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Five months after winning the U.S. Election, President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) sends Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and Joaquin Torres/Falcon (Danny Ramirez) into Mexico to stop Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) from selling stolen items. The mission is a success despite Sidewinder escaping, with Sam bringing back a canister of adamantium collected from Celestial Island. Ross hopes to unite world leaders by proposing a treaty to control the worldwide mining and distribution of adamantium, and he invites Sam and Joaquin to a White House summit. Also joining the pair is Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who attempts to assassinate President Ross but denies any knowledge of the incident. Sam seeks to clear Isaiah's name, working alongside Joaquin while also receiving assistance from Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), a former Israeli Black Widow who now works as Ross's security advisor. With a war looming between the U.S. and Japan over Celestial Island, Sam uncovers a conspiracy masterminded by Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), whose grand plan involves ruining Ross's reputation.
Instead of building upon the previous Captain America movies, this fourth instalment is a follow-up to two of the most forgettable and disliked entries to the MCU: The Incredible Hulk and Eternals. It also vaguely follows on from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but the Disney+ series feels startlingly inessential in the grand scheme of the franchise, aside from introducing Isaiah Bradley, whose presence here feels incidental. If you do not remember The Incredible Hulk, Eternals or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, do not fret - the movie perfunctorily reveals all relevant information, with the script going heavy on exposition. The first half-hour recaps everything we already know, from Isaiah's hatred of the U.S. government (remember, they imprisoned and experimented on him!) and Ross's cruel reputation to the massive Celestial hand that emerged during Eternals.
Perhaps the movie's greatest sin is how it completely ruins the movie's emotional core. Throughout the picture, Ross speaks about wanting to reconcile with his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler), and go for a walk with her. But during the perfect moment to bring her into the story, when Ross turns into Red Hulk and wreaks havoc around Washington D.C. (Red Hulk was all over the marketing, it's not a fucking spoiler), she remains absent. As a result, the movie ruins the opportunity for a poignant denouement; instead, Sam delivers a pretentious speech to talk Ross down, reminiscent of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's heavily ridiculed, god-awful ending. Speaking of Red Hulk, despite his prominence in the marketing materials, Ross only transforms in the final ten minutes of the picture, and the "twist" that reveals how gamma radiation entered Ross's body is utterly risible.
Captain America: Brave New World recycles ideas from Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, and it is clear that director Julius Onah wanted to make a grounded espionage thriller influenced by the Russo Brothers. However, it is all for naught without an intelligent screenplay foundation, and the inclusion of the Red Hulk contradicts the gritty tone. The notion that Sam could fight Red Hulk in close combat is not even remotely believable - not even Steve Rogers, with the Super Soldier Serum, could fight the Hulk, and Tony Stark needed an elaborate Hulkbuster suit in Avengers: Age of Ultron to give him any chance. There's no getting around the fact that Captain America: Brave New World feels like three movies awkwardly combined into one dissonant whole, with throwaway plot elements like Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder, who appears in only three scenes and has no bearing on the jumbled central narrative. Characters were added (Sidewinder), removed (Seth Rollins as a member of the Serpent Society), or changed (Ruth Bat-Seraph, who no longer wears a Sabra costume in the final film) during post-production, which reflects the narrative's lack of cohesion.
The pacing and editing of Captain America: Brave New World are choppy as hell, which reflects the extensive post-production tinkering to make the film as short and palatable as possible. Even though the movie runs just under 110 minutes before the credits, it feels two and a half hours long. Captain America: Brave New World also tones down the incendiary political dialogue compared to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, even though it feels like Disney and Marvel opted to trim such content during the editing process. Alas, the poor quality of the special effects is further evidence of the constant re-jigging. Like countless other recent MCU projects, the digital effects are phoney and obvious, from fake-looking CGI backdrops to a Red Hulk that looks considerably less convincing than the Hulk in 2012's The Avengers. To the movie's credit, the basic production qualities are otherwise fine, from the slick photography to the tense score. Additionally, several of the action sequences are perfectly serviceable as Sam engages targets in close combat, including a tense showdown with Sidewinder. The camp value of the Red Hulk sequence also enhances the film's entertainment value in an ironic scene.
Anthony Mackie is perfectly likable and charming as Sam Wilson, and he was the perfect sidekick for Chris Evans's Steve Rogers. But reducing Captain America to a mere mantle is an ill-considered mistake, and the script can never get to the heart of who Sam Wilson is. Plus, Captain America: Brave New World spends too much time trying to drive home the message that Sam is Captain America, which feels like an unnecessary thematic retread of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Frankly, Mackie deserves better than this slipshod material. Meanwhile, although Harrison Ford is a fantastic actor, his interpretation of Ross feels like an entirely different character, with Ford seemingly phoning this one in for a big bag of Marvel cash (to paraphrase Deadpool). Also in the cast is Danny Ramirez, who returns as Sam's quippy sidekick, Joaquin Torres. Unfortunately, Ramirez fails to make much of an impression, as he feels redundant to the story. Whereas Steve Rogers recruited Sam out of necessity in The Winter Soldier, Joaquin is simply there for the sake of having a sidekick.
The supporting cast of Captain America: Brave New World is underwhelming, especially compared to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which had Baron Zemo and John Walker. This sequel even forgets about Sharon Carter despite the show's post-credits scene positioning her as a villain. Onah instead stuffs the movie with uninteresting new characters that do not receive a sufficient introduction. The most glaring example is Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph, who the movie positions as a Black Widow surrogate, but without the necessary development or backstory to make us care. Furthermore, although it's fun to see Tim Blake Nelson return to the MCU, and the actor gives it his all, there's no getting around his goofy look: he resembles a stick of broccoli. The movie wants the return of Nelson's Samuel Sterns to be a memorable mic-drop moment, but the reveal lacks weight and significance. After all, Sterns only appeared once previously in The Incredible Hulk, which came out in 2008. The marketing also spoiled the twist.
Marvel scored a rare win in 2024 with their sole theatrical release, the incredibly profitable Deadpool and Wolverine, which knowingly poked fun at the poor quality of recent MCU titles. Alas, with Captain America: Brave New World, the MCU is back in the doldrums, though it is, at least, marginally better than The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Despite a few entertaining action set pieces and some intriguing ideas, it's difficult to care about this story, which feels too disconnected from the previous Captain America movies despite being an ostensible sequel. One can only imagine an alternate version of this picture with Steve Rogers instead of Isaiah Bradley. Captain America: Brave New World is, quite simply, a wasted opportunity - a passionless blockbuster that exemplifies the qualities many of the MCU's critics always associate with the long-running franchise.
4.7/10
