Marvel’s latest installment, Captain America: Brave New World, arrives with all the bombast expected from the MCU, packed with high-stakes action, political intrigue, and yet another world-altering crisis. However, despite strong performances from its cast, the film finds itself buried beneath the weight of its own history, struggling to justify its existence within a franchise caught between nostalgia and reinvention. With a title that ironically suggests fresh beginnings, Brave New World instead feels like an elaborate balancing act, attempting to reconcile the past while laying shaky groundwork for the future.
Anthony Mackie steps up as Sam Wilson’s Captain America, delivering a performance filled with earnestness and conviction. His Sam remains one of the MCU’s more human heroes—determined, principled, and still carrying the burden of proving himself in a world that refuses to let go of Steve Rogers’ legacy. Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres brings youthful energy as the new Falcon, while Shira Haas' Ruth Bat-Seraph adds intrigue as an Israeli Black Widow with a sharp edge. But it’s the veterans who truly steal the show: Harrison Ford, stepping into the role of Thaddeus Ross, carries a commanding presence even before his inevitable transformation into Red Hulk. Meanwhile, Tim Blake Nelson’s return as Samuel Sterns—the long-forgotten side character from The Incredible Hulk—delivers an unsettling, cerebral villain whose vendetta against Ross drives much of the film’s conflict.
The plot itself is dense, revolving around the geopolitical scramble for adamantium found in the corpse of Eternals’ Tiamut, now repurposed as "Celestial Island." As Ross ascends to the presidency, his plans to control the metal are upended by a mind-control conspiracy orchestrated by Sterns, leading to an escalating international crisis that culminates in an explosive, almost operatic showdown. There’s an undeniable thrill to the film’s globe-trotting espionage, especially in Sam and Torres’ cat-and-mouse game with the Serpent Society. Yet, for all its urgency, Brave New World buckles under the sheer amount of lore and legacy it must juggle. Every new plot development is tethered to some prior MCU event, making it more of a history lesson in Marvel continuity than an accessible entry point for a new era of Captain America.
Nowhere is this struggle more evident than in the character of Thaddeus Ross. Ford does an admirable job portraying the authoritarian president, whose health issues force him into an uneasy reliance on gamma-infused treatments. But his eventual transformation into Red Hulk, culminating in a White House-smashing rampage, feels more obligatory than essential—another moment of Marvel spectacle that seems dictated more by IP management than by organic storytelling. Likewise, the reveal that Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) and others were manipulated into an assassination attempt via subliminal programming adds weight to the film’s exploration of control and power, but ultimately, these ideas remain underdeveloped, lost amid the bombast.
Visually, the film delivers the high production values expected of the MCU, but there’s a certain sameness to its action sequences. The aerial combat between Torres and mind-controlled fighter pilots is a highlight, showcasing inventive choreography and high-tension stakes, but the final battle—yet another gamma-fueled brawl—feels like a well-worn retread of past climaxes.
Despite its cluttered storytelling, Brave New World does manage to land moments of genuine emotional impact. Sam Wilson’s confrontation with Ross, trying to ground him in human memory rather than brute force, is a rare instance of Marvel slowing down to reflect. The subplot involving Betty Ross hints at deeper emotional stakes that the film frustratingly largely skims over in favour of CGI-heavy set pieces. Likewise, Bucky Barnes’ brief appearance, now running for political office, teases an intriguing new direction that the film only has time to touch upon.
Ultimately, Captain America: Brave New World is a film that wrestles with its own identity as much as its protagonist does. While the performances are strong, and the themes of power, legacy, and manipulation resonate in fleeting moments, the film remains beholden to an ever-expanding mythology that prevents it from feeling like the fresh start it aspires to be. Marvel fans well-versed in the MCU’s intricate history will find much to dissect, but for casual audiences, it may feel more like an exhausting history lesson than a bold new chapter.
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