Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
It’s fitting this film is named Brave New World because Marvel Studios is entering a new ambitious phase after a bit of a course correction. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson will be leading a new team of heroes into it.
After news of reshoots, cast changes, story changes, and those rumored “poor test screenings,” director Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World is finally here, and we are happy to report it’s good it’s pretty damn good, but it’s no Winter Soldier or Civil War.
Captain America: Brave New World’s Plot
Brave New World is to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson what First Avenger was to Chris Evan’s Steve Rogers, serving as a sort of reintroduction of the at-one-time reluctant wielder of Cap’s Vibranium shield we met in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The film takes place after the events of the Disney+ series, and Sam Wilson has fully embraced being Captain America, and he’s gotten pretty damn surgical with that shield because, honestly, we never really see Steve Roger use it in the way Sam does in this film.
Sam Wilson’s Captain America works alongside a bright-eyed Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), a lovable sidekick trying to earn wings and become the next Falcon. He provides most of the comic relief during the film.
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
Wilson is eventually recruited by Harrison Ford’s President Thunderbolt Ross, replacing the late William Hurt, who played the role for years in the MCU. The switch works flawlessly as Ford brings that grumpy energy we have come to love him for in his advanced age and adds some presidential/militaristic energy that works for the character who is now the leader of the free world and is trying to unite countries together to share the discovery of the lifetime, a new material called adamantium (cue the X-Men theme). This metal is more powerful than Wakanda’s Vibranium.
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
Ross needs Captain America’s help to get everyone on board. He wants Wilson to lead a new Avengers team, but that all comes crashing down when an assassination attempt concocted by a mysterious mastermind involving the first Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, brilliantly played by Carl Lumbly, on world leaders, including Ross that sets off a series of chain events that could lead to an international disaster.
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
The film’s first two acts involve Wilson and Torres working together, doing whatever it takes to unveil the sinister plot and clear Isaiah’s name despite pushback from President Ross that will take them to secret military installations, underground labs, and finally to Celestial Island.
Where This Film Shines
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
There are many bright spots in the film. First and foremost, Anthony Mackie shines in the starring role and takes Captain America to new heights, literally and figuratively.
Mackie expertly navigates the role of being a superhero who is not blessed with superhuman strength, speed, and durability. He humanizes Wilson, showing his best qualities, humanity, and will to fight and look out for others. At the same time, Mackie shows that Wilson is no slouch and is ready to take on any challenge, no matter what it is, including a Red Hulk, even though he knows he can be squashed like a bug.
Also, we must credit Onah for making Sam Wilson use the shield A LOT in this film. We always felt it was underutilized in other films, and in Brave New World, it was nice to see how a normal man like Wilson used it cleverly while dispatching thugs and even flying through guided missiles from fighter jets.
The relationship between Sam, Joaquin, and Isaiah is welcomed as they each navigate their newfound fame as marginalized individuals. It lands very well; we only wish it was explored more, as the film does tap dance around the race issue.
This film’s action sequences stand out, giving us more grounded firefights, espionage, and political intrigue than we loved in The Winter Soldier. At the same time, thanks to Wilson’s skill set, Captain America takes the fight to the air for some incredible aerial battles that would make Iron Man a tad bit jealous.
Harrison Ford is also a welcomed addition to the MCU as the new Thunderbolt Ross and fits right in like a glove. His embrace of the silliness and becoming Red Hulk, who was a beast, and can’t wait to see him and Bruce Banner’s Hulk go at it was a welcomed sight, at times giving us the feels of 2011’s The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton.
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
The story is also solid, primarily based on all the noise surrounding this film and the reports of reshoots, and it is not doing well with test audiences.
Where Brave New World Stumbles
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
Marvel once again has a villain problem in this movie. Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder gets plenty of love in the trailers, and he is pretty menacing when we first meet in the film, but he quickly becomes an afterthought.
Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Stern, aka The Leader, is a welcomed sight after his character went into limbo following the events of 2011’s The Incredible Hulk.
Nelson’s The Leader has plenty of potential to shake things up in the MCU. However, he is criminally underutilized in the film and eventually overshadowed by the Red Hulk. We are still intrigued to see how he will contribute to Kevin Feige’s grand plan.
While the story is strong, there is plenty of room for improvement. The film is well-paced in the first two acts but experiences turbulence by the third, and you can see where the reshoots come in.
Final Verdict
Source: Marvel Studios / Captain America: Brave New World
Sam Wilson is no Steve Rodgers; he doesn’t have to be. Anthony Mackie proves that his version of Captain America can lead a new Avengers team into whatever this Multiverse Saga eventually becomes.
Brave New World is not on the level of Captain America: Winter Soldier or Civil War, but it’s a solid project from Marvel Studios that allows Mackie’s Sam Wilson to make a name for himself and not just be the guy forever known as Steve Rodger’s buddy not named Bucky.
We genuinely hope that Onah gets another shot at bringing Sam Wilson’s Captain America to the big screen in another solo project in the future.
In the gallery below, you can see some early reactions from people who got to see the film early ahead of the February 14 release.