Captain America: Brave New World (dir. Julius Onah)
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 118 mins
UK Distributor: Marvel Studios
UK Release Date: 14 February 2025
WHO’S IN CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD?
Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, Liv Tyler, Takehiro Hira, William Mark McCullough
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Julius Onah (director, writer), Peter Glanz and Matthew Orton (writers), Kevin Feige and Nate Moore (producers), Laura Karpman (composer), Kramer Morgenthau (cinematographer), Madeleine Gavin and Matthew Schmidt (editors)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Sam Wilson (Mackie) investigates a dangerous new conspiracy as Captain America…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD?
“You’re not Steve Rogers,” Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson is told outright in his first headlining gig as the new Captain America. But in a lot of ways, that’s probably a good thing. For one, it’s cool to have a fresh new approach to the classic Marvel hero after years of the good-natured Rogers’ selfless actions, with Wilson’s take employing much of the spirited charisma he brought to his role as the Falcon, ensuring that he simply isn’t Rogers 2.0. Plus, his proven track record as not just the former Captain America’s winged accomplice but also as a cool and engaging character in his own right makes it easier to accept his new mantle in the absence of the OG hero.
However, in a lot of other ways, Captain America: Brave New World shows the pitfalls of not being Steve Rogers. In this case, the film is much messier and less tightly strung than the previous Rogers-led Captain America entries, or indeed most other recent Marvel movies, which can sometimes make it difficult to follow as its own standalone feature. For its flaws, though, the movie is at least entertaining enough to see it past the less stable parts, just about proving that Captain America can work okay enough even when he isn’t Steve Rogers.
Under Julius Onah’s direction, Mackie’s Wilson is up to his usual day-saving tricks as Captain America, with his trusty Falcon wannabe sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) by his side. Soon, the recently-elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, replacing the late William Hurt) calls on Wilson to rebuild the fractured Avengers team, but progress comes to a grinding halt when Ross barely survives an assassination attempt at the White House – committed, to Sam’s shock, by his super-soldier mentor Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Against Ross’s orders, Wilson sets out to uncover the mastermind of the attack and clear Isaiah’s name, eventually coming across the vengeful mutated scientist Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) whose plan to drag the President’s name in the mud leads to… well, you’ve seen the promos for this film, and know exactly how Ford’s Ross plays into it all.
Sadly, the fact that we already know what ends up happening to this character, and what he transforms into, is an unusually self-defeating tactic by the usually spoiler-phobic Marvel. The event itself, and thus much of what has been shown in the trailers, takes place during the climax of the film, so beforehand the viewer is left waiting until such a moment finally happens, because that’s what has been at the forefront of the marketing. Until then, director Onah does his best to engage viewers with some decent action, while Mackie works his natural charm in scenes where it seems even he is clueless as to how long it’s taking for him to finally face this slightly familiar foe, but for most of it you’re really just waiting for the main event to get underway, while not paying much attention to what’s going on in the meantime.
Acting more as a belated sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk – to where it wouldn’t shock you if Edward Norton’s since-recast Bruce Banner suddenly showed up again – than a true Captain America entry, Brave New World strangely shares a fair bit in common with that early MCU movie, beyond its returning characters. The film carries itself at a quickened pace, similar to director Louis Leterrier’s film, while doubling down on CG-heavy action sequences that vary in quality, including some questionable green-screen later on that feels wildly cheap for this multi-million-dollar movie. However, it also shares that same sense of rushed characterisation, with the main hero lacking the necessary depth for him to feel as though he’s progressed as a character by the time the film wraps up, while others tend to come and go at necessity, until you forget that certain players like Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah and Giancarlo Esposito as a disposable new villain are even a part of the main plot.
At least, in both films, the action is slick enough to hold it together, and Brave New World does have some good set-pieces that more often than not rely on strong fight choreography, gripping imagery and memorable performances to deliver on that front. Certain aspects of the cinematography and musical score give it the vibe of a gritty 70s paranoia thriller, presenting the film with a unique enough visual style to set itself apart from some of the glossier MCU entries of late. As for the supporting cast, Harrison Ford of course leaves the biggest impression here, making the role his own while still honouring what the late Hurt did with it, and in later scenes one imagines he’s having fun when the part becomes a lot more reliant on motion-capture effects. However, you do still have a few MCU traits that are growing tiresome, even for those who are still with the franchise at this point, like needless tone-disrupting quips designed to add humour in moments that do not require them at all, and the obligatory tease for what’s to come next, which in fairness is reserved for the film’s only post-credit scene.
In all, Captain America: Brave New World is a mixed bag. It’s certainly not the franchise low-point that some have already deemed it to be (which, given the film’s rocky production history, makes it all the more miraculous it’s better than it should be), and of course it’s far from the heights of past MCU triumphs, many of them Captain America movies as led by Steve Rogers. But as we’ve learned, just because it’s not Rogers carrying the shield this time doesn’t mean that the hero can’t lead a decent enough movie. Not a great one, but certainly one that does the job.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Captain America: Brave New World offers some decent action and a fresh lead in Anthony Mackie’s charismatic Sam Wilson, but a messy plot – much of it spoiled by the film’s own marketing – and rushed characterisation leave it well below the MCU’s standard.
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