Chris Evans' Captain America has quickly become one of the main faces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But a lot of time has passed since the premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, a lot of time has passed. Steve Rogers is no longer Captain America - and the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself has been shaken up - but the audience has not been left without a new generation of heroes. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) became the new symbol of America, as told in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series.
Captain America: Brave New World continues the stories of the show and the Falcon, who is still getting used to his new role. Additionally, the movie tries to develop the storylines that the writers laid down in The Eternals and, who would have thought, in The Incredible Hulk. And at the same time, it also tries to be a down-to-earth political thriller with a claim to social commentary on current US politics. And it seems that the film succeeds in doing all of this, but it still doesn't evoke any particular positive emotions.
| Title | Captain America: Brave New World |
| Genre | comic book movie |
| Director | Julius Ona |
| Starring | Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Zosha Rockemore, Carl Lambly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson and others |
| Studios | Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Timing | 1 hour 58 minutes |
| Year | 2025 |
| Website | IMDb |
Sam Wilson tries to take a responsible attitude to the life and duties of Captain America, but the shadow of Steve Rogers' achievements seems to constantly hang over the hero. Besides, Sam is not a super soldier, but an ordinary person. However, he still has the respect of the military and civilians due to his own ideals and ability to not give up under any circumstances. His efforts are noticed by the new US President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), who had previously been dismissive of superheroes, but now seems to be trying to change. But gradually, the political situation in America begins to deteriorate, and Wilson finds himself in the center of a large-scale political conflict that threatens a major war. And the main enemy may be hiding among the president's inner circle.
From the synopsis alone, one can understand what the new Captain America movie is trying to become. The emphasis on political intrigue and the general earthiness of the story reminds us of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That's why, by the way, there's almost nothing about the multiverse in the movie, so if you like this particular theme in Marvel films, the new movie may be disappointing.
Instead, the new Captain America seeks to understand who is trying to put the United States on the path to war. The central driver of the plot is adamantium, which was found on the corpse island of a celestial from The Eternals. Ross seems to want to share this valuable resource with the whole world in order to strengthen diplomatic relations between countries and show that only together can humanity repel supernatural threats. However, not everyone agrees with this scenario - and Ross himself has enough skeletons in his closet and ulterior motives.
The way Captain America: Brave New World works with the concept of a shared cinematic universe is one of the best elements of the movie. It is not overloaded with cameos and references, as is often the case with Marvel, when it becomes almost impossible to watch such a kaleidoscope of terms and names. All the references and cameos in the film are appropriate, and some scenes are completely unexpected in terms of their level of thoughtfulness and authenticity. It's been a long time since the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been so stable.
The problem is that it tries too hard to be "The Second War," which is why it loses its individuality and originality. Even some key plot points seem to have been taken directly from the 2014 comic book, with some characters replaced. This is especially offensive in the context of Sam Wilson's character. After all, according to the comics, his formation as Captain America helped to look at the themes of racism and patriotism in the United States from an interesting angle. The movie completely leaves this story arc behind.
However, he still tries to show parallels between the scenario and the real world, especially against the backdrop of Donald Trump's presidency. It looks as naïve as possible, especially the constant phrases about unity and "only together we can win" in the context of America as the most diplomatic country in the world. At the same time, the plot can be interpreted in such a way that the main enemies of the Americans are the Americans themselves. And the final moralizations and scenes are laughable - they are so detached from reality. It's better not to flirt with the "actuality" at all than to do it so toothlessly. The scene about "de-escalation" can only make Ukrainians smile cynically, although the film presents it as a manifestation of maximum heroism.
However, the good acting of the key characters helps us to believe the events on the screen at least a little more. Anthony Mackie always gives the impression of a pleasant person with whom you can have a fun chat in some bar, and Sam Wilson has retained these features in the new movie. But what's more interesting is the still lively Harrison Ford, whose depths of acting talent shine brightly even in a rather simple movie comic. So Disney and Marvel did not recast General Ross, previously played by William Hurt, for nothing. The result was not just the involvement of a famous star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the competent development of the character, which Ford helped to realize on the screen. Giancarlo Esposito, on the other hand, doesn't offer anything particularly interesting to the audience, but his role is not very important, so he doesn't have time to get bored.
If you watch Marvel movies solely for the fights and action, then the new Captain America will satisfy you, but it won't delight you. The choreography of the fights suffers, you can often see unnecessary movements and illogical decisions. And the relative brevity of the story does not allow us to demonstrate more pathos and epic. However, the final battle turned out to be successful and fits well with the tone of the movie. It's just that it was spoiled in the trailers, but that's a big question for the marketing department of Disney and Marvel.
Even the slightly goofy humor that Marvel movies are often criticized for is present in Captain America: Brave New World is not so common - and even turned out to be quite appropriate. And the visuals in the movie are of a high standard. Probably, the smaller scale of the story helped with this. However, knowing that the film had to be reshot several times, one wonders what the crew had in mind at the beginning.
And most importantly, Captain America: Brave New World does not solve Marvel's current problems. The new Avengers are still not even on the horizon, although the movie speaks directly about the possibility of assembling a team. No general development, just empty words and vague hints. It seems that's all Marvel has to offer now.
In a situation like this, the subtitle of the film Brave New World should be understood not in the context of its story, but in relation to the general comic book industry. The industry continues to prepare us with rather meaningless and aimless stories, as if it no longer understands why it is doing all this.