After seeing it, I can honestly say…it’s the best MCU movie since Deadpool & Wolverine.

In all seriousness, it wasn’t bad but it certainly wasn’t good. During the film’s opening minutes, I heard one teenager in the row behind me say, “Yo, that is not Captain America!” I think he echoed how most of the general public feels about Sam Wilson.

Basically, nothing happened in the movie. There’s a lot of stereotypical Marvel quips, especially from Joaquin. Lots of obvious CGI scenes. I’m not sure how to say this, but it didn’t feel like an MCU movie at all - just a generic action film that just happened to have Marvel characters.

I was expecting Red Hulk to have more of a presence in the movie based on the marketing, but it turns out Red Hulk was supposed to be the major plot twist/big 11th-hour reveal, so if you’ve seen any marketing for this movie whatsoever - even a poster - you’ve been spoiled.

It’s not worth sticking around for the post-credits scene. It’s literally just “Something vague is coming…”. One of the worst post-credits scenes from Marvel.

My immediate reaction upon leaving the theater was feeling like I’d wasted my time and money, and that perhaps the critics were right. But after reflecting on it for a few hours, there were a lot of parts I enjoyed, particularly the scene where Isaiah goes rogue and gets arrested, and when Sam stops the fighter jets from Japan. It wasn’t that bad, just not something that needs to be seen on the big screen (and as a huge advocate of the theater experience, I can’t believe I’m typing that…about a Marvel movie, no less!). I enjoyed this movie, but it’s definitely not something you need to rush out and see. Hopefully Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four can right the ship.

So, bottom line: if you can only see one movie this weekend, go see Paddington in Peru or Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.