit a moment longer in prison than he had to.
Also, seeing Carl Lumbly act on the big screen, in such a great role for him, was a true and lasting pleasure. When he begs them not to ruin his suit....*sob* When he's so upset, not only because he's in prison again (briefly!) but because he fears his incarceration will blow back on Sam and he doesn't want Sam tarnished...*SOB SOB*. Honestly, no one's going to recognize what good work Carl did. BUT I WILL. YOU'RE THE BEST, CARL LUMBLY!
~ The second most moving part of this film is the mentor/mentee relationship between Sam and Joaquin. They're mostly buddy buddy, but then each time Sam tells him don't get killed, there's this soft ringing emotional beat echoing back to Riley, and I really appreciate that it wasn't obvious and overplayed. They let the Sam fans (me! that's me!) see it without over-telling it to us or beating us on the head. And then of course Joaquin does get injured, pretty bad too, and Sam relives that horror. But they don't pile on the sentimentality, and I appreciate that. They just let us see Sam deal with it. Also Joaquin is so pretty. <3 Isaiah's not wrong calling him pretty boy haha.
~ The third most moving part of this film is the surprise Bucky scene in the hospital. Maybe it wasn't really a surprise, but when I saw it in the theaters everyone gasped, which was real fun! Sort of like a non-surprise surprise. If they were going to do a scene with Bucky, I'm glad it wasn't in an end-credit scene. Anyway, there's not one second of that scene that isn't pure solid gold. Even the "I love you, buddy," part doesn't outshine all the rest of it. Just the fact that they're so good friends, that Sam has Bucky's picture in his apartment (was that his apartment? Couldn't tell what that space was exactly), that Bucky made a point to be there for Sam during a difficult time, that they can still tease each other lightly in a serious moment, that the first thing Sam does is hug Bucky, that Bucky knew exactly what to say. All of it. The MCU is light on true friendship moments. Friendships are usually shown with casual quips and maybe some bedside angsting and that's it. We don't get a lot of hugs, quiet scenes of support, gentle i love yous. Us fans usually have to write it ourselves. But how great that we got this scene, and it was between Sam and Bucky! Of all the pairings. Amazing.
~ Might be an unpopular opinion, but I loved Ruth Bat-Seraph and would very much like to see her more in the MCU. Physically speaking, Shira Haas is such an atypical actress. I've been a fan since watching Unorthodox (highly recommend but it's not for everyone). At first she seems a little miscast in the role of a security advisor but then she kind of doesn't?? She's not typical, and I really like that. I like that she wasn't a femme fatale like character, and that her allegiances weren't in question. I can see Ruth being completely deadly as a Black Widow though. I mean, she's so tiny, so bird-like and looks like a child. No one would suspect!
~ I have mixed feelings about Thaddeus Ross. The change of heart worked only worked because Harrison Ford brought a lot more vulnerability to the character, but I do wonder what it would have been like if William Hurt could have continued in the role. I think the character of Thaddeus Ross lost something of the pure asshole without Hurt in the part. And it worked for this movie, because they made it work, by saying Ross had changed, and he wasn't that man anymore, and that's the only way that it could work. But, I do regret that we won't get to see Sam Wilson go up against the old Thaddeus. That would have been so satisfying! imo. But, don't get me wrong, Harrison did a great job, stepping into an established character like that.
~ It's amusing to me that they call the mass in the Indian ocean Celestial Island, which means they know about the Eternals and Celestials now, I guess? Anyway, that whole bit was cool. Adamantium is a thing now. One thing the MCU tends to do well is mix in real world elements with bigger-than-life far fantastical concepts gods and monster type things. It grounds it all in a physical space, making it a bit more accessible. The political power struggle over the resources of Celestial Island felt real, with real world consequences, in a post-blip universe.
~ Sterns was okay as a bad guy. Though for one who uses probabilities to predict things, he still got it wrong. But it was good to wrap up those lose threads from the Incredible Hulk movie.
~ Man, what would we all collectively do if we didn't have Giancarlo Esposito casually stealing every scene in every movie or tv show he chooses to step into, huh?
I've seen it a few times in the theaters. It makes me happy. And I've wanted to share my thoughts but haven't managed till now. Let's blame work. So much to post about! Not enough brain. Or time. But I'm waiting for my mom at her dr appointment so maybe I can get this done now.
~ All I really wanted from this movie was to a) see Sam Wilson in his Cap uniform kicking ass, and b) see Joaquin Torres in a new Falcon suit also kicking ass. I got both things! Check and check.
~ The most moving part of this film was the relationship between Sam and Isaiah Bradley. Sam cares so much for Isaiah, feels responsible for him, and Isaiah returns that emotion. There's obligation there, and respect for who they are and what they are, to others and to each other. Complex yet also just simple caring and friendship. I was a little nervous going in on what they were planning to do with Isaiah, I didn't want to see him being mistreated, but I needn't have worried. I mean, he was framed, and that sucked, but the fact that he wasn't in control of his actions weirdly made it better. And i knew Sam would fix it though it was tough to see Isaiah being manhandled at first. But Sam made it all better! He didn't let Isaiah sit a moment longer in prison than he had to.
Also, seeing Carl Lumbly act on the big screen, in such a great role for him, was a true and lasting pleasure. When he begs them not to ruin his suit....*sob* When he's so upset, not only because he's in prison again (briefly!) but because he fears his incarceration will blow back on Sam and he doesn't want Sam tarnished...*SOB SOB*. Honestly, no one's going to recognize what good work Carl did. BUT I WILL. YOU'RE THE BEST, CARL LUMBLY!
~ The second most moving part of this film is the mentor/mentee relationship between Sam and Joaquin. They're mostly buddy buddy, but then each time Sam tells him don't get killed, there's this soft ringing emotional beat echoing back to Riley, and I really appreciate that it wasn't obvious and overplayed. They let the Sam fans (me! that's me!) see it without over-telling it to us or beating us on the head. And then of course Joaquin does get injured, pretty bad too, and Sam relives that horror. But they don't pile on the sentimentality, and I appreciate that. They just let us see Sam deal with it. Also Joaquin is so pretty. <3 Isaiah's not wrong calling him pretty boy haha.
~ The third most moving part of this film is the surprise Bucky scene in the hospital. Maybe it wasn't really a surprise, but when I saw it in the theaters everyone gasped, which was real fun! Sort of like a non-surprise surprise. If they were going to do a scene with Bucky, I'm glad it wasn't in an end-credit scene. Anyway, there's not one second of that scene that isn't pure solid gold. Even the "I love you, buddy," part doesn't outshine all the rest of it. Just the fact that they're so good friends, that Sam has Bucky's picture in his apartment (was that his apartment? Couldn't tell what that space was exactly), that Bucky made a point to be there for Sam during a difficult time, that they can still tease each other lightly in a serious moment, that the first thing Sam does is hug Bucky, that Bucky knew exactly what to say. All of it. The MCU is light on true friendship moments. Friendships are usually shown with casual quips and maybe some bedside angsting and that's it. We don't get a lot of hugs, quiet scenes of support, gentle i love yous. Us fans usually have to write it ourselves. But how great that we got this scene, and it was between Sam and Bucky! Of all the pairings. Amazing.
~ Might be an unpopular opinion, but I loved Ruth Bat-Seraph and would very much like to see her more in the MCU. Physically speaking, Shira Haas is such an atypical actress. I've been a fan since watching Unorthodox (highly recommend but it's not for everyone). At first she seems a little miscast in the role of a security advisor but then she kind of doesn't?? She's not typical, and I really like that. I like that she wasn't a femme fatale like character, and that her allegiances weren't in question. I can see Ruth being completely deadly as a Black Widow though. I mean, she's so tiny, so bird-like and looks like a child. No one would suspect!
~ I have mixed feelings about Thaddeus Ross. The change of heart worked only worked because Harrison Ford brought a lot more vulnerability to the character, but I do wonder what it would have been like if William Hurt could have continued in the role. I think the character of Thaddeus Ross lost something of the pure asshole without Hurt in the part. And it worked for this movie, because they made it work, by saying Ross had changed, and he wasn't that man anymore, and that's the only way that it could work. But, I do regret that we won't get to see Sam Wilson go up against the old Thaddeus. That would have been so satisfying! imo. But, don't get me wrong, Harrison did a great job, stepping into an established character like that.
~ It's amusing to me that they call the mass in the Indian ocean Celestial Island, which means they know about the Eternals and Celestials now, I guess? Anyway, that whole bit was cool. Adamantium is a thing now. One thing the MCU tends to do well is mix in real world elements with bigger-than-life far fantastical concepts gods and monster type things. It grounds it all in a physical space, making it a bit more accessible. The political power struggle over the resources of Celestial Island felt real, with real world consequences, in a post-blip universe.
~ Sterns was okay as a bad guy. Though for one who uses probabilities to predict things, he still got it wrong. But it was good to wrap up those lose threads from the Incredible Hulk movie.
~ Man, what would we all collectively do if we didn't have Giancarlo Esposito casually stealing every scene in every movie or tv show he chooses to step into, huh?
