ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is starting to introduce viewers to its next generation of superheroes, and that includes the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, in the newest outing “Captain America: Brave New World.” In the film, Sam (Anthony Mackie) finds himself in the middle of an international incident after a meeting with new President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). He must soon discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind can fully wreak havoc.
I’ve been interested to see what Mackie’s first big-screen outing as Captain America would look like since he officially took up the mantle in the finale of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney+, and I got the chance to see that this past weekend. Ultimately, it ended up being a good use of a couple hours out of my apartment.
To start off, the casting is very good. Anthony Mackie gives a solid performance as the new Cap, and he’s able to capture that balance of being Sam Wilson while also trying to settle into the heavy boots of THE being Captain America and maintaining the reputation and values of such a huge figure. Unfortunately, however, I felt he wasn’t given very many chances to show much of his natural charm/charisma compared to his other MCU appearances, and he’s almost too stiff at times. I also felt there were times when the writing really let him down, though he does what he can. Overall, however, Mackie’s first solo big-screen outing as the new Cap is solid.
I also enjoyed Harrison Ford as the new President Ross, and I felt he was able to portray the struggle very well of legitimately trying to change and be a better person and good leader while also hiding some major secrets that could unravel those efforts. In fact, I felt there were even some times when he almost stole the show from Mackie since his performance was so solid. Overall, Ford’s second portrayal as a U.S. president ended up being done very well, and he definitely steps up as a solid replacement for William Hurt, who played the role multiple times before his death in 2022.
One gripe I did have with the movie is how underused some of the side characters are. One example is Danny Ramirez, who takes up Sam’s wings as the new Falcon. He’s able to inject some great natural comedic timing and ends up having some great chemistry with Mackie, though I felt he could have been used way, way more. Another example is Shira Haas as fellow ally Ruth Bat-Seraph (also known in the comics as the hero Sabra), who is seen as a potential new Black Widow-type character, but ultimately isn’t given much to do other than look/act tough until later in the movie. I also felt Tim Blake Nelson was criminally underused as the film’s main villain, Samuel Sterns, and if his motivations/backstory had been given more focus, I think he could’ve become one of Marvel’s best villains. To its detriment, however, “Brave New World” does the same thing with Nelson as it did with James Spader back in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” by casting a well-known and critically acclaimed actor as the villain and seemingly not knowing what to actually do with them, which is absolutely baffling. Someone else on the villain side who ended up getting the shaft was Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, who’s rather a big bad in the comics, but, again, had his considerable talent wasted by only appearing in a few scenes and ultimately not doing very much. With the side characters, I felt like there were definitely missed opportunities.
Another aspect I felt fell rather short was the overall story and screenplay. To me, it seemed like the writers were trying to capture the magic of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as far as combining a superhero film with a political thriller, but “Brave New World” doesn’t quite reach that level. I felt the story could have been more original, and there are definitely times when the dialogue is rather corny, though I hope at least some of the politic-centric scenes will stick with viewers. I also felt the movie was almost too stuffed, and there were a couple characters and plot points that could have been trimmed out of the final screenplay. I also felt the film’s CGI definitely could have used some improvement, because there are multiple moments when things look almost cartoonish, particularly in Sam’s final fight with Red Hulk near the end. Overall, while not terrible, there were definitely some missed opportunities with those aspects.
On a positive note, like the past “Captain America” films, the action sequences throughout the movies are VERY well done. They’re very well choreographed and extremely visceral watching and hearing them. My favorite scenes in this regard were the dogfight scenes that take place shortly before the movie’s climax, and I briefly wished I was seeing the movie in IMAX given how great they came out. Overall, those scenes are very engaging to watch, and they’ll keep viewers on their toes.
Overall, I felt “Captain America: Brave New World” is a solid entry in the MCU, and I would give it a solid “B” grade. The cast is very good, particularly Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford in two of the lead roles, but there were definitely multiple missed opportunities in terms of characterization for the side characters and main villain. The action sequences are overall very well done, continuing that tradition for Marvel, though there definitely could have been some improvements made when it came to the CGI used in the movie. If you’re a fan of previous MCU media, particularly with the Captain America character, you’ll probably end up enjoying this outing.
