‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Movie Review: Nothing Brave About This Political Action Thriller
Photo from Eli Adé/Marvel
From Jeff Nelson
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) leans back into the subterfuge half of its storytelling, which frequently grounds the franchise’s mystical offerings. Captain America: Brave New World mostly takes a break from multiverse talk after Deadpool & Wolverine used it as a narrative machine that simultaneously birthed fan service galore. This new chapter intends to turn the page with a new Captain America post-Steve Rogers, but this direction doesn’t instill much confidence moving forward.
An international incident further stresses the relationship between Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the new Captain America, and recently elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). They must work together to discover the agent of chaos behind these evil deeds and save the world from breaking into war. Past relationships and traumas bubble to the surface.
This story is all about legacies – the ones that came before us and how we shape them into the future. Sam continues to wrestle with the back-breaking pressures that come with the costume and vibranium shield once donned by Steve Rogers. This may sound familiar if you’ve seen Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, he’s joined by sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who essentially takes on the Falcon role. Joaquin looks up to Sam in many of the ways Sam looked up to Steve. There are fragments of compelling dramatics here, although the sum of its parts comes up rather empty.
You might remember the volatile General Thaddeus from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, who spearheaded the hunt for Bruce Banner. To complicate matters further, the hulking hero had a sizzling romance with Thaddeus’ daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler). The general-turned-president and Sam’s narrative journeys are similarly pivotal. Thaddeus is desperate for a relationship with the daughter who refuses to interact with the anger-fueled politician, and Sam wants to prove that Steve’s decision to pass his title to him wasn’t a mistake. But, should Captain America serve under a president with ulterior motives?
The MCU continues to have a villain problem. They don’t necessarily require depth, but they should feel threatening. The main antagonist pulling the strings is another case of character bastardization. Not only is he void of screen presence, but he lacks the menacing factor. The villain is such an uninteresting afterthought, that it’s easy to forget he’s there. Action sequences are short-lived, but the existing ones are fine despite some questionable CGI work.
The movie’s rather pointed political aspect is unfortunately relevant. However, it’s afraid to dig into the themes it presents, leaving it without anything to say. The story is more concerned with painting broad strokes to give the illusion that it’s addressing hot-button topics. By the time the credits roll, it has all been wrapped up a little too neatly within such a short period.
Captain America: Brave New World runs into the issue of feeling like generic, toothless television. It hesitates to take the stand it clearly yearns to, and the recycled storytelling keeps its greatest revelations from feeling impactful. Mackie and Ford do what they can with the roles, sharing a scattershot dramatic core that loses the traces of its sincerity in the shuffle.Hopefully this will turn around in the follow-ups to come.
Rating: 2/5
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14th, 2025.
