Red Hulk (Harrison Ford) appears in Captain America: Brave New World. Is that a spoiler?

If you watch trailers for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies then you’d have known that (or if you’ve read any other review). And that’s the thing – Red Hulk’s appearance is probably the biggest highlight of the film, as well as being its climax. It’s understandable that it’s promoted as one of the main things to look forward to in the movie, but it’s also… a spoiler? There’s no real mention of a red Hulk in the movie right up to his appearance, but to not mention it in trailers would also be a disservice to the marketing.

That’s one of trickier things to navigate in the promotion of MCU movies these days – and while I can give no better solution to this conundrum, it has to be said that the trailer isn’t the be-all and end-all of a movie’s plot.

There is merit in catching the film even if you’ve watched the trailer.

Synopsis
Captain America: Brave New World is a superhero film that’s the 35th instalment in the MCU. It continues the plot threads set up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Eternals, The film revolves around Sam Wilson, the new Captain America (and formerly the Falcon), as he faces political intrigue, emerging threats, and a new global order – all while redefining what it means to carry the shield and spiffy new wings.

Director: Julius Onah

Writers: Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Rob Edwards, Peter Glanz

Cast:

• Anthony Mackie (Captain America/Sam Wilson)
• Danny Ramirez (Falcon/Joaquin Torres)
• Shira Haas (Ruth Bat-Seraph)
• Carl Lumbly (Isaiah Bradley)
• Xosha Roquemore (Leila Taylor)
• Giancarlo Esposito (Sidewinder/Seth Voelker)
• Liv Tyler (Betty Ross)
• Tim Blake Nelson (The Leader/Samuel Sterns)
• Harrison Ford (Red Hulk/Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross)
• Sebastian Stan (White Wolf/Bucky Barnes)

Running time: 118 minutes

Power is not what defines a hero

The best friendship in the film is, understandably, the one that has benefitted from having being been fleshed out over multiple episodes – the relationship between Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), as previously seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And while Bucky’s appearance is really just a cameo, he delivers the most important message of all to Sam, who deliberates over whether he should have taken the super soldier serum. He reminds Sam that super powers don’t always guarantee success, and consequently that the merit of a superhero isn’t about their power level – it’s about their heart. And this provides the impetus for Sam Wilson to face off against the Red Hulk later, despite the severe disparity in their power levels.

Amidst all the flash, fights, and fury in the film – this is what I really take away from it. That we all regret not having done that action that would have brought us more money, power, or resources – but having it doesn’t mean that we would be happy, successful, or even free. It may not be a huge theme in the film, but it is a reminder that this is fundamentally what being a Captain America is all about – that heroism comes from the heart.

Was spoiling Red Hulk a good thing?

The thing is that the whole movie plays Thunderbolt Ross’ anger management and impulse control like an unfolding mystery, when anybody who has watched the trailer knows that he will eventually turn into Red Hulk and battle Captain America at some point. This raises the question – could it have been played any other way? Should the tension have been ‘when will Thunderbolt Ross turn into Red Hulk’ rather than ‘what is happening to Thunderbolt Ross’?

And the answer is – no. It couldn’t have been played any other way. It wouldn’t be good filmmaking. It wouldn’t hold up 10, 20 years from now.

Yet you can’t really not market the biggest (I presume) CGI cost in the film. But I felt that telegraphing Red Hulk earlier – like reminding us of the destructive power of the Hulk, or explaining how a Hulk clone or a Hulk hybrid could be created – would have helped to make the story more coherent, and Red Hulk’s appearance at the end more satisfying.

Brilliant performance from Harrison Ford 

This has to be said – as regular human Thunderbolt Ross, Harrison Ford was a compelling character to watch. Yes he’s a bit surly and grumpy, but you also see the impossible situations that he’s put in and the tough choices he has to make. He’s ultimately the final boss of the movie, but he’s not truly the antagonist. As the film reminds us, he’s still human – he’s a father who wants the approval of his daughter. He’s not an easy character to play, and Ford’s performance is what wins us over.

But that CGI…

Much has been said about the CGI cherry blossoms. I will say it too. It was quite distracting for me, both in terms of placement and quality. They do telegraph it in earlier seasons, but I also wondered if the budget could have been more judiciously used so that we had fewer cherry blossoms, but better ones. It’s clear that there were CGI constraints, and I agree with most of the decisions about where the budget went. But since this was a pivotal character moment, I think that more resources could have been directed here.

Then there’s the Leader (Tim Blake Nelson). He’s a comic book character, and he’s just as fantastical as Red Hulk. Except – he looks more like he would fit in on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes than he would in the MCU. It’s also an example of how, perhaps, less would be more when it came to the CGI.

Acknowledges events in other films

Remember that giant Celestial in The Eternals?Yeah, we find out what it is here. And it is a thing – as in, it’s made up of something that ties into the X-Men (which has been a rather long tease). It’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after all, and to see this sort of interconnectivity is great – bonus points if you watched The Eternals, but it’s all right if you didn’t.

Telegraphs a character’s fate

The film does have this very blunt approach towards one of the new characters. It repeatedly telegraphs that something terrible will happen to the character by having the character tempt fate verbally and physically umpteen times. When a horrible fate befalls the character, you can’t help but think that he deserves it. And yet, with the way it is all set up, you wonder why said character recovers so quickly – it felt like he was going to die.

I didn’t really understand the narrative purpose of this.

Should you watch it?

It literally is a brave new world in Captain America: Brave New World, with some hypnopaedia (but no soma or Bokanovsky’s Process though).  The film hews closely to what you’d expect a Captain America film to be, while tying up plot threads and setting into motion news ones. Buried under the weight of what the film tries to accomplish, deep in its core, is its Captain America message – what it truly means to be a hero.

For that, I salute it.

Score: 6/10

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You might also want to read:

• “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” – Movie Review
• [Movie Review] ‘Captain America: Civil War’ raises the bar for superhero films
• [Movie Review] ‘Eternals’ – A Diverse Marvel Movie That Feels Oddly Like A DC Movie