Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World
Starring Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Harrison Ford
Directed by Julius Onah
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has taken on the mantle of Captain America and is working with the government to show a peace between superheroes and the government after the Sokovia Accords, which were drafted by a then-General Ross. Now President, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) enlists Sam's help to find stolen metal taken from Celestial Island, and Sam brings along his friend Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who's become the new Falcon. They retrieve the metal but the leader of the Serpents, Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) escapes.
Sam is then invited to the White House where Ross is brokering a deal to share the minerals found on Celestial Island with other countries, and invites former Captain America Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to join. During the presentation Isaiah and other employees of the White House launch an attack on Ross, but afterward they have no memory of what happened. Determined to prove Isaiah's innocence, Sam investigates and discovers a deep conspiracy that goes well within Ross's inner circle - and possibly Ross himself.
The "Captain America" films have always been centered on government espionage and grounded storylines, as opposed to multiverse-hopping shenanigans and outer space wars in other films. The first "Captain America" film forges Steve Rogers as the titular hero, while "The Winter Soldier" is hailed as one of the best in the MCU, involving corrupt government officials and a brainwashed former best friend-turned-assassin. "Civil War" is essentially a light "Avengers" movie but still remains rooted in government mistrust with superheroes with the inclusion of the Sokovia Accords which split the Avengers in two. Now, although the mantle has changed to Sam Wilson, "Brave New World" remains the same concept: evil government officials, mistrust in superheroes, and a grounded story devoid, thankfully, of anything involving the convoluted multiverse that's plagued the franchise since "Endgame."
This time, Sam gets involved in an event that could bring about a new world war, as countries are loosely banded together to share rare minerals found on Celestial Island, home of the Tiamut Celestial that got frozen in the earth. While Ross negotiated a deal with Japan, France and India, it seems someone doesn't want this deal to go through, and will go about risking open war to make it happen. Sam is personally involved as one of his mentors, Isaiah Bradley, was brainwashed into attempting to kill the President, and sets out to prove his innocence. The mystery unravels and the discovery of the brains behind the operation really comes as no surprise for anyone who knows of "The Incredible Hulk," but it's still something that could be spoiler-y and won't be mentioned here.
There's been some behind-the-scenes drama involving the movie's production, with a lot of reshoots being added after negative test screenings, one of which was a whole section involving Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder and the inclusion of the Serpent Society, albeit not as in the comics (where they were actually essentially mutated serpents - sort of). Here, they're mercenaries who steal metal from Celestial Island that Sam and Joaquin are sent to retrieve, and it's somewhat apparent that this was added in afterward. It doesn't feel disjointed as much as felt like a tacked-on addition to the intrigue, and Esposito is great as always, if not underused.
The title of Captain America comes with the sense of deep American pride, standing for truth, freedom, and the American way. Steve Rogers epitomized this essence, even when he turned his back on America during the Sokovia Accords, and that is something Sam Wilson picks up rather well, if not a bit more difficult. "Brave New World" touches on the racial issues that America is going through and some of his friends, including Isaiah, doesn't understand why Sam would work with Ross (who had him imprisoned during "Civil War"), but Sam does so to broker a truce between superheroes and the government, serving as a beacon of hope that they can all come together. I was hesitant on Anthony Mackie, because I've never seen him as a leading man, but he impressed me with his acting ability, using his words more than his fists (although he does use them as well) to end issues. He's a worthy successor to Chris Evans's Steve, and pulls it off better than I expected.
Danny Ramirez, who made his MCU debut in the series "Falcon and the Winter Soldier," gets a bigger role here as the new Falcon, and the comradere between him and Mackie is as entertaining as Mackie and Sebastian Stan. They work extremely well off one another, and hopefully we'll be seeing more of him in the MCU future. But the real standout obviously is the iconic Harrison Ford, who takes the role of Thaddeus Ross after William Hurt suddenly passed away, and as a man who's no stranger to playing the President, he fits the role perfectly. Yet everyone was waiting for his eventual turn to Red Hulk, and when it happens it's very impressive CGI work, but sadly it's a small fraction of the film.
The action sequences are rather impressive, especially the battle on Celestial Island, where Captain America really shows off his new suit. The camerawork hits with dizzying accuracy, flying with Sam and Joaquin through the skies with Tiamut in the background, working to prevent a war. There's a cameo that makes sense, unlike many other MCU films where they're thrown in just to get people excited, and there's some really emotional moments you wouldn't expect sprinkled in.
Where the film falters is with Red Hulk's absence through most of the film, where it's teased a few times of his appearing, and the main villain is rather lackluster. He has no charisma or any real fear factor, but that also ties in with the character that people who read comics will know. It also doesn't include the typical multiverse events that make people want to see these films (or, conversely, hate them), and the film feels a bit too grounded in reality. While these are all positives for most people, others find them negative, wanting more action and more excitement instead of a politically charged thriller.
Also, oddly, it feels like this should be a Hulk movie. Apart from Red Hulk himself, the film's hidden villain and the return of Liv Tyler's Betty Ross seems like it was tailor-made for Hulk's cinematic return, but instead it was Captain America who had to stop Red Hulk and the villain's plan. It takes away from the overall story, as Hulk was always at odds with Ross and, in the comics, with Red Hulk, who was created solely to take the Hulk down.
While not offering worldwide action, "Captain America: Brave New World" is a grounded political thriller that showed Anthony Mackie as a worthy successor to Chris Evans' title, and while it's not the best, it's one of the better middle-of-the-road MCU films.
The Score: A-
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