‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Review: A Well-Acted, Back-to-Basics Continuation of the MCU

The next installment of the MCU is finally upon us, which has garnered much anticipation over the last few months. Fans are not only excited to see Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) lead his first new movie as Captain America after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) passed the mantle, but to finally receive a follow-up to some interesting threads introduced way back in 2008 within The Incredible Hulk. Boasting a great cast with characters old and new, and the trailer hinting at offering something a little more akin to fan-favourite The Winter Soldier, Brave New World is still managing to entice cinema-goers despite the mixed reviews. After meeting with the newly elected U.S President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red. With a strong storyline that takes things back to basics, a stellar central performance from Mackie and a solid message behind it, Captain America: Brave New World manages to both entertain and impress.

It’s certainly been a while since Louis Letterier’s The Incredible Hulk first hit our screens, and although it’s not widely regarded as one of the MCU’s finer entries, many have a soft spot for it due to the undeniably cool ideas it introduced. Having this story followed up years later may sound daft and untimely on paper, but the writers of Captain America manage to make it work. The script ensures we’re quickly caught up on the events of the 2008 flick without too much exposition or information-dumping, swiftly reminding us who is who and what their motivations are. We are re-introduced to Thaddeus Ross, now played by Harrison Ford after William Hurt’s passing, who is now the newly elected President of the U.S, and suitably reminded of the choices he made all those years ago that made him disappoint his daughter. Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns/The Leader also makes a comeback, after his exposure to gamma radiation that altered his brain. The formers storyline is a lot stronger and more thoroughly developed than the latter, but it’s still wildly entertaining to have these characters back on our screens and finally get The Incredible Hulk follow-up fans have been hoping before. 

Despite its focus on the events and characters from 2008, it’s still a Captain America movie through and through, demonstrating a perfect balance between Sam’s arc as the new Captain America, and the international incident that Ross is dealing with. It’s a fantastic continuation of Sam’s story, with Mackie really getting the time to shine and prove himself worthy of wielding the shield. His morals and motivations are where they should be, he remains an inspiration and hope for the people just like his predecessor Steve was, and he certainly looks the part. The addition of vibranium wings to the Captain America suits is a sight to behold, and makes for some really interesting action sequences whilst giving us something a little different to look at. His wonderful friendship with Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) is developed, and we also see him work alongside Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who we are likely to see as our new Falcon as the franchise progresses. Time and attention is paid to developing the character, his relationships and most importantly, his confidence and belief in himself. Tasked with some tough choices and a lot of responsibility, it’s interesting to see him navigate this, and the script does a fantastic job with this.

The storyline is a little bit hit or miss here, which prevents Brave New World from being one of the strongest Captain America flicks. There are a few characters that go under-explored, namely Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, who certainly doesn’t get the most intriguing dialogue or look. Though it has been confirmed that we’ll be seeing more of Sidewinder in an upcoming series, Esposito’s talent still feels wasted for the time being, and it doesn’t feel like he has a place here outside of plot progression. Supersoldier Isaiah Bradley quickly became a fan-favourite character after his introduction in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so it’s great to have him back and Lumbly’s performance is heartfelt and scene-stealing. But again, we don’t see too much of him due to how things play out, leading him to be sorely under-utilised. All that being said, when the storyline hits, it really hits. The political thriller aspect harks back to The Winter Soldier, and they do a good job with all the characters and threads involved in this plot. Not only is it nice to have a movie in keeping with the tone of one of the franchise’s better entries, but it’s refreshing to be back to basics. Entirely avoiding becoming a multiverse-traveling, cameo-filled shlock fest that many now label the MCU as, it has a simplistic through-line and a likable, straightforward story that brings Marvel back down to the ground. It still reminds us of the existence of the multiverse, and one or two characters certainly make a quick return, but it’s much more concerned with developing its characters and creating an action-thriller – it works a treat.

MCU nitty-gritty aside, many viewers will likely be seeing Brave New World this weekend for a switch your brain off, action-filled fun time, and it certainly delivers that. The action sequences may not have the best choreography this franchise has seen, but there’s plenty of them and they’re very entertaining. It kicks off pretty much straight away with a great fight scene, and features action aplenty throughout the entire run-time. However, in true superhero fashion, it leaves all its best stuff until the end, with a climax between Sam Wilson and Ross’ Red Hulk that’s worth seeing. Fans have been eagerly anticipating Red Hulk’s big screen debut, and audience members of all interest levels will definitely get much enjoyment out of him smashing buildings and giving Cap a run for his money. Speaking of Cap, seeing Wilson utilise his wings, shield and other tech that makes up his suit never gets boring, and his stamina and skills in this movie does enough to convince us he’s a suitable replacement for Rogers. It certainly injects some laughs into the script as all movies inside the franchise do, some landing and some not so much, but it thankfully doesn’t take this too far and it never feels silly. As an entertaining action piece, it’s more than serviceable. 

Captain America: Brave New World is certainly clunky, as it sorely under-utilizes the talent on offer, and squanders the storyline/comeback of The Leader. However, the performances are excellent, especially from Mackie and Ford, the action is entertaining, Sam Wilson’s Captain America is developed beautifully with an interesting arc, and the simplistic nature of the political story-line is a welcome return. It doesn’t reach the heights of the strongest entrants of the franchise, but it certainly doesn’t graze the bottom, either. It’s a solid flick that does well to integrate threads both old and new.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Review: A Well-Acted, Back-to-Basics Continuation of the MCU

3.5