Ever since the epic culmination that was “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, Marvel Studios has struggled to establish any sense of direction or likable characters. “Captain America: Brave New World” gives both, despite not even being a good movie.
The main problems stem from the production issues that caused delays, along with multiple scripts, titles and reshoots, which are felt immediately and throughout the entire runtime. The story feels both overstuffed and underdeveloped at the same time, with too much exposition to be enjoyable and not enough to fully explain everything that’s going on.
There are multiple storylines and characters that feel like they were shoehorned in, providing nothing to the characters’ development or the overall story itself. A lack of stakes or sense of danger permeate the film, as nothing feels fleshed out or meaningful enough for viewers to really care. All of these issues lead to a choppy final product that struggles to create a streamlined narrative.
If there is a glue that mostly holds it all together, it is Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, now known as the new Captain America. The film’s success completely hinged on whether or not Mackie could step into and fill such large shoes left behind by Chris Evans, and he certainly does. It may take time for audiences to get used to a new Captain America, especially one that has a much more vibrant and joking personality than Steve Rogers, but it’s a nice change of pace.
Another standout performance is Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross in replacement of William Hurt, who passed away just before filming began on “Brave New World.” Ford has made it known that at this point in his career, he is acting primarily for the money, thus creating a more nonchalant nature in his performances compared to his earlier works. However, his acting chops are still fully on display as he portrays a stressed out, frantic president attempting to avoid war.
The political thriller aspect is when the movie is at its best, with President Ross’ pending treaty with Japan being by far the most interesting conflict of the entire story. The storyline revolves around the dispute over what country deserves the right to the metal alloy Adamantium found on “Celestial Island,” the site of a fallen Celestial giant from the 2021 MCU film “Eternals.”
It is very refreshing to see new Marvel projects build upon established ones, although the decisions of which ones to follow is a bit peculiar. Alongside “Eternals,” the film also follows storylines and characters established in the second MCU movie ever made, “The Incredible Hulk.” Not only are those two of the three lowest-grossing MCU films of all time, but they also can be found in the bottom 10 movies in the franchise by Rotten Tomatoes score. Naturally, there is not the same level of excitement or investment involved with watching cameos and storylines that not many people saw or enjoyed, or in the case of “The Incredible Hulk,” were last seen almost 20 years ago.
That being said, the fight that takes place at Celestial Island is likely the best individual scene in the movie. It’s the only time when Sam Wilson gets to be both Captain America and the Falcon simultaneously, soaring high with his wings while using the iconic red, white and blue shield. It’s unfortunate that this enthralling moment of action was followed up by the most contrived storyline of the movie — President Ross turning into the Red Hulk.
Not only is the reasoning behind his transformation half-baked at best, but it creates an unnecessary hero-or-villain dichotomy around the character that has no purpose in the story. The ensuing action results in a wave of destruction that is somewhat shocking to watch, but by the closing moments of this film, everything is already being rebuilt. This pointless escapade completely voids any stakes and uproots a perfectly satisfying, natural ending that felt mere moments away.
Red Hulk also highlights another aspect in which the film falls short, which is the marketing. He was at the center point of every single official poster that Marvel put out and was featured heavily in all of the movie’s trailers.
It is especially jarring for him to have such little screen time, and the close ties to “The Incredible Hulk” seem extra disappointing because of this. If a Captain America movie is going to spend a significant amount of time on things from a Hulk movie released two decades ago, as well as advertise an alternate version of the character, then there simply needs to be more of him.
Overall, “Captain America: Brave New World” gives the MCU what it lacked in terms of progression, but more of the same when it comes to mediocrity. Despite its woes, however, Mackie shines, proving that he has the star power to carry on the iconic legacy of Captain America.
