Friends, loyal readers, children of all ages… some of us are getting old. Believe it or not, the MCU as we know it today is 17 years old. It’s almost old enough to vote. Well, over all that time, anyone is apt to go through some growing pains and Marvel has had its fair share.
As Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters this week, we were left with questions. Will the next installment in the Captain America series soar to the heights we all know it can? Or has this franchise flown a little too close to the sun?
Captain America: Brave New World finds Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) struggling to gain his footing under the pressure of being the new “Captain America”. We all know Steve Rogers left big shoes to fill. Through all this, he’s forced to contend with a mysterious international incident, some spicy world relations, and lots and lots of treaties. Politicians have to politic, after all. Kids, that’s probably all you’re going to get. You know, spoilers.
Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, and Giancarlo Esposito co-star in the movie. Julius Onah directs Captain America: Brave New World from a script he co-wrote with Rob Edwards, Malcom Spellman, Dalan Musson, and Peter Glanz.
Let’s start with the important stuff for the A+ Marvel disciples out there. The Marvel homework. I think it’s possible to dive into this without spoilers. Consider this a syllabus. Those looking for a studied, prepared dive into this new Captain America iteration should do a little Disney+ cramming before setting out to the theater. This plot integrates several references from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Eternals, and The Incredible Hulk. Remember, you need 2008’s The Incredible Hulk… not 2003’s Hulk.
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These films combine to form the basis for Captain America: Brave New World. There are references, plot points, and story arcs that all harken back to these specific MCU entries. Now, the slacker that I am? I was not prepared and I feel like I was missing out on some of the script’s zigs and zags. In the interest of full disclosure, I did feel like it hindered my enjoyment of the movie. You’ve been warned.
Kids, I hate to say it, but this one is messy. It’s been well-reported that Captain America: Brave New World had a winding, complex road to release. There were reshoots and release date changes. It’s frustrating to report that the reshoots only served to do one thing, dilute any voice the film once had. The narrative, the filmmaking, heck, even the performances struggle to step out from what is sadly, a poorly conceived, hastily written sequel.
Full disclosure, I found myself a little bored this time around. As mentioned, there’s a lot of politics and this leads to a very “talky” script. Mackie only gets to suit up in his Captain America garb three times. Luckily, in each time, the film certainly looks to be having fun with the action sequences. The final battle in and around Washington D.C. is probably the strongest in the film and harkens back to the Marvel of yore
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At the same time though, I wish the Marvel teams would allow these movies to step back into the real world. It’s been an ongoing issue, especially going back to at least Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While shooting in “The Volume” can open up brand new alien worlds, sometimes reality can only stand in for itself. Shooting on entirely digital soundstages creates a barrier between the audience, the actors and the world. This is a lesson Disney refuses to learn.
It should come as no surprise that Anthony Mackie is the bright spot in this largely unimpressive slog. He’s given a large amount of his career to the MCU and it’s a true shame they couldn’t muster something better. Mackie deserves far better than what he’s been given.
With the exception of Mackie, the rest of the cast struggles to stand out in a film that’s utterly devoid of humanity. Shira Haas cuts an intriguing figure, but her character is left with nothing to do and ends up as little more than set dressing. Haas, however, is said to be one of the most impacted by the reshoots, and in the changes, they lost any purpose she once served in the narrative.
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Then there are the villains. That’s right. Plural. This film which clocks in at less than two hours long has three villains. It doesn’t need three villains. Perhaps this is evidence of Marvel’s haste to move forward or to find a new course after the collapse of the Kang Dynasty, but the amount that’s shoehorned into this script only serves to squander any potential it initially had. How do you waste Giancarlo Esposito? Sadly, it seems the answer is easily.
In the grand scheme of things, Captain America: Brave New World spends an hour and fifty-eight minutes trying to cover as much ground as possible and ends up getting lost. Too many cooks have spoiled the script which feels like little more than hastily plotted beats needed to justify the next handful of movies. Remember, we have a little more than a year before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters and time is moving fast. The MCU started with a love and respect for not only the characters, but also the Marvel Universe. I hope Marvel once again finds their way back to the love and humanity they once showed in The Infinity Saga.
Captain America: Brave New World opens in theaters on February 14, 2025.
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