“Captain America: Brave New World” was directed by Julius Onah, is the 4th film in the “Captain America” series, is the 35th film in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe & is a continuation of the Disney+ series, “The Falcon & Winter Soldier”. The film sees Anthony Mackie return as the titular character & is joined by Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito & William Mark McCullough. Returning characters include Danny Ramirez & Carl Lumbly who reprise their characters from the Disney+ series. Harrison Ford plays former General, Secretary & now President of the United States, Thaddues “Thunderbolt” Ross.
After the events of “Falcon & Winter Soldier”, Sam Wilson (Mackie) who has now been promoted to Captain America, is tasked with tracking an international terrorist group known as The Serpent Society & apprehending their leader, Sidewinder (Esposito). Back in the U.S., newly elected President Ross (Ford) has a plan in sight to use Wilson to reform a new team of “Avengers”. Before Sam can answer, Isiah Bradley (Lumbly) and a group of security personnels attack the President during a U.N. meeting. Bradley is arrested but has no recollection of the attack. Sam and new partner & longtime friend, Joaquin Torres (Ramirez) go against the President orders not to investigate. Their mission leads them down a rabbit hole full of conspiracy, cover ups & past secrets coming back to life.
While the film was entertaining & had a great performance from Anthony Mackie, the storyline feels a bit off. Lacking any sort of direction from one plot line to another. I know there were some reshoots in 2023 which is obvious in the final product. It legit feels like 2 separate movies. The first half of this film feels like a “Captain America” movie but the second feels like a sequel to 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” with Harrison Ford’s character as the protagonist. In the trailers & marketing for this film, “Red Hulk” is plastered everywhere which felt like a dead giveaway but his story arch in this film felt very off and slapped on to end of this film. Harrison Ford was brought it in to play “Thunderbolt” Ross after the unexpected passing of William Hurt in 2022. Ford brings a new personality to the character but also a great performance. But I honestly believe that the reshoots & the inclusion of Red Hulk, really put this film off balance. I understand why we haven’t got a second “Incredible Hulk” film, (Damn you, Universal) but Red Hulk just felt more like a place holder for The Hulk. Hopefully, we’ll have more answers in the upcoming “Thunderbolts” film.
Overall, this was a pretty entertaining movie but is the least entertaining in the “Captain America” series. Anytime a movie deals with reshoots or rewrites, that’s usually a bad sign. Another issue was the timing of this release. “The Falcon & Winter Soldier” series came out in 2021 & Marvel seems to lose continuity when previous films don’t address what is to come. They wait too long to address past events or character arcs that will not make any sense years later. Even the post-credit scene has become an issue. It’ll tease a possible outcome, but we still have wait 2 -3 years for any type of resurgence, if that. (hence the Johnathon Majors “Kang” issue). Marvel continues to put out mediocre films & spinoff series that don’t tie in to anything, however the up coming “Thunderbolts” film does look promising, but we’ll have wait & see.