Captain America – Brave New World Movie, in theaters from February 14, 2025, explores more closely what it means to be Captain America. Anthony Mackie returns to play Sam Wilson, who collects the legacy of Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) for a new adventure as the absolute protagonist.
After the events narrated in the TV series Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Sam works on behalf of the government; he has a team that supports him and has found a promising new Falcon in Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). At the helm of the United States is a new President: Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, in his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), a familiar face to the Avengers.
When an international incident ruins all the good intentions of the Number One of the White House, Sam finds himself directly involved in the story and forced to discover the reasons behind a global conspiracy before the world discovers Ross's true identity. Read previous Captain America Movies Reviews:
Captain America – Brave New World: the revenge of the simple soldier
Captain America – Brave New World is the acid test for Anthony Mackie: for the first time, the actor finds himself at the center of the plot of a Marvel cinecomic, and it is not easy to bear the weight of such responsibility. In parallel, his alter ego also feels the same thing: Sam Wilson wonders if the good Steve Rogers made the right choice in giving him the shield of Cap that made him his successor.
Unlike the iconic character of Stars and Stripes, Sam does not possess any particular powers: he has never taken the Super Soldier serum, and this makes him a simple hero, without magic or anything else. Steve Rogers allowed the audience to find in his hope for a world in which even the smallest person could make a difference. Sam Wilson, on the other hand, has the arduous task of keeping that spark alive, inspiring the new generations who are approaching the Marvel world for the first time.
Anthony Mackie, as he had already said in the press conference for the film's presentation, is now one with his character and is perfectly at ease in an action context, where adrenaline, kicks and fistfights abound, without ever going too far.
Captain America – Brave New World is the revenge of Private Sam Wilson, who shows that you don't need superpowers to become a hero. However, this aspect is not explored enough, and it would have been interesting to capture this new nuance of the character.
Captain America Brave New World and the other side of the coin
Captain America Brave New World combines the classic cinecomic with the political plot, as its predecessors had already done, especially Captain America – The Winter Soldier (so far the most mature and complex Marvel film, thanks to its references to Three Days of the Condor).
The complex plot, however, goes much further, creating an ambitious project that is difficult to keep up with. Nowadays, Marvel products are all connected to each other, and you just have to miss something to lose the thread. Captain America – Brave New World is no exception and asks the viewer to go back in time almost twenty years to remember the events that happened in the film The Incredible Hulk.
The film directed by Julius Onah is very ambitious, made up of past references but also of complex writing. The antagonist is weak, as are his characters, with whom you do not easily identify. The presence of little (if any) humor leaves no room for the lightness that has always characterized the House of Ideas.
Only the delightful cameo in one of the rare moments in which you laugh offers the audience a breath of nostalgia and allows the plot of Captain America – Brave New World to receive a jolt. Harrison Ford is not entirely at ease in this universe, while we barely try to sympathize with the rest of the cast – Shira Haas as Agent Ruth Bat-Seraph, a former Black Widow we know little about, Giancarlo Esposito is wasted in his role, while Danny Ramirez is not the “sidekick” we expect (and that’s a shame).
Captain America – Brave New World: evaluation and conclusion
Captain America – Brave New World tries to continue the line of the political comic book movie like its previous chapters but fails in the staging. A plot that is too complex, at times non-linear, which struggles to get going until after the first hour of the film, demonstrates a tired narration, which comes to life only thanks to the introduction of the nostalgia element (surprise).
This is unfortunately a recurring trend in the last few years of the MCU: it seems that after Avengers: Endgame, the House of Ideas has vanished that magic that kept its superheroes together. It is also true that you have to give the public time to become fond of the new characters, but when they are superficially sketched or badly used (as in the case of Giancarlo Esposito), it becomes a really difficult operation.