Summary
Right from the Marvel Studios logo,Captain America: Brave New Worldgives the impression that it is going for a vibe. Presented in stark black and white and free from the usual fanfare, it’s clear that audiences are being told “this movie is different from what we’ve been doing.” That’s followed by an introduction to President Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross (Harrison Ford) accompanied by a score that evokes high-minded political films of the past. It’s really a shame that the movie couldn’t keep this up.
As an introduction to the new Captain America,Brave New Worldfalls far too short. It’s a movie where all of the behind-the-scenes retooling and turmoil result in something that is less than the sum of its parts. Anthony Mackie has been good in his previous MCU appearances, but carrying a movie on his own proves to be more than he can handle. It doesn’t help that the story, sold as an old-school conspiracy thriller, never lives up to that promise, delivering neither intrigue nor tension in serious doses.
Captain America:Brave New Worldfinds Sam Wilson having taken on the titular mantle in an official capacity. He’s even got his own new Falcon in Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). The opening sequence, which follows a catch-up montage reminding audiences of who Thaddeus Ross is, seems intended to mirror the ship infiltration fromWinter Soldier. Unfortunately, none of the action lives up to the past, and that isBrave New World’s biggest problem: it is both trying to forge a new path and continue the lineage of Captain America. Perhaps trying to do both things was too much.
The plot of the movie, which has been more-or-less entirely exposed through promotional materials and casting calls, finds Ross navigating his new presidency through the discovery of a new element, the ever-recognizable and all-too-important adamantium, and overcoming his own past as a hulk-obsessed soldier in need of some serious anger management. Sam himself is on a parallel journey,trying to be the new Captain Americaand navigating what exactly that means to him and to everyone else. The personal stakes for both characters are intriguing enough, but never really add up to much by the film’s conclusion. The story also ropes inTim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sternsas the villain behind the scenes, pulling the strings on a master plan that never seems all that clear, but definitely involves high probabilities of things happening.
Minor characters including Shria Haas’s Ruth Bat-Serpah andGiancarlo Esposito’s much-touted Sidewinderhave very little to do throughout the story except to show up in some key scenes and ensure the story keeps moving forward. Ruth, especially, feels like a character that could be entirely cut from the film without affecting the story whatsoever. Esposito’s performance is dedicated as always, but Sidewinder isn’t much more than a minor obstacle who then changes roles to an exposition machine. Considering he was brought on to the film afterearlier Serpent Society scenes were cutbegs the question of just how bad those were to warrant being excised.
The best part ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldby a mile isCarl Lumbly’s performance as Isaiah Bradley. First introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bradley’s story is a tragic allegory for the treatment of Black soldiers throughout the history of the United States. That short series did much more to build up his character and tell his story thenBrave New World, which mostly just uses Bradley for the inciting incident. Even without much to do in the story, Lumbly makes the most of his time on screen, wearing Bradley’s history and experiences in every moment.
It’s too bad the substance of Isaiah Bradley’s backstory never makes it on screen in any other way. For a movie that is ostensibly about giving the world a new Captain America, and what that’s supposed to mean to Sam and everyone else,Brave New Worldoddly sidesteps many of the harder questions it should be asking. The movie flirts with this conflict in its final scene, but undercuts it with lame humor, which has become Marvel’s signature weakness.That also just applies to the movie’s muddled conspiracy plot, which really does feel like it was written by a committee. There are no major revelations or truly surprising moments in a story that depserately needs them. It’s the most frustrating type of thriller, where the audience already has everything figured out before the characters do.
WhatBrave New Worlddoes have going for it is that it avoids the CGI slop that has dominated more recent Marvel movies. For all its faults, it can at least be said that the latest Captain America is trying its best to protray a more grounded conflict without involving giant portals in the sky or big glowing beams being shot all over the place. However, even when the action involves Cap and Falcon facing off against fighter jets over the ocean, there’s a lack of weight to any of it.
That also applies tothe final fight against a Red Hulked-out Ross, where Sam somehow survives all manner of massively destructive attacks. This could perhaps be explained away by his Vibranium suit and wings, but even Steve Rogers would have had a hard time in that fight. Ultimately, this final battle (which, again, has been pretty much entirely spoiled in the film’s promotion) feels somewhat pointless, like the movie had a contractual obligation to include Red Hulk but didn’t know how to do it.
Marvel fans got a bit of a reprieve from the studio’s weak showings withthe mostly excellentDeadpool & Wolverine, but withCaptain America: Brave New World, the pendulum has swung back the other way, delivering a middling effort that falls far too short of the movies that came before it. What stings more here is that this is the first legacy Marvel title in a long while, one that should have been reminding people why they liked these movies in the first place. They’re more likely to just be reminded of why they might have given up on the MCU in the first place.
