The feeling I got when watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier was one of the best in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but while not a horrible outing, Captain America: Brave New World was not nearly as good and made me miss Chris Evans as Cap.
Anthony Mackie returns as the high-flying hero Sam Wilson, who’s officially taken up the mantle of Captain America. After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
Mackie truly had some big shoes—and an equally massive shield—to fill as he takes on the legendary role of Captain America. After following Chris Evans as Captain America for nearly 10 years it will always be difficult to see Mackie in the role. While this is not the fault of the actor, it just takes some getting used to and held back this film a bit for me. However, Mackie himself did shine in the role. Mackie’s portrayal is earnest and committed; his charisma carries much of the film’s emotional weight.
In addition to the fantastic acting from Mackie, I was truly impressed by the performance of Harrison Ford. Being a fan of the currently running Shrinking streaming series on Apple TV+, I have seen a bit of the later years of Ford’s acting and thought maybe he was best suited for the role he plays in the show. However, what he was able to do in Brave New World showed me the legendary actor still has some grit and glory in his repertoire. Not to mention, getting to see Red Hulk on the big screen was kind of a cool experience.
The big takeaway from Brave New World was the introduction of Adamantium–a metal not featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as of yet due to the rights being owned by Fox until Disney’s purchase of the studio. This along with dealing with the Celestial and admitting that it exists–after it seemed forgotten following the events of The Eternals–made the wait worthwhile. While Captain America: Brave New World is a sequel to the previous Captain America films as well as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the movie almost felt like a quasi sequel to The Incredible Hulk and The Eternals oddly set in a Captain America film. This was weird, but in no real major way took away from the story.
The film balances political thriller with a superhero tale, but struggles under its own weight at times. Despite these shortcomings Brave New World isn’t without its merits; when it focuses on Mackie’s strengths it shines brightest. Mackie’s acting, along with Ford’s stellar performance, and the inclusion of Adamantium and the Celestial trapped in the Earth made for an entertaining film and that is all I was hoping for entering the release.
Captain America: Brave New World should never really expected to be as good as The Winter Soldier or Civil War, but was definitely not the worst MCU film in the history of the Universe. The film was entertaining and action-packed with some great acting performances. I left the film excited to see where Mackie takes the Captain America character and for more new stories from the MCU.
The film was directed by Julius Onah from a screenplay by Rob Edwards and the writing teams of Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson and Onah & Peter Glanz. Captain America: Brave New World stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon, Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Xosha Roquemore as Leila Taylor, Giancarlo Esposito as Seth Voelker / Sidewinder, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader, Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross / Red Hulk, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
Captain America: Brave New World hit theaters on February 14, 2025 from Marvel Studios and is now playing.
