Director: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
Screenplay: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Peter Glanz
119 mins. Rated R for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language.

After taking most of last year off from the theaters, the MCU has returned with another major piece of its ever-expanding universe. This fourth installment of the Captain America series sees Anthony Mackie (Million Dollar Baby) leading the charge for the first time, and Harrison Ford (Blade Runner 2049) taking over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross after the passing of William Hurt. The teaming up of Mackie and Ford now leading a Captain America film is a mostly solid and entertaining film that feels BOLD and confident though its action scenes leave a bit to be desired.

After receiving the shield from Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Mackie) has officially adopted the mantle of Captain America, and he’s been working closely with the US government, now under the leadership of newly-elected President Thaddeus Ross. Ross wants Sam to oversee the rebuilding of the Avengers in association with the White House, but Sam worries that they will just be executing the orders of the President, someone frequently in opposition to the actions of the Avengers in recent years. Now, with the discovery that the Celestial in the Indian Ocean is full of Adamantium, a new element much strong that Vibranium, Sam finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy involving the attempted assassination of Ross and a mysterious Buyer attempting to drive the world into war and showcase all the skeletons in the President’s closet.

Director Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox), new to the MCU, has emulated a bit of the style that the Russo Brothers brought to The Winter Soldier and Civil War, and he’s mostly successful in bringing that 70s political thriller vibe to Sam’s first outing as Captain America, at least where the plot is concerned. There are a lot of elements at play in the film, as it picks up on hanging plot threads from previous MCU films, most notably Phase 1 films along with the Celestial from Eternals, the rebuilding of the Avengers, and the central character arc of Sam Wilson, and the screenplay gives some time to each of them to breathe. Now, the main plot of the film feels rather telegraphed (I only saw the first trailer for the film, but it felt like I could foresee where the story was going at just about every turn) which, when viewing through the lens of the political thriller, often feels lacking in surprises.

Brave New World also suffers from some weak action. The hand-to-hand combat is good (but not great) and while I really liked how Sam’s suit and wings were portrayed (especially with their new upgrades), the actions scenes just lacked impact. I was far more interested in getting back to the story. There are also a few moments of weak CGI in the film’s third act, scenes of characters obviously in front of green screens.

The standout performance of the film is from Carl Lumbly (Doctor Sleep), returning as Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Isaiah Bradley’s character arc across the MCU has been a terrific way to use real-world events through the lens of popcorn superhero fare, and there’s a scene early on in the film where Sam promises to help Isaiah, and Lumbly just owns the room with every subtle move of his face and cadence of his voice. It’s an excellent scene within an excellent performance.

Mackie and especially Ford are having a lot of fun here embracing all the silly elements of the story but making it work well enough in the more intense moments. I have to admit that Ford’s addition, taking over the role from the recently deceased William Hurt, didn’t immediately grab me, but seeing him here, it’s very similar to Michael Gambon’s work as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films: different from what came before, but matching the needs of the role without feeling too out of place.

Overall, Captain America: Brave New World might be the weakest of the four films in this pocket of the MCU, but that’s not too much of a dig, as the three Chris Evans films it follows are all absolutely top-tier MCU. Brave New World is an entertaining thriller that has ties to some of my favorite Marvel elements, and while it’s light on bombastic action, I found the story to be fascinating and exciting if a little telegraphed. A few plot conveniences exist, primarily in the finale and a particular villain who seems to just pop up all around the globe without any understandable way to travel, but flaws aside, this feels like a bold and confident MCU entry that sets the stage for the next year of films leading to the next Avengers installment while still working on its own.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For my review of Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger, click here.
• For my review of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Captain Marvel, click here.
• For my review of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, click here.
• For my review of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2, click here.
• For my review of Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk, click here.
• For my review of Leythum’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer, click here.
• For my review of Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, click here.
• For my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, click here.
• For my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, click here.
• For my review of Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, click here.
• For my review of Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: Civil War, click here.
• For my review of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, click here.
• For my review of Jon Watts’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, click here.
• For my review of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, click here.
• For my review of Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War, click here.
• For my review of Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Endgame, click here.
• For my review of Jon Watts’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, click here.
• For my review of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, click here.
• For my review of Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, click here.
• For my review of Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, click here.
• For my review of Bryan Singer’s X-Men, click here.
• For my review of Bryan Singer’s X2: X-Men United, click here.
• For my review of Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand, click here.
• For my review of James Mangold’s The Wolverine, click here.
• For my review of Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, click here.
• For my review of Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, click here.
• For my review of Simon Kinberg’s Dark Phoenix, click here.
• For my review of Tim Miller’s Deadpool, click here.
• For my review of David Leitch’s Deadpool 2, click here.
• For my review of James Mangold’s Logan, click here.
• For my review of Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, click here.