Captain America: Brave New World

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD
2025 | Dir. Julius Onah | 119 Minutes

"Steve gave them something to believe in, but you give them something to aspire to."


During a summit at the White House, several mind controlled combatants including Sam Wilson's friend Isaiah Bradley attempt to assassinate President Thaddeus Ross. With Isaiah in jail awaiting a potential death sentence, Sam and his trusted protégé Joaquin Torres race against the clock to uncover the true mastermind behind the plot while an increasingly emotionally erratic Ross begins to unravel.

While Marvel Studios films at their best are able to utilize aspects of their shared universe in fascinating and rewarding ways, it's apparent that on a storytelling level Captain America: Brave New World is too preoccupied with acknowledging previously established continuity to tell an engrossing story of its own. A direct follow-up to the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Solider, much in the same way Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Marvels are reliant on their tie-in miniseries, this inaugural big screen adventure for Sam's Captain America quite noticeably skims through key exposition, testing the patience of diehard fans, potentially alienating for casual viewers, a disservice to all. The picture throws Sam into an adventure that's a bit too reminiscent of Captain America: The Winter Solider, though with far less intrigue, far more simplistic motivations for its protagonists and antagonists alike, and much less of a dramatic payoff to boot. Sam is primarily driven by his mission to exonerate Isaiah and the inherent complexity of his new role as Cap is all but glossed over. While Ross is given more depth and vulnerability than in his previous appearances, the script never makes a compelling case for this sudden face turn, making it all the more difficult to empathize with him when the central conspiracy turns out to be nothing more than an elaborate revenge plot targeting him.

Throughout the first two acts of Captain America: Brave New World, the action set pieces are ostensibly functional but plainly unimpressive, mostly featuring Sam and Joaquin taking out a bunch of mercenaries or brainwashed soldiers without much flourish. The most engaging sequence during this stretch is Sam's fight against Voelker without the aid of his wings and shield. The visuals finally start feeling cinematic during the skirmish in the skies of Celestial Island with some fun aerial action and the dormant Tiamut serving as an epic backdrop. The climatic fight between Cap and Red Hulk has its moments but never achieves the visceral thrills of Hulk fights from previous films due to the vaguely weightless quality of its action direction.

Anthony Mackie convincingly sells Sam's desire to represent the values of Captain America, working overtime to de-escalate political tension and any potential for violent altercation, but the breathless pacing of the rather thin plot doesn't leave him much room to chew on the hero's inner doubts aside from just one measly scene featuring a special guest star. Taking over for the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, a seemingly exhausted Harrison Ford does his best to provide emotional depth and humanize the tempestuous statesman on a redemption arc, but the rote conspiracy surrounding his role undermines his efforts. Reprising the part of Joaquin Torres from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Danny Ramirez makes for a charismatic sidekick to Sam, sharing natural friendly banter with Mackie. As the curmudgeonly disenfranchised super solider Isaiah Bradley also returning from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Carl Lumbly gives a reasonably gripping performance, particularly for being quickly sidelined, only to serve as dramatic motivation for Sam. The cast also features Shira Haas as the glowering ex-Widow Ruth Bat-Seraph, Giancarlo Esposito as the terrorist leader Seth Voelker going full Giancarlo Esposito, and Tim Blake Nelson milking what he can out of the supervillain role of Samuel Sterns returning from The Incredible Hulk an astounding seventeen years since he last appeared as the mad scientist.

Despite solid performances from Mackie and Ford, Captain America: Brave New World doesn't deliver enough emotional, dramatic, or narrative impact to be a truly captivating or memorable addition to the vast Marvel Studios catalog. For the cinematic debut of Sam Wilson's Captain America, the film sidesteps having to make a provocative statement of any sort by leaning hard into Sam's diplomatic and empathetic nature in the most milquetoast and simplistic ways imaginable. The picture more or less amounts to a string of recycled and watered-down story beats from the previous Captain America films and The Falcon and the Winter Solder miniseries, a disappointing approach to continuing those narratives arcs.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
Imprisoned on the Raft, Sterns warns Sam of the impending multiversal war.


FRAGMENTS
- The fact that this film doesn't feature the Marvel Studios logo with the fanfare immediately starts it off on a disappointing note

- Henry Jackman's theme for Sam that made its debut in Captain America: The Winter Solider and subsequently expanded into a triumphant fanfare on The Falcon and the Winter Solider is egregiously and upsettingly absent from Laura Karpman's score

- Though its miniseries format is bloated and its finale feels rushed, The Falcon and the Winter Solider features far more provocative ideas than this film

- I'm glad the film ties back to the aftermath of The Eternals, but I have to wonder if we'll ever see those characters again

- The brief cameos from Sebastian Stan as Bucky and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross are nice surprises
Posted by
Labels: