Over the weekend, I headed over to the Apollo Theatre to see Captain America: Brave New World, the latest entry in the legendary Marvel Cinematic Universe. After a reset year in 2024, with only one movie and two smaller-scale live-action TV series, Marvel is swinging for the fences in 2025 with a heap of anticipated offerings. However, Brave New World wasn’t one of them, as this movie has been through the wringer. Allegedly undergoing at least two rounds of reshoots and multiple drafts, many feared that this film was going to end up a Frankensteined mess of a movie. While some of the reshoots are definitely apparent, I can happily report that this is largely not the case. Brave New World, while not perfect and maybe a little forgettable, is a fun, solid action movie that I most certainly enjoyed watching.
Set two years after the 2021 miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this film stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America as he’s pulled into an international incident. Along with the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), Wilson must uncover a conspiracy theory within the White House to ruin the legacy of the newly elected president, Thaddeus Ross, played by the legendary Harrison Ford following William Hurt’s tragic passing. Opposing our dynamic duo are the villainous mercenary Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), and The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), a gamma-powered mastermind seeking revenge on the man who put him away.
The strongest parts of this movie are the characters and the action. Anthony Mackie brings a lot of humanity to the role of Sam Wilson. Scenes where he addresses random soldiers by name show us that this is a Captain America who cares about everyone. There are even a few scenes where he gets to showcase his counselor skills, which is how we were first introduced to Wilson a decade ago. His chemistry with Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly also felt natural. This movie thankfully tones down the well-known Marvel humor in exchange for some much-needed sincerity, with the remaining jokes being mainly between these three characters.
In my opinion, Carl Lumbly was the best part of the movie. His confusion and sadness after being mind controlled was incredibly emotional, and Lumbly really captured the lifetime of pain that his character, Isaiah Bradley, had endured. Another powerhouse performance in this film comes from Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross. This is a character we’ve seen before in the MCU opposing our heroes, but now we see his genuine attempts to change and become better for the sake of those he loves. This movie has an underlying message about understanding and forgiveness that I think Ross’ character really embodies; frankly, seeing a president willing to change and admit to mistakes is a breath of fresh air.
The action in this movie was also stellar. It reminded me of old-school Marvel with the emphasis on hand-to-hand combat. There weren’t many bombastic superpowers, and you could tell this Captain America has a different way of fighting with the shield. Moments like Captain America using his Redwing bot to hold the shield and block gunfire were creative and genuinely unexpected.
However, this movie is far from perfect, and I think its biggest flaw has to do with some of the characters. While the performances were good across the board, some of the characters simply didn’t need to be in the movie. The biggest offenders were Xosha Roquemore, who is positioned as Wilson’s “agent on the inside” but doesn’t do anything, and Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder, who feels like a villain added at the last-minute just to give Wilson more fight scenes.
Another plot element I had some issues with was the inclusion of the Celestial Island from Eternals. Now, you won’t find a bigger Eternals fan than me, and I was over the moon to see at least something from that movie get brought back. However, I will say that the Celestial really didn’t need to be part of this movie. It mainly served to introduce adamantium to the MCU and to be a cool action set piece. It almost feels like Marvel just threw the Celestial in to stop fans from complaining about its lack of mention since Eternals.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t dive into this movie’s political messaging. It’s impossible to have a Captain America movie without some politics; it’s in the name, after all. But this movie definitely didn’t benefit from being released now, of all times. It preaches forgiveness and understanding of all people during a time when many of us want to see the other side as enemies to be defeated. It features Shira Haas as Sabra, an Israeli superhero whose Zionist backstory was thankfully exempt from this movie. Harrison Ford plays a president who can very easily be seen as a parody of Donald Trump, turning into a bright red rage monster and attempting to murder Captain America, the symbol of freedom and democracy. And finally, the movie includes a cameo appearance by Sebastian Stan, who is currently up for an Oscar for his portrayal of Donald Trump. I think a lot of this was out of the movie’s control, and it doesn’t impact my overall enjoyment. However, it is kind of obvious that some of the political messaging was sanded down so as not to attract attention from an administration that is all too eager to go after perceived enemies. There are some lines of dialogue about the U.S. and its place in the world that, in an alternate reality with Kamala Harris sitting in the Oval Office, might have been further explored in the final cut.
Despite all of these flaws, I do think that Captain America: Brave New World accomplished what it set out to do. Is it perfect? Far from it. But at the end of the day, it’s a fun action movie that clears up some loose MCU plot threads and lays the groundwork for Sam Wilson to lead his own Avengers team. It might be a bit forgettable at the end of the day, but I still had a good time with it. I don’t give this movie my full recommendation, but it’s definitely worth watching if you have the time.
