This film is the culmination of an origin movie from over a decade ago. “Captain America: The First Avenger?” No, 2008’s “Incredible Hulk.”
“Brave New World” picks up a few years after the events of the “Falcon and Winter Soldier” series. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is now Captain America and he is assisted in missions by a sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). The film picks up with Sam and friends attending an event at the White House where General Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) is now president.
During the event, an attempted assassination takes place and a friend of Sam’s is framed. Captain America sets off in the aftermath to clear his friend’s name and bring the plotters to justice, before world relations breakdown as several nations are also vying for a new valuable mineral.
The headline is not hyperbole, the latest “Captain America” adventure and the first with Sam Wilson is completely dull. The movie features a weak investigation where the reveal is quite obvious, which ties into a convoluted plot about the U.S. and Japan being pulled into war that’s so nonsensical to the point where it carries no weight.
The movie actually comes in shy of two hours, yet it wears out its welcome by having a meandering plot that offers little in terms of surprises or captivating character moments. Also, not to say there’s quite a comparison in quality, but I couldn’t help but think this movie has a similarity to “Madame Web” in how it treats its main character.
That 2024 release had its main hero be somewhat of a pedestrian in a story revolving around three other characters. It’s similar with “Brave New World,” as the hero gets roped into a feud between two figures from earlier Marvel movies that have much more going on character-wise.
That isn’t inherently a problem. You can have films where the main character gets involved in a situation they aren’t originally invested in, such “Mad Max: Fury Road.” But this isn’t the case here. This is supposed to be a film squarely about Captain America and his impact on the world, and yet the film is so largely driven by two characters who would fit better in a “Hulk” sequel.
On that front, it’s a pretty underwhelming conclusion to something that was teased in the 2008 “Hulk” picture. It’s also strange that the film ties so much into that “Incredible Hulk” movie considering a major plot point in this flick is the Celestial which was featured in 2021’s “Eternals.”
To be fair to Sam, the film does touch on some of his conflicting emotions over being the new Captain America. He faces some apprehension about how he can live up to Steve Rogers and wonders if he can fill the role properly without the superhero serum.
He’s also skeptical about how he should be a representation of the country considering its racial history. The problem is that was all partially covered in the miniseries with the character. Also, while Mackie is a capable actor, the material limits his performance to feeling stiff.
One can at least give some praise to the action. There are some truly entertaining moments, and the way Sam utilizes his razor-sharp wings provides spectacle. Unfortunately, the movie loses points for its climatic sequence that ends up being mostly a letdown.
It is a total CGI mess, to the point where it looks like everyone’s standing next to a green screen. Plus, not to get too heavily into spoilers, but the conclusion involves a character trying something, it not working, then trying the exact same thing again, and suddenly it magically works.
As a fairly standard action flick, a person can do worse in picking something to watch. But it’s pretty clear the Marvel magic is gone. There are some solid action set pieces and the movie’s relatively short runtime makes it a compact, watchable flick. However, the film’s plot is a mess, it’s cinematically lackluster, and much of the character work is weak. 2.4 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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