The movies are squarely set in the middle of phase Five of the MCU, and now we’re finally given a new Captain America. It’s been almost four years since Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the shield being passed onto Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), so it almost seems a bit late for the release of of his stand alone movie. Yes, we could blame the strikes, yes we could blame Covid on delaying dates and moving things around on the release, but Disney and Marvel both release the movie release dates years in advance and while the date may have changed a bit – it’s still almost seems too late for this movie.
Captain America: Brave New World picks up in the middle of a story that the audience doesn’t seem to have all of the information about or who all of the key players are. Despite the later release time for the film, Sam has been Captain America for the last few years in this world and everyone now know him as “Cap”. It’s also seems that there’s a new Falcon with a young soldier name Joaquin (Danny Ramirez). But now we have both Captain America and Falcon as unenhanced people just fighting the good fight trying to save America and the country. Cap’s new suit was upgraded from the people of Wakanda, but he’s still just a strong man, a quality he bemoans throughout the film multiple times.
Besides the lack of super hero elements, Captain America: Brave New World feels more like a political drama with a bit of Marvel sprinkled on top. We have newly Elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) trying to manipulate and enact policy, while Sam is working on finding his position as a hero and what his commitment to the new president is. There is a darker force at play in the background who is pulling everyone’s strings – but the character, Samuel Sterns, hasn’t been seen or even mentioned in an MCU movie since the 2008 Hulk film. Why is he being reintroduced now? He almost seems like a weird attempt to bring back into the world.
But Sterns isn’t the only older element to be brought back into the film that the MCU seems to be pulling back from the depths. The main point of contention for Ross and the other nations is the adamantium that is found in the Celestial Island that emerged from the sea in the Eternals. Yes, adamantium, like what is inside Wolverine (are we finally getting mutants other than in Deadpool?). But the Celestial Island seems to be the only part of the Eternals that has been referenced in any of the MCU movies or even series since the movie release in 2021. Sure it is a similar timeline as the Falcon and Winter Soldier release, but with multiple other Marvel releases since then, there could have even been a throw away comment about even one character along the way.
Captain America: Brave New World isn’t a bad movie, but it definitely isn’t the best the MCU has released. Should we still blame the over saturated universe or has Marvel just started phoning it in? It definitely is still better than most Sony/Marvel released that hit the screen (with the exception of Spider-Man of course), but that really isn’t setting the bar very high. If you like your super-hero movies with only a touch of super-hero – this might be the movie for you.
Captain America: Brave New World is now in theaters.
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About Captain America Brave New World
After meeting with 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. Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Brave New World” stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musso and Julius Onah & Peter Glanz with story by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson. “Captain America: Brave New World” opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.