The new Captain America film came out on Valentine’s Day, marking itself as the 35th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brave New World is the first Captain America movie starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, aka Captain America. Chris Evans played the original superhero until 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. The movie had a lot going for it, coming three years post-Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as well as finally tying up loose ends regarding the celestial island in The Eternals. The film introduced new characters, delivered one-liners doomed to be recycled in later films and a huge, red monster destroying the White House. Overall, it was a film that I have seen 34 times before. Marvel’s attempts at reviving the MCU post its peak in the 2010s continues to remain futile as it forced to repeat itself unless they find a way to add uniqueness to each of their releases.
Brave New World follows Wilson under the authority of newly elected United States President Thaddeus Ross. Wilson has large shoes to fill after the passing of Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. Characters from nearly two decades ago are reintroduced and back for revenge, including Samuel Sterns from The Incredible Hulk (2008). Using mind control in the form of a song, he causes a group of attendees at President Ross’ summit regarding the celestial island to open fire on the president in an attempted assassination attempt. Among them is Isiah Bradley, a super powered confidante of Wilson’s who was wrongly imprisoned for 30 years by the U.S. government. Bradley’s arrest leads to Wilson’s quest to clear his name. Throughout the movie, we are introduced to multiple villains including a red Hulk, Sidewinder and Samuel Sterns aka “The Leader.”
President Ross’ transformation could have been a really surprising and interesting moment. Too bad the trailer spoiled it for us. Despite seeing it coming, the scene where Ross turned into Red Hulk was the best in the entire movie. It was shot beautifully. Another example of good camera work is the scene where Ross almost but not quite turns into Red Hulk. The scene sports slanted imagery meant to indicate the how uncomfortable the events going on are. They really put everything into President Ross. His entire character is one of the best written in the film, painting a picture of a man who had done wrong in the past who is also actively trying to better himself, even if it means taking pills to keep you alive that also make you large and red when you get angry. Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the president as well as his relationships, particularly with his daughter are very well played out. Ross’ love for his daughter is portrayed spectacularly by Ford. It is not hard to get emotional when they reconnect at the end.
Another emphasis that I have to highlight because the movie did not do it for me is that unlike Rogers, Wilson is not a supersoldier. He is not superpowered, but he is simply a highly trained person with metal wings and a patriotic onesie. Now, a Captain America that is not a supersoldier is all fine and dandy, but that easily could have been a storyline that flowed much better than the all over the place script Marvel opted for instead. If this had been introduced, President Ross’ angry statement that Wilson is “not Steve Rogers” would have hit that much harder. Wilson’s character would also have been more in the forefront of the story. This also would have given him an opportunity to have a personality in this particular Marvel installment.
The film is a continuation of Marvel’s “Multiverse Saga.” In the ever expanding, reality defying MCU, Brave New World played it safe. When new characters were involved, they were to be stand-ins for previous fan favorites. This is most accurately shown in Ruth Bat-Seraph aka Sabra (Shira Haas), whose similarities to the deceased Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) who died in Endgame. Additional unnecessary editions include Seth Voelker aka Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), who was shoehorned in during the film’s reshoots and served barely anything to the story. It is also disappointing that Giancarlo Esposito campaigned to be a part of the MCU for so long and took the role of such a forgettable character.
Villains, while consistently striking, remain one of Marvel’s weakest spots. Brave New World is far from an exception. Tim Blake Nelson made his first Marvel appearance since 2008, reprising his role as biologist Samuel Sterns from the Hulk film, seeking revenge in retaliation to his imprisonment. When it comes to villains, the need for revenge is the most recycled motive. It is tiring being a Marvel fan in 2025. I am holding on by my thumbs.
As usual, Marvel put a scene at the end of the credits, leaving us all at the end of our seats. The scene featured a captured Sterns warning Wilson of an incoming threat, asking how he can protect his world from…the others. The multiverse is not a new concept to the MCU and that was not a very interesting way to end the film. It sort of seemed to poke and remind us that there is more to come, begging us not to lose interest yet.
Brave New World had the tools to be a very formative and important addition to the MCU storyline(s), yet they just could not nail the project together. The script fell short, the main character felt at arm’s length and there were forced entries of mediocre characters sporting a star-spangled background. The military propaganda was dialed to an 11, grossly taking any opportunity they can get to showcase just how powerful and cool they are while also putting on full display their planes and their guns.
All in all, Brave New World was just another attempt by Marvel to get a nugget of the glory days returned to the MCU. While there were more flaws than positives in the movie, it managed to continue the main storyline and finally told us what the heck is going on with the celestial island thing. So those are a few things that the film has going for it. When it comes down to it, Marvel will continue to throw the same slop at the wall, holding space with the possibility that maybe something will work this time. Captain America: Brave New World was insane because the insanity was doing the same thing over and over again rather than a different result.
