The Movie Guru: ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and ‘Love Hurts’ flawed but watchable
Disney/Courtesy photo
Captain America: Brave New World (in theaters)
One of the biggest problems with Marvel movies is most of them aren’t allowed to be themselves.
Instead of trying to tell a good story, or even just giving us a deeper understanding of the main character, the average Marvel movie is really just connective tissue. It’s a stepping stone in some larger plot gambit by the studio, tying in this streaming-only character and teasing this mega villain that will be really dangerous three movies from now. Then real-life complications make them pivot to an entirely new villain, forcing the next movie to be even more about connective tissue and less about the actual movie.
Sadly, that’s definitely the case with “Captain America: Brave New World,” which strains to tie in a streaming series, the instantly forgotten “Eternals” outing, and a Marvel movie more than 15 years old. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Anthony Mackie continues to try and define his relationship to Captain America and his status as the biggest surviving hero in the MCU. There’s some interesting stuff there, stuff that needs exploring, but it feels like it gets shoved to the side for the sake of larger plot beats.
As for those plot beats, you’re going to want to refresh your memory of 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” if you want to have any real idea of what’s going on in “Brave New World.” (Recognizing a particular actor’s voice will also give you a plot spoiler.) “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” streaming series gives you a little more detail on the Isaiah Bradley storyline, which even with the mention here is still given criminally short shrift. He deserves his own movie.
Sadly, that’s true of a lot of Marvel characters.
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Grade: Three stars
Love Hurts (in theaters)
Ke Huy Quan needs to do more action movies.
He’s a ton of fun in “Love Hurts,” a flawed but entertaining flick that gets a lot of mileage out of Quan’s charm. He’s also excellent at the fight scenes, even though they’re not filmed in such a way to take advantage of that fact, and brings an enjoyable Jackie Chan-like vibe to everything. Sure, the plot is ridiculous, but it adds a level of humor that makes the whole thing more entertaining. Quan deserves the chance to show his stuff in a better-made movie, but until that happens there’s a lot to enjoy right here.
The movie opens with Quan as a dedicated realtor, happy to match families with their forever home. It turns out he used to be an assassin for his mob boss brother, however, and when an unfinished assignment comes crashing back into his life everything else gets upended. In order to choose the life he wants, he has to reconnect with the violence in his past.
There’s a lot more silliness in the script than this summary suggests, and in that silliness is some of the most delightful parts of the movie. A subplot with Quan’s assistant and a poetic assassin is both sweet and funny, the kind of thing I would have loved to see more of. Ariana DeBose is clearly enjoying herself as a woman back from the dead, bringing a welcome extra level of eccentricity to the screen. She needs more opportunities for roles like this, and the movie needed every moment she’s onscreen.
Now all I need is a better version of this movie.
Grade: Two and a half stars
Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society. Find her on Twitter at @wardellwriter or drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com.
