In Captain America: Brave New World, clever marketing promising a new kind of gritty Marvel movie can’t mask the fact that this is just more of the same–stale humor and a story that can’t help but devolve into stupid comic book antics.
There’s promise here, as there is in many Marvel movies. With Anthony Mackie donning the shield from Chris Evans, there’s a new character to explore (assuming you didn’t watch or, like me, don’t remember much about the critically panned TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). There are racial elements at play–Sam Wilson (Mackie), who is Black, has more than just his super-powered predecessor to live up to, and he is friends with another Black supersoldier, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who spent decades imprisoned by the U.S. government as they conducted experiments on him and is simply trying to salvage what’s left of his life. There’s political espionage and intrigue afoot, geopolitical scheming, and of course the inspired addition of Harrison Ford, who plays newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross.
Ford is absolutely great in this, performing at another level than the rest of the cast combined (though Lumbly plays an emotionally damaged soldier quite well). Battling his own inner demons and former temptations while exerting his will and power, there’s a lot going on with his character (who was originally played by the late William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk–you know, back when The Hulk was played by Ed Norton). Ford steps up to the plate, proving once again why Harrison Ford is Harrison Fucking Ford.
You might as well call this movie Cosplay America: How to Waste Harrison Ford.
It’s not that the movie doesn’t have some entertainment value. Like most Marvel movies, there is a baseline formula that by default works to some degree. The characters are likable. The plot keeps you attentive. The pace is fast. There is enough action to fill two hours.
But it all feels like Disney filler, because it is. For all the seemingly sophisticated political scheming, the story actually revolves around a supervillain with absolutely cheesy makeup who can control minds and has a much more personal objective in mind. The examination of race is superficial at best; it has ideas, but because it’s a Marvel movie it doesn’t want to offend anyone or skew too far afield. And like so many Marvel movies, a solid setup is wasted by a disastrously lame third act that involves lots of punching, special effects, and zero suspense.
In the opening paragraph, I mentioned that this new Captain America had clever marketing. I generally liked the trailers, which pitched a more personal, political, and gritty thriller. A clear, albeit in hindsight desperate, attempt to position it is a suitable followup to one of Marvel’s best movies, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The trailers also featured Red Hulk, which didn’t excite me in the least. And oddly, Red Hulk is what destroys this movie. It’s the Big Surprise of the movie, except Red Hulk has been featured prominently in the marketing–and it’s a massive waste of Harrison Ford’s capabilities and potential.
Sam Wilson, unfortunately, isn’t much of a lead character. Mackie is fine, but his character is about as interesting as the uninteresting Hawkeye–he operates best as a supporting character, where he can crack jokes and assist in the action as Falcon. He’s Captain America, but he doesn’t have superpowers. He’s more like Iron Man, except he isn’t as intelligent or cocky. He’s just a dude in a suit–cosplay at its finest.
Further hampering the movie is its connections to past Marvel products. The Falcon and the Soldier was not well received, but it’s essential viewing. I watched that show but don’t remember much about it–I don’t remember exactly why Wilson became Captain America. I don’t remember Isaiah Bradley or Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who is a terrible character by the way. Brave New World also heavily connects to The Eternals, one of Marvel’s dullest and least watched movies (though at least it finally addresses the fact that there is a giant celestial being sticking out of the Earth).
In the end, Cosplay America is just that–a movie acting like it’s something it’s not. While entertaining to a degree, it attempts to paint itself as smarter than it actually is. Hell, director Julius Onah may even believe he made a smarter movie than what it actually is. But it’s all just sort of dumb and uninspired, lacking great action sequences or any sense of grandeur or spectacle.
There’s nothing brave or new here.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.