Captain America: Brave New World is Marvel’s latest film, starring Anthony Mackie once again playing Sam Wilson, a.k.a. the new Captain America. This is his maiden solo appearance following Steve Rogers’ passing on of the shield in Avengers: Endgame and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Fans were curious to see how Sam would handle the job, but the movie has been met with mixed reviews. It has its moments, but it also suffers from pacing, storytelling, and action that does not always deliver on how exciting it can be.
The movie follows Sam as he embarks on his new job amidst political machinations and international conflicts. A new metal, adamantium, is discovered, and everyone worldwide desires to control it. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) gets involved, and Sam teams up with the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). The movie also brings back Isaiah Bradley, the super-soldier from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and adds a little emotional depth to the story.
Though the film tries to be political and serious like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it gets too complicated at times. There are too many different things happening at once, so it is hard to keep up with the main plot. Instead of just being about Sam becoming his own Captain America, the movie spends a lot of time setting up future Marvel projects, and so the film doesn’t feel as personal.
Anthony Mackie is great playing Sam Wilson, capturing the exasperation of being the new Captain America and trying to stay true to himself. He’s not just trying to be Steve Rogers—he’s making the character his own. The script never gives him enough good scenes to really shine, however. Harrison Ford’s work as President Ross is one of the highlights of the film. While his role isn’t big, he brings a lot of weight to the character. Danny Ramirez is fun to watch as Torres, but he doesn’t get on screen as much as fans would have hoped.
Marvel movies are renowned for action, but Brave New World doesn’t have nearly as many excellent fight scenes as the earlier Captain America films. The choreography is fine, but nothing really excites the way that battles did in The Winter Soldier or Civil War. Special effects also are a bit sloppy in places, especially when Red Hulk (yes, that happens) shows up. It ought to have been this huge, jaw-dropping thing, but instead feels okay.
The movie tries to graze against large concepts, like what it is to be a Black man playing Captain America and the burden that goes with it. It brushes against government control, power, and doing what is right in spite of the system. Instead of actually going through these ideas, however, the movie gets distracted by introducing future Marvel stories. If it had concentrated more on these issues, it might have been so much better.
Generally, Captain America: Brave New World is not a bad film, but it’s not as good as it might have been. It’s got some great moments, and Anthony Mackie is fine playing Cap, but the plot is a mess and the action isn’t as thrilling as it has been in previous films. Marvel fans will probably still enjoy it, though, but it is not up there with the best Captain America films. Hopefully, Marvel develops a more interesting storyline for Sam Wilson in the future.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
