‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Movie Review: An Enjoyable Enough Return To The MCU, Despite An Overstuffed Plot And Villain Bloat
Photo from Eli Adé/Marvel
From Joe Peltzer
It’s a new day for Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, the character’s first opportunity to lead a film after further character development was seen in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In fact, Captain America: Brave New World feels like a recharge of sorts for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after last year‘s Deadpool and Wolverine gave us a delightful sideshow. Marvel‘s first outing of 2024 proves to be a more grounded, political affair than we’re used to, but with an abundance of characters in the mix. While some exciting set pieces and fun moments are peppered throughout, a villainous overload of antagonists creates a busy and ultimately middle-of-the-road Marvel outing.
The fourth Captain America film finds Sam Wilson continuing to show his worth as the man with the shield as he himself wrestles with new identity in the spotlight. On the political front, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Harrison Ford, taking over for the late William Hurt) has ascended to the White House and is on the precipice of a vital international agreement. While the two are committed to working together (and Ross wants Wilson to form a new group of Avengers), a mysterious mastermind working behind the scenes threatens to upend their relationship and international peace.
There’s been a lot of concern around how this film would or would not come together based on the amount of reshoots that were somewhere between rumored and confirmed. It’s true that some characters were completely swapped for new actors, such as Seth Rollins of WWE fame exiting the film to make way for Giancarlo Esposito to take on the role of Sidewinder, leader of the Serpent Society (and hopefully future major player in the MCU). In terms of film continuity, you can’t really tell that there was a significant amount of tinkering done. However, there are numerous threads of the plot that involve three different villainous characters (the aforementioned Sidewinder, Tim Blake Nelson’s returning Samuel Sterns aka The Leader, and Ross’ alter ego, Red Hulk) who are independently interesting, yet together detracting to one another. Brave New World doesn’t quite suffer from the villain bloat that has plagued movies like Spider-Man 3 and arguably Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but I do wish we had focused on one. Whether there was a lack of confidence in a film centered just on the Red Hulk as the antagonist, or there was an intent to lay some groundwork for the future (or a third option, a nostalgic revisiting of the well), there was a bit much in this department.
Mackie continues to bring an authenticity to the role that is both familiar based on his previous turns as Wilson and fresh as the new mantle-holder of Captain America. Together with the returning Danny Ramirez (the new Falcon), there is a comforting friendly banter and apropos mentorship between the two, infused with a variety of comedic quips. Ramirez is a standout in the film, his charming demeanor, pitch perfect performance, and radiant smile lighting up every scene. Then we have Shira Haas, here playing an ex-Black Widow and security detail of President Ross, a character that has mutated (pun intended) throughout filming. At first it was expected that Haas would play the mutant Sabra, but backlash due to the Israeli background of the character and, more specifically, her membership in the Israeli intelligence agency, resulted in numerous changes. Finally, Carl Lumbly also returns as Isaiah Bradley, the “forgotten Captain America,” continuing his arc as the grumbling old man with a distrust of the country that turned its back on him. Quite simply, there are a lot of characters at play.
While the film comes together, it is clear that what has made it to screen is a reincarnation of previous intent, likely a product of Marvel’s reshuffling of direction in the wake of creative missteps and other factors. The grounded plot remains just that in comparison to other MCU adventures, but still comes across overstuffed and lower tier. Treaty negotiations, natural resource discovery, mercenaries, the threat of war… and that’s before even getting to The Leader’s influences or Red Hulk’s arrival. Director Julius Onah’s first foray into the Marvel sandbox seems to take the best of his previous work in Luce and mix it with some of the worst attributes of his post-Super Bowl Netflix drop, The Cloverfield Paradox. Some action scenes are unique and thrilling while others seem a step too slow and underwhelming. Dialogue is especially cheesy at times while in other instances the script leans into curse-laden dialogue that I, for one, enjoyed, but I could see ruffling some family feathers as it tests that PG-13 rating.
By the end of Brave New World, little has changed in the MCU beyond a visit to familiar characters from films of yesteryear, the minimal introduction of a potential new future threat, and confirmation of what is to come in this phase of films. Oh, and the Celestial in the sea is finally acknowledged verbally…and seen again! Onah does also finally propel the new Captain America forward in the third act thanks to a layup from a sure-to-be crowd-pleasing appearance, but it remains to be seen if Marvel can build around Sam Wilson if he truly is going to get a new team together.
Captain America: Brave New World is the Marvel embodiment of no harm, no foul, an enjoyable enough time in the MCU that could either serve as a new foundation for an exciting new future or an indication that these films just aren’t what they used to be.
Rating: 3/5
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on Friday, February 14th, 2025.
