The Marvel Cinematic Universe at large got to take a break in 2024. Sure, “Deadpool & Wolverine” was one of the biggest hits of the year, but that was more about Disney showing off its newly-acquired 20th Century Fox toys than advancing the lore of its bread-and-butter franchise. But “Captain America: Brave New World” brings back the classics, invoking two characters that brought fans into the MCU in the first place: Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.
Sure, it’s the Sam “Falcon” Wilson (Anthony Mackie) version of Captain America, and the Hulk connection doesn’t actually involve Bruce Banner, but a good movie can make audiences care about the evolution of these characters even without the more familiar faces. Unfortunately, this particular movie seems to be reminding people less of the glory days of the MCU and more of why it needed to take a break.
It has been six years since Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers handed over his shield and moniker to protégé Sam Wilson. Before he was even comfortable calling himself Captain America, Wilson went through an adventure with the Winter Soldier on a Disney+ show I didn’t see, and now he spends his days on government-sanctioned missions with his own protégé, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who seems to have been unofficially promoted to Falcon.
The team performs so well in a mission to stop mercenary Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), that they and mentor Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) earn an invitation to the White House under old Hulk nemesis and newly-elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over the role from the late William Hurt). Ross is so happy with Wilson’s recent work that he offers to let him reform a sanctioned version of The Avengers. But the deal falls through when Bradley inexplicably tries to assassinate Ross, which leads to Bradley imprisoned and Cap wanting answers.
Conducting an unauthorized investigation against the orders of Ross and security advisor Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), Wilson discovers that Bradley was the victim of mind control. The goal was not to kill Ross, but to kill a peace treaty that he hoped would define his legacy. The next step is to cause a world war to kill the treaty, because the entity pulling the strings on the conspiracy just hates Ross that much. As if the possibility of war weren’t enough, the villain has another trick up their sleeve related to the Ross-turning-into-Red-Hulk imagery that’s been used in all the advertising.
The popular complaints about this movie are legitimate. The evil plan at the center of the film is ridiculously complicated and requires multiple exposition dumps, and in addition to the multiple dumps about Ross’s ascension to the Presidency, there’s a whole lot of dumping going on in this movie. New characters like Torres, Bat-Seraph, and even Sidewinder add little to the story, the latter of which is especially disappointing considering how much I’ve liked Esposito in other roles. The villain is pathetic and their motivations are childish, even idiotic. And I’m not sure if this is the fault of Ford or the effects team, but Red Hulk looks silly, not threatening.
All of this leads me to not recommend “Captain America: Brave New World.” There are things to like about this movie, namely the performances by Mackie and Ford (when Ross is in human form). Mackie’s passion proves that he is more than capable of carrying a Captain America movie, though hopefully he’ll get to carry better ones in the future. Ford conveys a real anguish with a character whose world is doomed to come crashing down at any moment, he just wants to achieve one goal for good before that moment comes.
These two efforts, along with Lumbly as a traumatized veteran forced to live through all-new traumas, come close to saving the movie, they really do. But the MCU is the gold standard for blockbusters, and it needs to put out better complete packages than what we get here.
Grade: C
“Captain America: Brave New World” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language. Its running time is 118 minutes.
Robert R. Garver is a graduate of the Cinema Studies program at New York University. His weekly movie reviews have been published since 2006.
Last Update: Feb 17, 2025 8:45 am CST
