For nearly 3 years now, Marvel Studios has kept an uncanny track record of releasing theatrical hits and misses. Going back to 2022, Marvel went from the massive misfire of Thor: Love and Thunder to the success of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That was then immediately followed by the wide disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, though Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 restored great faith in the MCU soon after. But that didn’t last long either, as The Marvels next became the MCU’s largest box office bomb ever. Then, after some time to breathe, Deadpool & Wolverine soared to incredible heights last year, grossing over $1 billion as the franchise’s first rated R movie.
Captain America: Brave New World, the latest chapter in “Phase 5” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is next, and if you haven’t kept up with the pattern, the pendulum is swinging back in the direction of failure. Regardless of what your recent personal opinions on the MCU have been, it’s crazy how the general consensus and overall success of these movies have consistently flipped back and forth. Marvel fans are now too familiar with the emotional rollercoaster of going from “We are so back” to “It’s so over” multiple times a year. Sadly, Captain America: Brave New World continues this ironic cycle, signaling that Marvel Studios desperately needs a change-up to secure its future.
After having to “earn the shield” in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has had time to settle into the role of Captain America naturally. Captain America: Brave New World picks up with Wilson kicking ass as the new Cap, with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) operating as his “guy in the chair.” However, Danny has bright aspirations to do more and pick up the mantle as the next Falcon full-time. Captain America works alongside the U.S. government to take down high-level threats, such as the powerful group of mercenaries known as the Serpent Society, led by the ruthless Seth Voelker, aka Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito). But newly-elected president Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) has other plans.
Barely 100 days into his presidency, Ross is urgently trying to redefine his legacy. Long gone are the days of Thunderbolt Ross the Hulk Hunter. In the wake of Adamantium being discovered from Celestial Island — otherwise known as the body of Tiamut, who rose from the Earth’s surface in Eternals — Ross wants to pass a peace treaty that would ensure the indestructible metal is shared evenly with the biggest international powers, Paris, India, and Japan being included. In addition, he wants Sam to reform the Avengers at the country’s disposal to further rehabilitate his public image as president. While this all might sound promising initially, a mysterious foe is about to reveal that Ross is hiding an ugly side.
Right from the get-go, Captain America: Brave New World is working double-time to convince you that it’s just like the beloved sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Director Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, Luce) establishes a gritty tone and tense atmosphere, putting an emphasis on the character’s tight relationships and slowly raising the personal stakes in each action sequence. In return, this allows Anthony Mackie and Top Gun: Maverick breakout star Danny Ramirez to really flesh out their brotherly dynamic. The duo easily sells you the notion that they could carry the roles of Captain America and the Falcon for years to come, making it all the more frustrating that they were dealt extremely poor cards for this first outing.
Despite the admirable efforts of director Julius Onah and his cast, Captain America: Brave New World shows all the signs of a production that was tampered with almost to the point of self-collapse. It’s hard to discuss this film and not talk about the multiple reshoots and story rewrites that were reported in the trades. These are all regular procedures in the filmmaking process, and even the best movies have been improved with similar retooling. In truth, Captain America: Brave New World probably did get better with how it was reshaped multiple times, but that only makes you think what the hell they were doing prior!
You know, fans joke online about how Marvel Studios can’t figure out how to make a Blade movie, but it turns out that’s just something they are struggling with in most of their projects nowadays. The final version of Captain America: Brave New World is barely cohesive, with multiple characters and subplots either feeling severely underdeveloped because there was no more room to flesh them out or simply because none of the 5 credited writers had any idea what to do with them. The usual MCU downfalls are all here, like jarring CGI, forced humor, and overly edited fight scenes, yet the average moviegoer can be more forgiving of these flaws if the film delivers enough thrills. This does not.
Much of Captain America: Brave New World‘s failure stems from how it tries to be a stealth sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Marvel attempts to deliver a sharp political thriller, with its central conflict revolving around President Thaddeus Ross’ attempts to prove that he’s changed as a person and whether Sam Wilson can trust him after their thorny history. This seems like a juicy narrative at first, as Harrison Ford (taking over for the late great William Hurt) quickly establishes Thunderbolt Ross as being more deceptive than ever with his convincing goodwill and fatherly charm. Furthermore, how Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), is reintroduced through Ross’ lucrative presidential schemes makes a surprising amount of sense.
It doesn’t take long for these exciting plot threads to simmer away, though. For all the intriguing build-up to this grand finale where the brilliant Leader is going to finally expose Ross for being the self-serving fraud that he is, somehow, the movie manages to fumble not one but two of the Hulk’s most popular villains — both played by excellent actors who deserve much better than this. It’s painfully obvious that Marvel had no clue how to create a satisfying showdown between the Red Hulk and Captain America, as the big guy is barely in the film. The huge third-act Washington, D.C. battle teased in all the trailers is short and underwhelming, making you feel cheated as an audience member.
Another sign of studio tampering is seen in the character of Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas). Known as the Israeli superhero Sabra in Marvel Comics, her inclusion in the film stirred online controversy considering the current tragedies occurring in Gaza. While the script does make the bizarre choice to verbally confirm that she is, in fact, from Israel, the version of the character seen in the movie is not the same as her comic counterpart, instead being a former Black Widow operative who now serves as one of the president’s high-ranking officers. Regardless of whether or not she was reworked into the story because of her Israeli background, her part feels altered to the point where she frankly adds nothing.
Captain America: Brave New World is a political thriller that is neither thrilling nor political. The MCU has a complicated history with politics and its private funding from the U.S. military, so it would be naive to expect any kind of far-left radical messaging. However, Captain America: The Winter Soldier actually stood its ground on the topic of surveillance and used its titular hero to distinguish the difference between true American freedom and government control. That wasn’t even considered radical at the time, but perhaps it’s a miracle that theme made it through because today, Marvel can only make movies like Brave New World, where the main political theme is apparently forgiveness on both sides?
When you create visuals like the President of the United States turning into a giant red monster and destroying the White House with the American Flag burning in the background, the political underlining speaks for itself (especially in today’s cultural landscape). Yet, Captain America: Brave New World is too afraid to commit to anything that moments like these carry no weight. These shots also don’t even look cool because the CGI is so poor! If anything, the film tries to convey that “Bad people are not defined by their past and can be forgiven,” which is relatively weak to carry an entire blockbuster and is quite an odd thing to say, given the current political climate.
Yes, this shouldn’t have been a stealth Hulk sequel. Yes, Anthony Mackie and the rest of his supporting cast deserved a better story. But, evidently, it could have still worked to a degree. Even when criticized on how they adapt certain comic book characters and arcs, Marvel Studios has still put enough of the pieces together to make a solid blockbuster. I guess that’s just too much to ask of them these days.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theatres on February 14!
Release Date: February 14, 2025.
Directed by Julius Onah.
Screenplay by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, & Peter Glanz.
Story by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, & Dalan Musson.
Based on Marvel Comics.
Produced by Kevin Feige & Nate Moore.
Executive Producers: Louis D’Esposito, Charles Newirth, & Anthony Mackie.
Main Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford, Liv Tyler, William Mark McCullough, Takehiro Hira, & Sebastian Stan.
Cinematographer: Kramer Morgenthau.
Composer: Laura Karpman.
Production Company: Marvel Studios.
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Runtime: 118 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
