Captain America: Brave New World

It feels like Sam Wilson’s Captain America movie has been in development forever, but finally, the curtain has risen on Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World. While Deadpool & Wolverine is technically an MCU movie, this is the first, purely-MCU theatrical release since The Marvels in November 2023 – a movie that was less than spectacular in its own right. So, after such a long time out of the cinema spotlight, how did the MCU fare with its take on a gritty, political thriller movie?

Today, I’m here to rant about all things Captain America: Brave New World – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Considering the movie has just hit theatres, we’ll be avoiding spoilers for this review, so feel free to read on if you’re on the fence about diving into Anthony Mackie’s first solo-outing as Captain America. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s cut to the chase – it’s time to review Captain America: Brave New World.

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The Review

Image by Marvel Studios

There’s a lot to discuss with this film, but for those of you looking for the synopsis, let’s get right to it – is this a good movie? Well, the answer to that question is, surprisingly, quite complicated. Is this an amazing movie? The groundbreaking new frontier that the title, and its MCU-timeline placement would imply? No, not really. Is it awful? Yet another rusty cog in the Marvel machine that fans are becoming more than disillusioned with? No, not really. In practically every way, Captain America: Brave New World is a middling movie, a film that coasts and swerves perilously between being a spirited action-thriller, and a goofy, Saturday-morning cartoon hero flick – and this hazardous balance is ultimately what stops the movie from making any real impact on me.

Captain America: Brave New World is a gritty movie, especially when compared with the multiversal shenanigans of Marvel’s recent outings. It’s grounded in a way that an MCU movie hasn’t been really since Black Widow in 2021. The plot, cinematography, music – everything has a darker vibe to it, as opposed to the rest of the MCU’s fifth phase. The film, surprisingly, also has quite a few creepy moments to it, which brings tension to the building storyline as the film progresses. Unfortunately, this tension, and the movie’s overall mature vibe, is often completely broken by its occasional goofiness, and unwillingness to commit to any particular direction.

The acting in the film is one of its huge strengths, but that’s hardly surprising given how well-experienced the cast of this movie is. When the movie leans into its political-thriller side, the acting is allowed to thrive – in many ways, I wish we could get a Mission: Impossible-style movie with this exact cast, cutting away any of the superhero elements from the plot. If I was to choose one standout performance, I would settle on Carl Lumbly, who gives an incredibly moving and intriguing performance as Isaiah Bradley, reprising his role from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The acting is great all-round, but Bradley is on another level.

Image by Marvel Studios

Giancarlo Esposito is an asset to anything he appears in, so as always, he gives an incredible performance here. However, and this is no mark against Esposito himself, but he does play a pretty similar role in everything he’s in. He’s never quite managed to break away from his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, and so, as much as he may find himself in different circumstances here, his representation of Seth Voelker is ultimately another iteration of Gus, just with guns and a military jacket. Again, Esposito is not to blame here. Rather, I think the writers wrote this role with Esposito in mind, and essentially told him ‘just play yourself’. It works, but it’s nothing groundbreaking.

Anthony Mackie is strong, as always, in the role of Sam Wilson, a character who’s meteoric rise within the MCU since its early days is admirable to watch. Personally, I think he fills the shoes of Captain America perfectly well. The film is not trying to convince you that Wilson is the new Steve Rogers – in fact they make quite a point of insisting on the opposite. Rather, Wilson is the new symbol of America, Rogers’ successor rather than his replacement. The new Falcon, on the other hand, is a bit of a trainwreck for me. There’s a certain charm to Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, but he’s ultimately more annoying than endearing. For future appearances of this character, I really hope they tone down some of his more aggravating qualities.

On the topic of characterisation, the film does well at managing some of the characters’ complex motivations. There’s no shortage of questionable decisions in Captain America: Brave New World, and yet, the film does manage to keep it feeling human and competent. This applies most to Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Thaddeus Ross. Without giving anything away, it is genuinely difficult to decide whether or not Ross is a villain in this movie. This complexity is assisted greatly by Ford’s acting in the role, but again, this was expected with such a star-studded cast. There’s really no negatives that can be said about the cast of this movie.

Image by Marvel Studios

Another positive for the movie is its well-choreographed action sequences – action fans will definitely be pleased with what Captain America: Brave New World has to offer on this front. However, while they will be pleased, they’re unlikely to be overjoyed. There’s one incredibly strong action sequence in the air. Beyond this, however, the action is good, but not great – certainly not the standard I would have expected from an MCU movie this late into the game. I mean, come on, how many times have we seen fights in the MCU? At this stage, these sequences should be better. Captain America and Falcon can now take to the skies together, which is a big plus for this team-up in future MCU entries, but even here, I think the action could’ve been taken to the next level.

Unfortunately, the VFX team doesn’t fare much better here. I think fans could tell that we were in for a rough ride on the effects front from the trailers, but wow – I didn’t think it would be this bad. This movie, in terms of its plot, is grounded. It’s political, and it’s gritty. So, when some of that typical, Marvel CGI trickles in, it really throws the whole train off the rails. The presence of Red Hulk in this movie is no secret, so let’s use him as an example. There is not one shot in this movie where Red Hulk looks believable. One scene at the end of the movie is so painfully obviously green-screened, I will genuinely avoid looking at it for too long on any subsequent rewatches of this film. There’s one character in this movie that suffers from this more than anyone else – however, this is a non-spoiler review, and you don’t see this character in any promotional material. Do with that what you will…

So let’s talk about the storyline of this movie. Or, at least, let’s try to talk about the storyline of this movie. I say this because, having rewatched the trailers since seeing this movie, I can say with confidence that they told fans absolutely nothing regarding what this movie is actually about. Looking back, I’m surprised by how secretive Marvel have been with the plot here – I do like it though. There were plenty of surprises throughout, for fans and non-fans alike. While I can’t discuss much of the plot here, it was, overall, a fairly well-executed political thriller, with an underlying theme of manipulation throughout. I’d be interested to see some of the online discussion of how this storyline was handled once the dust settles and spoilers can be discussed freely. For now though, I’ll just say that the plot was enjoyable, but nothing incredibly innovative.

Image by Marvel Studios

This is director Julius Onah’s first work with Marvel Studios, and looking at his recent catalogue, I can understand why he was chosen. His filmography is full of heist movies, action-thrillers, and political dramas. However, this feels a little like Sam Raimi’s selection for Multiverse of Madness all over again. Marvel wants a campy horror-like movie, they choose a campy horror-like director, but then force him to shove the Marvel elements in, ultimately creating a bit of a mess. The same logic can be applied almost identically to Julius Onah and political thrillers here. If Onah didn’t have to work with the Marvel elements here, Captain America: Brave New World would likely be a much more solid movie, even if it didn’t bring in as much money.

Brave New World also feels like a callback to the earlier days of the MCU. The film is trying extremely hard to emulate Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Unfortunately though, The Winter Soldier is a much better movie in practically every way. This may seem like an extremely scathing comment towards Brave New World, but it’s perhaps one of the most apt analyses I can provide for the movie. It feels like The Winter Soldier’s doppelganger, but lacking any of the conviction that made people adore that film. The set-up is all there – Captain America, a political conspiracy, a Black Widow, an assassination plot – but none of it is executed quite as smoothly.

Captain America: Brave New World is all too middling in every way to reach the heights of The Winter Soldier. However, and though what I’m about to say may upset some MCU die-hards – its mediocrity does feel like a callback to some of the early MCU films. Let’s be honest here – the MCU wasn’t the gold standard that some people like to say it was pre-Endgame. This passableness is not some ‘new low’ for Marvel, despite what the Tomatometer says. In fact, while Brave New World is not as strong as some of the films it’s trying to emulate, it’s very much on par with some of the early Thor and Iron Man movies.

Image by Marvel Studios

So, ultimately, I would recommend any Marvel fan go see this movie. It’s more of the same from a formula that has worked for years. There’s also some interesting cameos that will delight the hardcore MCU fans, and they pull from all sorts of corners of the MCU to pull them off. While I can’t spoil anything here, I will say – don’t expect anything huge, but it was nice to see the cameos included. And, of course, I hear you cry – what about the post-credits scene? Well, Captain America: Brave New World does have one, but it’s an absolute nothing-burger. Honestly, it’s sort of hilarious how egregiously vague the scene is, but hey – it’s something I guess? If you don’t feel like sticking around through the credits, just look it up. You won’t miss anything spectacular.

Before I leave you all to experience Captain America: Brave New World for yourself, I have a closing comment, one that borders on spoiler territory, so leave now if you want to go in completely blind! Well, we need to talk briefly about Red Hulk. If you’re excited to see him, I would check your expectations. All I’ll say is that it’s strange to me how central he was to the film’s advertising. There’s also a sad undertone to the whole thing given how William Hurt, the original actor for Thaddeus Ross, was excited to explore the Hulk side of Ross, but passed away before it could happen. Red Hulk is monstrous, intimidating, and a non-stop onslaught of a man – just don’t expect too much out of him.

That’s all of my thoughts on Captain America: Brave New World, a movie that is ultimately not a step in either direction for the MCU. It’s a middling, enjoyable film, if you’re looking for a popcorn-flick. If you’re looking for a new frontier for Marvel though, I’m afraid you will be left disappointed, as the film doesn’t even come close to reaching the soaring heights of the Marvel movies it’s trying so hard to emulate. What did you think of Captain America: Brave New World? Be sure to let us know!

See also: The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Official Teaser Breakdown and Analysis

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