Directed by Julius Onah, Captain America: Brave New World follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the new Captain America, who finds himself in the middle of an international incident after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). Sam must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
In Avengers: Endgame the mantle of Captain America was passed on from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson and then in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Sam fully embraced the mantle he was given, becoming the hero he needed to be for a world that needed a worthy Captain America in it. I was so happy to see Sam Wilson, as well as Anthony Mackie, be able to take on the role like he did in comics and I was looking forward to seeing where his journey would go next in the MCU since there were plenty of interesting avenues for the character to go.
This film marks Sam Wilson’s first solo outing as Captain America and while I was initially not as hyped for it compared to two other MCU films coming up this year, I gradually became more excited for it as it got closer to its release, and I didn’t let a bunch of misinformation about reshoots or budgets from internet morons without sources try to tarnish my growing excitement for it. I went into this film with as clear of a mind as possible and I ended up walking out with a big smile on my face and feeling mostly satisfied with what I saw.
While it has its fair share of faults, Captain America: Brave New World is a fun as hell high-stakes political thriller that has fantastic performances, amazing action sequences, and a simple but good 80s-style espionage story, even if it doesn’t reach the same heights of its predecessors. It felt like a phase 1-2 MCU film that is more grounded and more standalone compared to some recent MCU projects, as well as focusing on cementing Sam Wilson as Captain America, which I feel this film succeeds in doing so. There are some things I do wish the film could have done better on with more refinement but I feel the pros outweigh most of the cons in this and that the hate it’s been getting seems largely unwarranted.
The biggest strength in the film lies with its cast who all deliver outstanding performances that make this film so fun and engaging in various ways. Aside from one individual, I pretty much ended up loving all the characters in this film even if a few were a bit more underused than others.
One thing for sure though is that Anthony Mackie f**king rocks in his leading role as Captain America. Not Captain Falcon, Captain America! Mackie delivers immense charm and charisma while also delivering compelling amounts of emotion and gravitas when needed.
Sam Wilson’s arc in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was about learning to accept the mantle of Captain America and the complicated legacy that comes with it, while his arc in this film is about handling the pressure and immense responsibility of the mantle after accepting it. It’s honestly a very realistic and very well-relatable arc for Sam about him wanting to be the best hero possible by trying to never make a mistake and trying to be as perfect as the world needs him to be, despite not having any super soldier serum.
It is human nature to strive for perfection and fear about not being “good enough” but what Sam learns throughout his journey in this film is that being perfect is never what made Captain America special. It’s about having humanity and being a good man, which Sam is more than qualified for with his enormous levels of empathy and grit.
Joining Sam on his newest mission is Joaquin Torres, reprised by Danny Ramirez, as the new Falcon and he was surprisingly an absolute gem in this film. Not only does he share a brilliant bromance and energetic chemistry with Mackie’s Cap but he was overall such a fun and warm presence in the film, giving proper amounts of levity when needed in a film that has a mostly serious tone to it. He was an insanely lovable personality throughout the whole film and proved himself to be a badass in action, not only proving himself worthy of the mantle of Falcon but also earning the right to become a potential future Avenger.
Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross returns to the spotlight in a main role rather than a small supporting role, but with the passing of William Hurt the role is now played by legendary Harrison Ford, who I honestly feel was so perfect in the role that he completely overshadows Hurt’s previous portrayal of the character. Ross to me has always been a highly unlikable character who committed numerous acts against a majority of our beloved heroes in the MCU, and while this film definitely reminds you of those acts, as well as reveals other despicable actions he has committed in secret, we do get to see him be given actual humanity for once, thanks largely in part to improved writing for his character and a hugely committed performance by Harrison Ford.
In this film, Ross is a man trying to deal with his own history, his hot temperament, and his new role as President of the US, controlling all the variables as he is eager to redeem himself in not only the eyes of the world but also the eyes of his estranged daughter, Betty. Ford brings such intensity and ferocity to his portrayal of Ross while also showing vulnerability and emotion as he begins to slowly unravel when his complicated past, involving mostly the events of The Incredible Hulk, comes back to bite him in a big way.
It all builds up to the climactic moment where Ross ends up transforming into his Red Hulk from comics and it was absolutely awesome! While I do feel they should have maybe kept Red Hulk as a surprise for the film itself, due to how great the build-up and revelation is for it in the third act, I was still very pleased with how he was adapted, how his action scenes were handled, and how amazing he looked in terms of effects.
I honestly don’t get the criticisms for the effects of Red Hulk because he looked absolutely phenomenal, especially with some of the fantastic motion capture work that Harrison Ford did himself. He may be 82 years old but Ford truly is one of the most brilliantly committed actors of all time and I’m so glad he got to be part of the MCU, as well as make a character I originally cared little about very investing and compelling.
The main villain and the mastermind behind the shocking events that occur in this film is Samuel Sterns, reprised by Tim Blake Nelson, who returns from his long absence since the events of The Incredible Hulk. The last time we saw him he got accidentally infected by Bruce Banner’s blood but now we finally get to see what happened to him since then, as he has now gained superhuman intelligence and is grotesquely deformed, embracing his comic persona as Leader, even though he isn’t called that in the film itself. While I do feel he was slightly underused, I honestly found him to be a solid villain that had good motives, creepy abilities, and a uniquely grounded portrayal that I really enjoyed.
He isn’t a physical fight kind of villain but more a villain who relies on his intellect and manipulation to achieve his goals, similar to Riddler. He is a much darker and damaged individual in this film compared to the comedic and upbeat version we got in The Incredible Hulk and I think Tim Blake Nelson did a great job in his return to this role, even though I wish he was utilized more. I also really loved his design which was achieved largely through practical effects. Some people will falsely claim it was CGI but it is confirmed to be fully practical and I loved that it was.
Another underused yet awesome villain featured in this film is Seth Voelker, aka Sidewinder, leader of the mercenary group Serpent Society from comics, played by everyone’s favorite villain actor Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito came in swinging in his MCU introduction, giving us a brutal and intense supporting villain that manages to deliver absolute menace in the brief time he is in this film. Esposito gets the chance to display some great physicality in this role and has time to shine in a similar manner to Andy Serkis in his role as Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther.
My only issue is that I wish he was utilized way more, but thankfully it is confirmed that there are future plans for Sidewinder and the rest of the Serpent Society, which is also hinted at in the film itself, so we are likely going to see Giancarlo Esposito pop up in the MCU again later on and probably steal the spotlight again.
Speaking of stealing spotlights, one unexpectedly beautiful performance we get in this film comes from Carl Lumbly reprising his role as Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I absolutely loved his performance and his character in the series and I loved him in this film too as he brings serious amounts of heartfelt and heartbreaking emotion in all of the scenes he is in. He was on a whole different level compared to the rest of the cast and his performance definitely got me close to tears, it was that emotional.
The one character and cast member I ended up not liking at all in this film was Ruth Bat-Seraph played by Shira Haas. For those who don’t know, Ruth Bat-Seraph was originally a highly problematic and offensive character from comics that caused a lot of controversy online when it was announced that her character would be involved in the film. Even though she is still involved in the film, people will be happy to know that she doesn’t really play a huge part of the story and that they pretty much erased any connection to her comic origins and the baggage that came with it, turning her into an ex-Black Widow that works as US agent for Ross.
That being said I still found her to be an unlikable character and her presence rather uncomfortable at times. I don’t really know anything about the actress herself to have an opinion of her but she seemed completely unpleasant and cold compared to the rest of the cast who radiated passion and warmth in their performances. I honestly feel this character should have been cut out and replaced with someone else like Sharon Carter who would have narratively made more sense to be in this film.
The film’s narrative does take a bit to get going at first and does feel a bit uneven in places, but once things do kick into gear it is a simple yet fun espionage/political story that feels grounded, focused, and has genuine emotional stakes as well as extremely solid action. It feels like a narrative hybrid of the worlds of Captain America and The Incredible Hulk, and while that may seem like a tonally inconsistent clash at first glance the two worlds actually blend together really cohesively and maintain a great tone throughout.
Some people have even called this film a sequel to The Incredible Hulk, due to its large connections to it, and while that is somewhat accurate it still is a Captain America film at the end of the day, much like how Civil War is still a Captain America film even though one could consider it Avengers 2.5.
The film has some great arcs and relationships between its characters, featuring themes of redemption, pressures of responsibility, and plentiful amounts of interesting political themes that relate hugely to our current political climate, much like previous Captain America installments and comics have done. The problem is that there are a lot of great themes that this film had the opportunity to explore and while some of them are explored to their fullest others end up being unfulfilled, which did bug me a bit.
This is where I think the accurately reported 22 days of reshoots by THR (not the falsely reported multiple reshoots) and some rewrites came into play as it feels that certain great ideas got lost in the process of making this film. Projects like Winter Soldier, Civil War, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier had a lot of things going on in their stories, especially with their connections to the wider MCU, but at least they still committed to all of the themes they brought forth both during and between the high stakes action.
Had this film managed to be more refined in its screenplay I think this could have been more on the level of previous Captain America installments but it falls just short of it. Even with those issues and missed opportunities, I was still very engaged and entertained by the story as a whole and I couldn’t help but smile at some of the really satisfying small moments that happened.
There is only one post-credit scene, which was just ok and nothing huge since it only reconfirms something we already know is happening. One thing that is for certain though is that this film definitely sets up Sam Wilson to be the one to lead the next generation of Avengers, and while I still have some concerns regarding the two upcoming Avengers films I do look forward to seeing Sam Wilson leading the new team.
The film is full of amazing and epic action sequences that keep in tradition with the awesome sequences we’ve seen in previous Captain America installments, though this definitely has its own style due to the flight capabilities of Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres, as well as the inclusion of Red Hulk in the mix. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are ferociously brutal and intensely choreographed, especially in claustrophobic environments, while the flight sequences are exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping from start to end in the opening areas. The Celestial Island battle felt like the MCU meets Top Gun Maverick with how open and epic it felt with the stakes of the battle being extremely high.
Then there is the Captain America vs Red Hulk battle in the third act that I feel really lived up to the hype with how epic and highly destructive it was, becoming one of my favorite Hulk fights in the MCU next to Thor vs Hulk in Thor Ragnarok.
The practical effects, costumes, and sets are excellent across the board and I felt that the CGI for the most part was also extremely solid, especially for the Celestial Island sequence and the Red Hulk scenes. Visually the film looks different compared to some of the other Captain America films, kind of radiating the same vibrant colors and atmosphere as The First Avenger, but I don’t consider that a bad thing at all. Given how different Sam Wilson is as Captain America it makes sense for his solo outing to look visually different, much like how his comics look visually different compared to the adventures of Steve Rogers.
The cinematography is honestly really great all around, featuring some really excellent shots and sequences that I felt fully absorbed into, especially while watching it in IMAX. You felt like you were in the action with these characters and I loved that thrilling feeling.
The editing in the film I found to be janky in some areas, which I found affected the pacing of the film a bit. It can be seen mainly in the places where you could tell there were reshot but thankfully that wasn’t the case for the entire film.
And then there is the score done by composer Laura Karpman, who once again delivers another awesome score for the MCU continuing her streak of great music. The score can be subtly haunting in small and intense moments and then be loud and bombastic in the thrilling sequences. It’s kick-ass music for a mostly kick-ass film.
The film has its faults but it is nowhere near as disastrous or disappointing as some critics and a certain group of individuals would make it seem. While I certainly would have loved for this film to be at the exact same heights of greatness as the other Captain America films I still got a lot out of it that personally satisfied me and I think people should give it a fair chance. I went in to have a fun time with Sam Wilson as Captain America, which is exactly what I got and I look forward to seeing more of him. I’m going to give Captain America: Brave New World a B+ = 89.
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