Jeanine’s Review: “Captain America: Brave New World”
Captain America: Brave New World, brings audience members back to the Captain America franchise four years after the release of the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The fourth in the Captain America series and the 35th film in the MCU, it showcases Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as he tries to navigate murky geopolitical waters and define what his role as the latest Captain America will be.
*************** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS ***************
Following the wake of The Eternals, which ended with an enormous stone Celestial just sitting out there in the Indian Ocean, mankind has done what it does best, which is figure out how to profiteer and bogart (un)natural resources. In this case, the desirable element is adamantium, and the world is poised to fight over it. Enter Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) Once a US general and instigator of the Hulk, now US president and ready to prove he’s converted from a hawk to a dove in hopes his estranged daughter Betty Ross will come back to him. To this end, he actively pursues a peace treaty with Japan, which will ensure an equitable share of the element to all countries.
In another attempt to reverse his domineering image, Ross taps Wilson to be his point man in rebuilding the Avengers–the superhero group he himself dismantled, as Wilson reminds him. Unfortunately, this congenial partnership is short-lived, as Wilson’s guest to the White House, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly,) the original African-American Captain America, joins a group of men who suddenly open fire on Ross at a reception. The outcome leaves Bradley in the penitentiary, Wilson a persona non grata, and Ross progressively more twitchy and agitated as the stress of leading a country and trying to learn diplomacy renders him frustrated and emotionally labile–something the little white pills he continually takes does not seem to cure.
Ultimately, Wilson must put his wings and shield through their paces as he races to exonerate Bradley and discover exactly who is pulling the strings that are bringing the world ever closer to war.
To get the most out of the film, viewers should probably try to rewatch the preceding Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as well as the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie, as much of the plot points and returning characters originate from those stories. (If you have the time, you might want to rewatch The Eternals as well, however that’s a lot to ask.) Without that basis, the movie is certainly watchable, but may leave people with many questions. It is possible that even with that knowledge they may leave with many questions.
While the film is nominally about Captain America, one gets the feeling that if a studio hires Harrison Ford, they are going to maximize their use of him, and this is certainly true of Brave New World which is as much about Ross’ arc from triumphant politician to frenzied, irrational bully, to deranged monster as it is about Wilson’s struggle to grow into his suit. Ford is a master of these sorts of characters that are all inflated confidence with a hollow of insecurity inside and Ross is no exception. The downside of this is that when he does ultimately become Red Hulk (as given away in the trailers,) the CG rampaging doesn’t really make up for the functional loss of Ford at the climax.
The other issue is that Ford (taking over the role from the late William Hurt) is arguably too sympathetic for the role. It’s hard not to root for Ford whenever he’s on the screen and here…maybe you shouldn’t? Ross has done terrible things, not just to Bruce Banner, as we discover, and with Ford it feels as though he delivers forgiveness for the character without Ross necessarily earning it.
Mackie does his usual charming job as the conflicted Wilson, torn between his desire to serve his country and his feelings of inadequacy when compared to the legacy of Steve Rogers. It does seem as though he worked through this issue in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it wouldn’t be a Marvel story if everyone wasn’t touched with angst about what they were doing at any given time. The few moments of levity they allow Mackie are such welcome relief from his usually morose situations, it makes you wish they would let him relax a bit more and enjoy his superhero job. What does work well in the story is how it ultimately shows Wilson learning to use his empathy and his background in counseling to be his own version of Captain America as opposed to always trying to live up to the super-powered single-minded faith of Roger’s Captain America.
It’s probably not possible to watch Brave New World and not compare it to a variety of things, including the real-life political situations the world finds itself with today. It is conceivable that no matter where you stand on the hysterical breakdown of a man entirely unequipped to lead a country, you may find that the film alternately goes too far or not far enough in its depiction of such a creature. By the end, there is a stark contrast between Ross and some of the other villains of the piece: They all break laws and cause enormous amounts of damage and loss of life, while putting the welfare of the world in jeopardy for their own self-absorbed interests. Of all the criminals who wind up in jail, one gets to keep his professional legacy and ultimately acquires everything he aimed for, while the others just get prison. There is a moral to this, somewhere.
Captain America: Brave New World is presented by Marvel Studios. Rated PG-13, it stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford.
Directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Story by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson, Screenplay by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson and Julius Onah & Peter Glanz. The Executive Producers are Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth.
The film enters general release on February 14, 2025, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
