Captain America: Brave New World poster
Courtesy | IMDB
When Marvel Studios changed the title of the fourth Captain America movie from “Captain America: New World Order” to “Captain America: Brave New World,” I expected a film with political commentary like the dystopian novel of the same name. Instead, this movie was a mess of half-baked characters and predictable plot points.
The film is equal parts a wannabe “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and a discount Hulk sequel. To accommodate the former, “Brave New World” takes itself seriously and tries to recreate the political intrigue of that finest movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — all while Harrison Ford turns into Red Hulk. The two tones clash and leave no room for either story to breathe.
The characters were the biggest letdown. Anthony Mackie as Captain America and Harrison Ford as President Ross should have carried the movie. Instead, the writers forced Mackie into a caricature of Chris Evans, removing his signature wisecracks rather than leaning into the strengths of the actor. Captain America is a role, not a personality.
Ford had it worse. Ross should have been the main villain — a charismatic presidential candidate with questionable campaign tactics and a checkered past regarding superheroes. With Ford’s gruff menace, Ross looked to be a real threat. The writers scrapped that in favor of a contradictory character who modulates between fatherly love, deceit, and violent gamma episodes. How do you take a character seriously when he’s pining for his daughter one second and throwing cars at Captain America the next second?
Marvel should have paid closer attention to “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” the “Brave New World” predecessor. The chemistry between Bucky Barnes’ stoicism and Sam Wilson’s bluster covered a multitude of plot issues and the brutality of Isaiah Bradley’s backstory grounded the show in gritty, historical racism. “Brave New World” saw that and decided to turn Sam into the stoic one and give him a wisecracking sidekick while transforming Bradley into comedic relief as an out-of-touch grandpa sort.
Like many Marvel projects, “Brave New World” was a wasted opportunity. With most of the original Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe dead or retired, Marvel needs a new face for the franchise and leader for the team. Sam’s Captain America is the ideal candidate. “Brave New World” should have been a showcase of Sam’s qualifications — his charisma, character, and courage.
For example, what if the movie was about a recreation of Steve Rogers’ original serum, including the side effects of amplifying the user’s personality? Sam could wrestle with self-doubt and any concerns about his character, while Ross chooses to take it and expose the monster inside. Alternatively, Marvel could have scrapped the Red Hulk story — or saved it for a movie that actually features Hulk — and went all in on Sam’s attempt to stop a sitting president’s corruption. Maybe Marvel worried too much about the backlash from conservatives if they made the president-elect a villain.
Regardless, “Brave New World” fell short of its already muted expectations. After taking a year off from Marvel movies (excluding the anomaly, “Deadpool & Wolverine”), Marvel Studios needed a win but didn’t have the guts to produce a movie thought-provoking or interesting enough to revive the franchise. As of now, the movie may not even break even.
If Marvel Studios wants to right the ship before “Avengers: Doomsday” in 2026, it needs to strike a consistent tone in a movie and take risks with the messaging. Otherwise, we will never move past flops like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
