By the time the credits roll you might be wondering if the title Captain America : Brave New World is ironic. This may be the MCU's big return after over a year on hiatus (I don't care about technicalities, Deadpool and Wolverine is a Fox movie through and through) but there is precious little new on display here and it would be a Reed Richards level stretch to describe a would be political thriller that is so afraid of politics as brave. On the one hand, Marvel are in a bit of a bind. Pillared for continuously dishing up more of the same but when they do try something a little fresh, a la The Eternals, long time fans shy away from it. Still, even in creative paralysis, such an experienced studio should be able to produce a higher quality product than this.
The Captain America of the title is of course no longer Steve Rogers. The shield has passed to his wingman Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), formerly know as Falcon. He has not been dosed with the "Super Serum" of his predecessor (not that you'd know it from the way he kicks tables across rooms and throw his metal disc like a plastic frisbee) but he does have nifty vibranium wings that let him take to the sky and get involved in areal set pieces. He is joined by a new sidekick of his own in overly eager, fellow wing suit owner Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). New President, Thaddeus Ross, asks Cap to help him reform the Avengers but after a failed assassination attempt on the Commander In Chief, Sam is forced to go rogue in an attempt to clear his friends name and avoid World War 3.
The single biggest issue facing Brave New World is that the plot revolves around solving a conspiracy the audience, thanks to the marketing, already knows the answer to. Trailers and posters have out right shown who is pulling the strings and that Ross gets turned into a red Hulk. As a result, watching Sam and his buddies run around finding out things we already know just seems like treading water until the final showdown we know is coming. Any reveals along the way aren't exactly mind blowing either. We hear music play out of nowhere while secret agents stare blankly at flashing phones before attempting to shoot the President. It takes forty odd minutes of runtime for our heroes to come across the "revelation " that the shooters were mind controlled. Its a pity the big finale has been spoiled in advance as there is some nice foreshadowing throughout the film and it would have been a fun twist to discover.
Thaddeus Ross is played by Harrison Ford, stepping into the character previously portrayed by William Hurt. The change of actor is sort of mentioned in film with a glib joke but once that's done we actually get full on Harrison Ford, revelling in playing the larger than life former general on the verge of a rage fuelled meltdown. There is also some nuance there and through regrets and trying to mend fences with his daughter, Ross is the character that takes a journey. Mackie is good in the lead role, playing Sam Wilson somewhere between the stoicism of Steve Rogers and the boyish charm the actor himself displays in real life. Unfortunately, the script isn't especially interested in an arc for its title character. If you saw the Disney Plus show, "Falcon and the Winter Soldier", then you saw Sam struggle with the idea he isn't good enough to take up the mantle of Captain America before settling on the belief that all he can do is try his best. Here, that same idea is raised and dealt with in a short conversation and that's about it for character development.
We don't know President Ross's stance on inflation or immigration, or anything other than he REALLY wants to get an adamantium sharing treaty done but, while great pains are taken to avoid real life politics, the film is at least conscious not to portray the US as the worlds big shining light. No such self awareness is shown in the decision to dig up 80's comic book character Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli superhero and Mossad agent. The character is severely reworked here, the Israeli origin remains but she is now a former Black Widow and head of the President's security forces. It is also clear that her involvement in the plot has been significantly diminished since conception, leading to scenes where she just kind of stands about and making her feel like a pre order bonus video game character. It's weird and distracting (and the character is played pretty weirdly by Shira Haas) and the whole thing feels, at best boneheaded, at worst deeply and uncomfortably cynical.
If Brave New World's questionable decisions don't bother you too much there is a fairly fun action movie underneath, with entertaining set pieces and things move at a reasonable enough pace, meaning it doesn't drag. It just feels like more filler from a studio thats struggling to find its next big thing. If they don't want their cash cow to fizzle out under a deluge of Disney Plus mediocrity and so so blockbusters, one of their upcoming films needs to be actually good.
5 on your lefts out of 10 laps.
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