Marvel so badly wants the good times to roll again. After being adrift in the wilderness since basically Endgame, they went away in 2024, and tried to rediscover what made the MCU so special for a decade. Part of starting over is cleaning up the mess. Captain America: Brave New World takes all of those messes, and sweeps them into the trash can, saving what little scraps of good as best they can. Spoiler Alert: there’s not much to save.
A lot has happened in this Brave New World. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has assumed the mantle of Captain America. He’s got growing support across the world for his death defying heroic missions, so much so that he’s got his own Falcon now, Air Force Lieutenant Joaquim Torres (Danny Ramirez). Also new is what happened to Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross (Harrison Ford), failing up into the office of President of the US. During the middle of a big global treaty negotiation, an assassination attempt happens on Ross’s life, sending the President into a state of paranoia and Cap down a rabbit hole to save his friend Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) from the death penalty.
Despite the title, Captain America Brave New World is Marvel leftovers. It’s barely a movie; every character or plot machination is related to movies from its past it has to get out of the way for the fresh start the MCU so desperately craves. Only one of these choices really works, ingeniously spinning a misfire into a fun new opportunity for Marvel’s future. The rest just leaves most people confused, relying on over 10 years ago references to shock people into thinking the story is worth paying attention to. Don’t worry everyone, I was confused to, until I saw there were 3 different sets of writers on the movie (usually a bad sign) and eons of reshoots, very noticeably during the climax of the movie. In a way, props to these behind the scenes people, given the impossible task to patch together a coherent narrative that would work with a lot of conflicting objectives behind the scenes. But the easter eggs here are what Marvel eventually wants us to forget, making Brave New World a movie to consume and throw away cause it’s gonna go bad immediately after it’s over.
All is not lost though. The saving grace of this movie is Anthony Mackie. Years watching Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. lead superhero films have prepared the underappreciated actor to step into his spotlight. Mackie’s Cap has pieces of both Evans and Downey: he’s less “aw shucks” square than Evans and more noble than Downey, crafting Sam Wilson into someone you want to follow perhaps a new Avengers squad? I like his allies too; Danny Ramirez passed his test to play a young sidekick, and can get better with more time hanging out with Mackie, and Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley remains one of the few bright spots from Marvel TV shows I’ve enjoyed, giving the story a necessary gravitas/reminder of the horrors of US government past and a push and pull for Cap between hope and caution.
Ok Marvel, clean up complete. Or is it? We’ll see if Thunderbolts is more of the same, or the jump start into a new era. One thing though: don’t pin the failings of this movie solely on Anthony Mackie. I think he’s got the stuff, and can grow into a real selling point for Marvel’s future if they work with him correctly. Or you could just have Dr. Doom blow up the world and really start over. Up to you.