Star Cast: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, and Giancarlo Esposito
Director: Julius Onah
What’s Good: The character work is quite nice and overall, the acting is superb, showing that actors taking these roles seriously really elevates the material.
What’s Bad: The action sequences and the overall CGI quality are subpar and don’t measure up to what the franchise has done before.
Loo Break: Brave New World doesn’t overstay its welcome, but sadly, many of the action sequences feel very TV-like, so it’s no problem if you miss one or two of them.
Watch or Not?: If you are already invested in the franchise.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 119 Minutes.
User Rating:
How the mighty have fallen! Once upon a time, in 2019, Avengers: Endgame was making history by being the culmination of the cinematic universe experiment that began in 2008 with the first Iron Man film. It was a time for celebration because even if you were not fond of the movies, reaching the end of a cohesive long-story format in cinemas was quite an achievement. Sadly, it hasn’t been the same for the MCU since then, and with no proper route in sight, the franchise stumbles from film to film, with the new Captain America movie being the biggest stumble in a while.
Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review: Script Analysis
Captain America: Brave New World is not a bad film. There have been worse throughout the history of the MCU, and yet, this will probably be a very controversial film for many as it is the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise and the first to be led by Anthony Mackie, as Sam Wilson, formerly Falcon, and now the owner of the vibranium shield that gives him the title of Captain America. The film makes it clear that Sam Wilson is not Steve Rogers, which is great, but it also doesn’t do the work of trying to make Sam a worthy substitute.
The script is set within the political thriller genre, with many decisions that try to remind the audience of those fabulous political thrillers based on Tom Clancy’s works. This includes the casting of Harrison Ford, who previously played the protagonist of several Clancy stories as Jack Ryan. However, unlike Clancy’s works, Captain America: Brave New World lacks the political commentary that made those other stories important and plays it too safe by not telling truths both sides of the argument need to hear.
While the plot and the political element are pretty tame, and probably for the worse, the character work is excellent. Sam Wilson comes across as someone worthy of the shield of a moral level, as Sam stands up for what is right and is just a very upstanding man. Still, the film drops the ball when trying to level up Wilson to the same level that Rogers was, and his tenure as Captain feels less imposing, less impressive, and just more mundane and boring.
The film also has a bit of a tone problem, as the political thriller aspect doesn’t mix well with the cartoony feel that some of the action sequences bring to the table. Sadly, this also keeps Wilson and the rest of our heroes down on the power scale, and that shouldn’t be the case. While Wilson doesn’t have to be Rogers, he should be at least as competent and strong as Rogers was on a skill and power level.
Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review: Star Performance
The acting might be the best part of the film, and Anthony Mackie really pulls off a tough role as Sam Wilson. He takes on the responsibility of being the new Captain America and deals with what that does to him as a person and how that title affects his relationship with others. Mackie pulls it off and cements Wilson as a very interesting and upstanding character, one that is worth following.
The other stand-out actors are Harrison Ford, who feels like not being on autopilot for once and brings a lot of warmth and grit to Thaddeus Ross, now President of the United States with the MCU, and Carl Lumbly playing Isaiah Bradley, the first black Captain America. The actor gets his due, and he just kills it. Shira Haas receives the short end of the stick with a role that could have been taken out of the film and an inadequate representation of what a black widow character should be.
Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review: Direction, Music
Captain America: Brave New World is directed by Julius Onah, who some years ago directed the underrated drama Luce. Onah knows a bit about doing films with political commentary in a more subtle and less forced way, which is nice. However, he misses the mark when trying to make the political commentary inside the film hit as it should. He does better at extracting good performances from his actors and making the film look good.
The CGI work on the film is relatively weak, and some parts look too fake, too cartoony, and might take some people out of the experience, but when the film needs to do on-screen work, it looks amazing, with some shots being quite nice to see. It is a shame that this level of crafting doesn’t extend to the action sequences, which are both a bit boring and generic. The film reminds us too much of the Disney+ series Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it never totally leaves the TV quality of that show behind, even with such a large budget.
Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review: The Last Word
Captain America: Brave New World is not the “go back to form” that the MCU needs because it forgets some of the essentials that made that first run from Iron Man to Endgame so good: moving the overall state of the universe forward, tight plotting, and great action sequences. Instead, it stays somewhere in the middle, doing what it feels is the bare minimum, and for a franchise that is getting so many diminishing returns, going this way could be a real tragedy, and Kevin Feige and the rest of the team at Marvel need to do better to survive.
Captain America: Brave New World Trailer
Captain America: Brave New World released on 14th February, 2025.
Share with us your experience of watching Captain America: Brave New World.
For more recommendations, read our Nosferatu Movie Review here.
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Google News
