So I did it and spent money on an MCU movie. Here’s your Captain America: Brave New World review.
I went into this expecting a complete and utter woke train wreck. So imagine my surprise that it wasn’t. Is it not terrible? Can this be?
Of course, that’s not saying it’s good. It’s by far the worst Captain America movie and it’s not close. But it’s also a breath of fresh air to be complaining about a movie’s quality in the same way we used to complain about them 20 years ago, rather than the constant woke nonsense we’ve been getting for the last decade or so.
The Story
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes on the mantle of Captain America thanks to the shield and a vibranium-enhanced wing suit that gives him better protection even though he doesn’t have any superpowers. He has a sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who uses Sam’s old Falcon gear. Together they are working for the government when asked, in this case to obtain a mysterious package that was set to be sold by the serpent society led by Seth Voekler (Giancarlo Esposito.)
The new president is the old antagonist Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) who is genuinely attempting to make right many of his past sins. The giant celestial that almost cracked open the earth from The Eternals (remember that one? Me neither.) is apparently the source of a new metal even stronger than vibranium, adamantium. Ross is working on a treaty with the world leaders to share the new metal with all the world.
But old issues from Ross’s past conspire to ruin him and set Sam on a path to clear an old friend’s name and find out if Ross has indeed changed.
After Endgame
So the baseline story sounds simple enough. But it’s all in the execution. The biggest problem is that you can’t get out from under the weight of the MCU. This story is compelling enough but would’ve been more compelling if the MCU had been keeping up the level of quality from Endgame. This is a step in the right direction but so what if you’re already lost as hell?
The biggest problem with this movie is the lack of any emotional connections for the audience. Sam is not Captain America, he’s Sam Wilson. He doesn’t have the start that Steve Roger’s did, narratively speaking. To top that off, all his foes here are not Captain America’s, they are the Hulk’s. Sam Stearns (Tim Blake Nelson) after a 17-year hiatus and we’re supposed to care.
Ross isn’t Ross
To top that off, having Harrison Ford play Ross rather than William Hurt doesn’t work. Yes, I know Hurt passed away and recasts happen all the time. But when Rhodes got recast, we were barely 3 movies in with no real history. You could do that back then. Here, Hurt has been a part of the universe in very impactful ways.
The story of his redemption is fine, but it’s too late. You can’t just recast him. Maybe if Ford attempted to at least act a little like Hurt but he couldn’t even be bothered to grow the damn moustache.
So all these things don’t really connect you emotionally to Sam because these issues with Ross and Stearns didn’t have much to do with him. Sure, he’s motivated to clear his friend Isiah Bradley but that story was done far better with Steve trying to save Bucky. This is a watered down version of that.
Then there’s abuse Sam takes. He gets stabbed twice, a rib broken, and has to take down the Red Hulk. I know he has some sort of Wakanda wings but his head is exposed too much and the suit just doesn’t look like it really can protect him worth a damn. There’s a lot of suspension of disbelief you have to have with Tony and the Iron Man suit but at least the suit looks strong.
It does just enough for the viewer to swallow that Tony doesn’t end up a liquid paste spilling out of the armour. They don’t even do that here and it takes me to the breaking point.
Overall
Overall, it did enough to keep me interested and not looking at my watch. I very much appreciate that Ross is not Trump or that the movie didn’t try to make any stupid “the message” moments. It was done within the context of the story we know so far so I’ll give it that. My issues are all about execution.
It didn’t make me angry, but I can’t say this was a return to form for the MCU either. Baby steps I suppose. It certainly is much better than Eternals, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Shang Chi, Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor Love and Thunder, and the wretched Black Panther 2.
Being at the top of a pile of shit means you’re still in a pile of shit. At least they seem to be attempting to dig themselves out.
