Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Marvel/Action-Adventure RT: 118 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of action and violence, some strong language) Director: Julius Onah Screenplay: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah and Peter Glanz Music: Laura Karpman Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau Release date: February 14, 2025 (US) Cast: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Xosha Roquemore, Liv Tyler, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, William Mark McCullough.
Rating: **
I’ve been hearing that the newest Marvel movie Captain America: Brave New World is a real stinker. I don’t know if I’d call it that, but it’s definitely lame. The plot makes no sense, the action falls flat, the visuals are dull and the villain sucks. Nobody seems to be having any fun. Indifference appears to be the prevailing attitude on both sides of the camera. It’s certainly what I was feeling the whole time. The nicest thing I can say about the whole experience is that director Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) keeps it relatively short at just under two hours. Thank the movie gods for small blessings.
I’ve given it a lot of thought and decided I’m only going to provide minimal plot description. Why? Two reasons stand at the forefront. One, it’s too convoluted to sum up in a few sentences. Two, it doesn’t matter because it ultimately amounts to nothing. That being said, here’s what Captain America: Brave New World is about in a nutshell. The new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Mackie, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), is out to exonerate his friend Isaiah Bradley (Lumbly, Supergirl) after he makes an attempt on the life of President Thaddeus Ross (Ford, Star Wars). It turns out his mind was being controlled by the movie’s villain Leader aka Samuel Sterns (Nelson, reprising his role from The Incredible Hulk) who has a personal vendetta against Ross. His plan of revenge involves derailing a treaty with other countries over the handling of adamantium and instigating a war. It’s on Cap and the new Falcon (Ramirez, Top Gun: Maverick) to stop it. There’s more to it, but this summary will suffice for the purposes of this review.
I’m sure a lot of you want to know how Red Hulk fits into Captain America: Brave New World. Okay, I’ll tell you what I can. It’s no secret that Ross transforms into this character. You have to wait a while before he shows. He’s only in it for a few minutes in the climax. It’s the only time the film comes close to something resembling life. It’s a pretty good fight, but it also makes you realize how weak the movie is as a whole. It leaves a lot more to be desired.
There are those out there who complain about the newest MCU movies being “too woke”. That’s not an issue in Captain America: Brave New World. It avoids obvious issues like race and equality. It never once touches on Cap being black or how America typically treats people of color. Quite the opposite, nobody seems to even care. I have mixed feelings about this. While I appreciate Onah trying to lighten the load so to speak, it feels like Sam Wilson should have conflicting feelings about defending a nation that tends to marginalize black people. Shouldn’t something like this be addressed?
Am I the only one who notices how dull and drab Captain America: Brave New World is? I can’t be. I thought comic books were supposed to be colorful and vibrant? I never got the sense I was looking at a filmed version of a comic book. While its heroes fly, the movie never soars. It simply idles for two hours, moving without actually going anywhere. The VFX are 100% standard issue. They’re neither good nor bad; they’re simply functional. The action scenes are serviceable, but only in the barest sense. They’re not exciting at all. There’s nothing imaginative here. It’s a movie made by AI. It has all the right parts in all the right places, but no evidence of human involvement.
The acting is passable I suppose. The actors do their best with what little development the five (!) writers afford their characters. Ford, replacing the late William Hurt, does his cranky old man bit as the antagonistic Ross who spends a lot of time brooding over his estrangement from his daughter (Tyler, Armageddon). Mackie does okay as Sam/Captain America, but he looks bored most of the time. Shira Haas (Unorthodox) brings nothing to the table as Ruth, Ross’ security advisor and former Black Widow. She walks around looking like she has a permanent case of PMS. Nelson tries, but there’s nothing he can do about the lameness of his villain. There’s nothing cool or especially menacing about Leader. Honestly, none of the supporting characters are all that interesting.
Reportedly, Captain America: Brave New World underwent reshoots and rewrites before seeing the inside of multiplexes. It shows in the confused narrative. The story, a blend of superhero silliness and Tom Clancy seriousness, makes little to no sense. I gave up trying to piece it together early on. I just sat there waiting for it to end. There is no satisfying payoff, emotionally and otherwise. This includes the frustrating end credits scene which frankly, isn’t even worth sticking around for. The big reveal is something we already know. If you want specifics, check the Wikipedia entry.
As bad as Captain America: Brave New World is, I’m awarding it a two-star rating because I can’t muster any strong feelings for it either way. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s not fun or entertaining. It’s not exactly a slog either. It’s just there and then only barely. It’s a superhero movie on life support. If nothing else, it’s a warning light indicating the genre needs a complete overhaul.
