de facto film reviews 2 stars

As the first MCU film since last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, the newest entry in the ongoing saga comes after numerous delays, from both strikes, to creative overhauls involving reshoots, re-edits and endless production troubles. The first film centered around Sam Wilson’s Captain America, following the very good Disney+ miniseries The Falcon & the Winter Solider, there should be much to expect this time around. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has been a consistent highlight among Marvel’s supporting roster and his miniseries proved there was a compelling case to continue focusing on this character in the future. Unfortunately, Sam Wilson’s feature length tenure as Captain America has all the oomph and dramatic heft of an extended episode.

Courtesy Marvel

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has taken over the reins as Captain America alongside his new partner, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who has taken on the Falcon mantle. Sam has been welcomed to the White House by newly elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, originally played by the late, William Hurt) and decides to take with him his partner, Joaquin, and his friend, the original Super Solider, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Ross informs Sam that he wants him to help restart the Avengers Initiative, but before talks can advance, an  attempt to assassinate Ross is launched and Isaiah, under a mysterious form of brainwash, is the culprit. Sam seeks to clear Isaiah’s name but comes in direct conflict with a deadly plot schemed by Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), which also involves Ross and a former Black Widow named Ruth (Shira Haas).

Director Julius Onah (Luce, The Cloverfield Paradox) aims to bring a Manchurian Candidate-style political thriller in the same vein as Captain America: The Winter Solider, however, that film contained a gripping story and exciting action, Brave New World has a flat narrative with little intrigue and a serious lack of cohesion. Saddled with the same production and narrative issues that have plagued recent Marvel films, the new Captain America film considerably lets down its compelling hero. Anthony Mackie is a bona fide movie star whose Sam Wilson was given a considerable amount of focus in the miniseries The Falcon & the Winter Soldier. Unfortunately, very little of that depth and character weight translated over to the big screen. Credited to five screenwriters, Brave New World juggles too many clunky plot threads that fail to coalesce into a compelling narrative. Instead of focusing on our magnetic hero, this Captain America movie feels more of a sequel to The Incredible Hulk for some reason.

In what’s becoming an increasing issue for Marvel, so much of their recent big screen input is following or is closely tied to a Disney+ series that not all audiences have seen. In Brave New World, many of the characters and dynamics are taken from that series and are given much thinner characterizations. Carl Lumbly does great work as Isaiah Bradley, the original Super Solider, a black man who was wrongfully imprisoned for decades after having been tortured and experimented on. Lumbly’s Bradley was introduced in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier and was a real highlight, exploring a rich character that adds a sense of pathos to the Captain America legend. In this film, Bradley is all but robbed of the depth we’ve seen before, making most general audiences who haven’t seen the show wondering why the character plays such an integral role. And as with the rest of the film, the political messaging is muddled and devoid of vision. President Ross is quite overtly shaded as a Trumpian figure, but with a more optimistic viewpoint. Sam’s mistrust of the government stemming from the events of Civil War and his friendship with Isaiah Bradley is an ongoing theme, but is never explored beyond a throwaway line here and there. The entire identity and politics of this film are gutless. Any thorny edges to the material are severely sanded down to fit a routine, cookie cutter narrative.

Courtesy Marvel

With much of the film’s focus being split between Sam’s mission to clear Isaiah’s name and President Ross’s mission to get a peace treaty signed, Sam is left with practically no arc to speak of and he struggles to be the lead in his own film. The overly busy plotting is filled with too many uninteresting, ill-advised plot detours. Characters and subplots stand out for the likely reshoots they were. Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder is a major baddie who almost never interacts with another character apart from Mackie. Tim Blake Nelson reprises his villainous role from The Incredible Hulk and adds very little in terms of menace or presence. Once the climactic battle at the White House occurs, you’ll be ready for it to be over.

Despite some strong fight choreography, the action sequences are nothing to write home about. There’s an attempt at keeping the situations and action more grounded by MCU standards, but the spectacle becomes the same shrill visual noise that has plagued all of these films recently. The visual effects are largely hit-or-miss, the lighting highlights the artificial backdrops for every exterior scene and there simply is no weight to anything. For audiences holding out the Red Hulk will liven things up, well, not quite. I actually think it’s a major spoiler to advertise that Red Hulk is in this, given how little screentime he has, but this is yet another missed opportunity. Ross’s transformation into the fan favorite character comes so late in the film and only serves to give the film its big, shiny showcase for spectacle, it all feels mechanical.

Courtesy Marvel

Captain America: Brave New World is another sign that the Marvel Industrial Complex is simply spinning its wheels. Bogged down by an uninspired spy plot, middling action sequences and head-scratching creative decisions, this latest Captain America film simply isn’t interesting. You just have to wonder what exactly is the plan for Marvel post-upcoming Avengers Films and X-Men. How many more formless, conveyor belt slops are we willing to accept? Maybe Fantastic Four will be good? Probably not.

Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters.