The Couch Critic
The Couch Critic is your laid-back guide to movies and TV shows that deserve your attention—or maybe don’t. Nathan dives deep into storytelling, character development, and cinematic style with a sharp eye and a wry sense of humor. Whether it’s a blockbuster hit, a hidden gem, or a cult classic, Nathan’s relatable approach ensures every episode feels like a cozy chat with a friend who just happens to love film. Perfect for casual watchers and cinephiles alike, The Couch Critic brings thoughtful critique without the fluff. Grab your favorite snack, settle in, and let Nathan guide you through the world of screen entertainment.
The Couch Critic
Cinema Saturday: Navigating Nostalgia and Innovation in "Captain America: Brave New World"
Can the Marvel Cinematic Universe redeem itself with "Captain America: Brave New World"? Join me, Nathan, as I break down the latest Marvel film that dares to revisit the roots of 2008's "The Incredible Hulk." In an unexpected twist, Anthony Mackie steers the ship as Captain America, while the formidable Harrison Ford steps into the role of Thaddeus Ross. I'll unpack the film’s ambition to tie up loose ends from the past, including the return of Tim Blake Nelson as the menacing Samuel Sterns. Despite the promise of thrills, does the narrative soar, or does it fizzle out amidst underused talent like Giancarlo Esposito?
You'll gain a fresh perspective on the performances that drive the story, from Ford's undeniable charisma to the lackluster moments scattered through the cast. We'll explore how the film navigates its identity crisis, attempting to balance nostalgia with innovation. The spoilers are unavoidable, so buckle up as I reveal the twists, turns, and unexpected developments that Marvel fans have been eagerly waiting for. Whether you're a die-hard Marvel aficionado or just along for the ride, this episode promises to deliver insights and critiques on a film striving to make its mark in a saturated superhero landscape.
The weekend's here. It's time to unwind. Grab your snacks, leave the week behind. Blockbusters classics, they're all on the way. Let's kick it off with Cinema Saturdays.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to another Cinema Saturday episode of the Couch Critic. I'm your host, nathan, and on today's episode I'm tackling the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can't believe they're still making these movies, because the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't really had that many hits lately. But I'll get into that a little bit later. But before I can talk about captain america brave new world, I have to go over the synopsis. Sam wilson, the new captain america, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan. Captain america, brave new world stars Anthony Mackie, harrison Ford, danny Ramirez and Shira Hoss. Before I can talk about this movie any further, I must warn you Spoiler alert, spoiler alert, spoiler alert. So I will be talking about spoilers in this episode. So if you haven't seen the movie, stop the episode, go see it and then come back and listen. I'll wait just a little bit so you can pause. All right, so let's dive right into this movie.
Speaker 2:This movie basically serves as a sequel to the 2008, I believe, the Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton playing Bruce Banner. Obviously, now they have Mike Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner. He is not in this movie, but it is a nice little sequel to that film. I find it interesting that they use this movie to be a sequel to that abomination, because the villain in incredible hulk was called the abomination, but anyway. So yeah, that's basically what this movie serves as, uh, anthony mackie's captain america is just in it. So harrison ford is in this one. He's playing, uh, thaddeus Ross, because William Hurt sadly passed away.
Speaker 2:I thought it would have been interesting if they had gotten Sam Elliott, because Sam Elliott played Thaddeus Ross in the Hulk movie with Eric Bana. That was terrible as well. But they didn't do that. They got someone new. They got Harrison Ford to come in. I thought Harrison Ford did a great job. I thought his acting was really good. It's Harrison Ford, so you can't really miss with him. Even in the latest Indiana Jones film I felt like his acting, the dramatic moments anyway, were really on point. I mean, harrison Ford is just a good act, so any scene that he's in was great. I thought everyone else's acting in this movie was kind of subpar. I was kind of disappointed. You know, with each Marvel movie, like, like I said before, they're hitting, hit or miss, and I think that this is like in the middle. It's not a, it's not a bad movie because, again, I think it serves well as a nice little fill in the holes of the Edward Norton Hulk that I don't know necessarily. People were asking to be filled, but they were anyway and I didn't mind it.
Speaker 2:Because they brought back and this is one of the spoilers they brought back Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Stearns from the Incredible Hulk movie movie who becomes the leader villain. They did not call him that in this movie, but when he is revealed in the movie now they already kind of spoiled it in like social media and stuff that he was going to be in this, but when they reveal him he actually looks pretty menacing. He looked pretty, pretty cool. The makeup they did, the prosthetics, everything was pretty good. His character, like I said, was pretty menacing.
Speaker 2:I will say that they underused the probably one of my favorite villain actors and that is Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder. Now, if you don't know this guy, he's been in Star Wars. He's played villains in Star Wars, in the Mandalorian, he was a villain in the show Breaking Bad and so he's just known for playing bad guys. I do hope that one day he'll play a good guy because I think he deserves that. He's a good actor but they underused him so much. They made it in the trailers like the teaser trailers. They made it seem like he was going to be the main villain, but then they kind of tricked you and made the leader the bad guy. But yeah, I was, I was disappointed that they didn't use him more. And I mean, other than that, it's, it's a safe movie, it's not. It's not anything new, it's not anything crazy. I will say say this is one of the only Marvel movies I think.
Speaker 2:My wife and I did not stay after the post credits. I simply just looked on online what the post credit scene was and it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal. So I was like we don't have to stay for this, which is, which is crazy, because usually Marvel movies you're known to sit until the credits are over. But with this movie I was already done when it was over. But again, the Hulk related stuff was actually pretty cool. Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk but that's not a spoiler, that was in the trailers that fight scene was pretty epic.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to lie. Everything related to the Hulk made this movie better and it's really sad because I, like captain america, I don't care that anthony mackie is captain america. I could care less that they switched from chris to anthony I first name basis, I guess I. I honestly am not one of those people who made a big deal about that. I'm not even one of those people who made a big deal when he said that America isn't necessarily something that should represent captain America. I don't care, I don't care. I go to see a movie to be entertained, and this movie just half entertained me, and I think it wasn't even the Captain America part of it, it was Harrison Ford. His acting was great and tying all the loose ends from the Incredible Hulk again, which I don't know if anyone's asking for, but I kind of like that. They did it. And they even brought Liv Tyler back as Thaddeus's daughter, betsy or Betty, betsy, betty I think it's betty, yeah. So that was cool to see her and, yeah, I thought they did an okay job.
Speaker 2:I would actually give captain america brave new world a 3.5 out of5. I. I know that sounds kind of low. It is because it wasn't. It just didn't have the same oomph as the previous Captain America movies. And I'm not necessarily saying it's because Anthony Mackie is Captain America now. I just thought the acting was just subpar. I thought everyone was just phoning it in except harrison ford and, like I stated before, I did go see this with my wife. So now is the segment called elizabeth likes and dislikes. So I liked bucky and I didn't like that. He was hardly in it and the movie itself was just kind of meh and some of the acting was really not that great. So those are my thoughts and my wife's thoughts on Captain America.
Speaker 2:Brave New World. Take a listen to what I'm going to be talking about next Cinema Saturday. Hello, mr Hunter. Gina, is it me or is it getting a bit choppy? I literally told some of my students the other day that Paddington 2 is by far the best movie I've ever seen in my entire life. I'm not exaggerating. It's the perfect family film. So will Paddington in Peru surpass that? It's a I don't know. Know, there's a big shoes to fill, but I'll be talking about that next saturday on cinema saturday, on the couch critic, where every movie gets its close-up.
Speaker 1:Where we'll go? Only movies. Know Popcorn's popping. It's time to stay. Let's escape with Cinemast Saturdays. So grab a seat, let the credits play. We'll see you next for Cinemast Saturdays.
