(And the Not So Brave World of Marvel)
When I first walked into the theater to buy a ticket for Captain America: Brave New World, a series of thoughts popped into my head. First off, I asked myself what phase of MCU entries are we even in. Then I wondered if the recent Disney Plus shows counted in that tally. Then I was confused on how much they would touch on Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). I also remembered that it came out almost four years ago. And we haven’t seen the Avengers team up in almost six years. Was this film supposed to mirror Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) or was that job partly done already by the previous Disney Plus show? And by that, I mean whether or not the MCU cares about building their Avengers roster once again with dense character development, or do they just want to skip to Secret Wars already?
All of these questions and more started to consume my mainstream mind witnessing a new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in theaters. It used to be such a special experience that was both rewarding to be there for and prepared you for whatever came next. Was the Marvel Cinematic Universe losing its glory?
But then I saw the Red Hulk popcorn tin and the cool souvenir cups with wings and I lost all train of thought.
Captain America: Brave New World (2025) takes place in a new world for Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who now takes up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers and works alongside newly-elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). Though after a mission where Cap has to save a container of some mysterious metal for the government with the help of Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who now takes up the mantle of Falcon, they realize there is some mysterious inner-workings going on in the government. This takes full effect when we see Cap visiting the White House with Joaquin and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), where Isaiah unpredictably tries to assassinate President Ross.
When my friend asked me what this film was really about in summary, I started talking about how badass Sam Wilson is as Captain America. But then I realized I didn’t really have anything else to say about the plot that was substantial. All I really took away from this film is that Steve Rogers made the right choice. But then again, that’s telling of how much of a mess this film is. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with this film and found myself entertained for the light runtime. But this really feels like a disjointed husk that we would’ve witnessed in phase two MCU. A lot of this film seems to go through the motions of a 70’s-esque political thriller with none of the compelling story beats or commentary that a genre like that would offer, and a lot of exposition dumping. I would bet that we won’t see the easter eggs and hints dropped throughout this movie for another 10 years.
For me, I always find myself intrigued at the MCU lore introduced in each entry, and this has largely disappeared as a trait for Marvel films as we’ve gotten in the later phases. But there was plenty here, and I don’t really know if I missed it anymore. Like if you told me I had to watch Eternals (2021) and The Incredible Hulk (2008) to prepare for a Captain America film, I would’ve been very confused.
And I was very confused.
There were definitely elements to enjoy in this film. First off, the performances are all surprisingly really good for a film of this caliber. Like Harrison Ford, even in his late age, can still bring his all to playing a President turned big red mutant dude. And Anthony Mackie is a great choice for helming the mantle of Captain America. His ability to represent the best of America by being the person we strive to be instead of someone we idolize is something that I love about the character of Sam Wilson.
We might be missing a bit of Sam Wilson’s arc of becoming Captain America because of the Disney Plus show where they dived into a lot of that already. Wilson is fully embraced as Captain America now, with people in the bar even patting him on the back and calling him “Cap.” It feels very rewarding to see such a charismatic person like Anthony Mackie take up such an important character.
At one point in the film, President Ross exclaims to Sam Wilson that he’s not Steve Rogers, and Wilson simply responds “You’re right, I’m not.” And that was such a wake up moment for not only the character of Sam Wilson but for audiences. Sam doesn’t have the super serum that Steve Rogers had, or the hundred years of living, or Peggy Carter’s weird niece lingering around him. Wilson better resembles America than Steve ever did because he’s a person who has been built by the modern world, and he’s all the more suited for the shield because of it.
Every time the film reflects this, or features Cap in the grounded environments such as a shootout or in aerial fieldworld, the film works all the better and becomes really fun. And Joaquin Torres is really fun as the new falcon, as he has a lot of the same charisma that Sam Wilson had as the support for Steve Rogers. Also the interactions that Cap had with Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder are really fun and build on a potential rogue gallery that I think was missed with the last era of Captain America films. Though who knows when there will be another film with Sidewinder returning, which brings me to my ultimate problem with this film.
Why the hell are there so many ties to a Hulk film that was made more than 16 years ago?
If director Julius Onah really wanted to make a political thriller on the level of Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) then we shouldn’t have a red hulk or a forgotten post-credits Hulk villain from years ago be the throughline of this story. It’s really jarring to see the grounded first act of this film compared to the jumbled and chaotic third act that had one of the worst green screens I’ve ever seen put on film. Like why did we forget about Isaiah Bradley, who is arguably the most compelling side character of this film, shelved halfway through so we can get more of Sabra. And don’t even get me started on Sabra, the politics and history behind that comic book character are so problematic that it’s absolutely beyond me that she would be featured in a film like this.
I would also touch on the fact that this film feels heavily reshot over the span of several months, which feels very evident as we get to the end. We don’t see several characters in the film that were teased, such as a Serpent Society character played by Seth Rollins that was cut. There were also rumors of test screenings for this film that proved not very good for early audiences, and I’m pretty sure Giancarlo Esposito was brought in much later to the cast. All of this can be felt when a lot of the moments between two characters in a room talking feel very empty, as if none of the character arcs or actions have any real weight to them and it feels as if it’s just going through the motions of the story rather than having the emotional gravitas to it.
It’s a film with all of the plot functions that would make sense for the sake of Marvel continuity, but not for the character of Sam Wilson. It’s missing that heart that First Avenger had. And without spoiling anything, it is so very anticlimactic by the end. Like when the credits rolled, I was so confused on how we got to this place in the story. And the post credits scene is literally so useless, which is usually fine because who knows when that thread will come back into play, but here it is so clearly teasing a future Avengers entry.
This film could be best compared to another entry in the MCU with the same kind of set-up introduced and a lack of plot for any kind of substantial story, and that would be Iron Man 2 (2010). Sure, I had a ton of fun with that film as well and we need to bring Justin Hammer back (Rest in Peace Armor Wars) but that was just a bunch of nothing. And even with the fun time I had with this film, I’m afraid I have to say the same thing for this too. It sucks because it would’ve been so easy to have a great Captain America entry with Sam Wilson, there just needs to be a better story more-suited to the shield rather than a mandate that Kevin Feige needs to upkeep so Disney investors don’t get scared about Avengers: Doomsday (2026) once again. But that Thunderbolts* (2025) preview before the film started got me pretty hyped. Yes, I’m one of the only people hyped for Thunderbolts.
This film is beyond anything else, safe. Ten years ago, that would’ve worked out just fine for the franchise. But when you’re coming right after a Deadpool & Wolverine team up, a multiversal Spider-Men story, and the conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy, it shows just how much they’ve gone off the roadmap.
Feige, please, let’s move on from the multiverse, give us the X-Men already.