Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

Following the events of several MCU properties that were never revisited, the fourth Captain America tries to pacify fans by throwing answers to questions these flicks/TV shows left open, blending it all into one story.  

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi

Director: Julius Onah

Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Harrison Ford, Tim Blake Nelson, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Shira Haas, Sebastian Stan & Liv Tyler.

Run Time: 118 min.

US Release: 14 February 2025

UK Release: 14 February 2025

German Release: 13 February 2025

I am seriously getting tired of Marvel projects, to the point that I am thinking of simply skipping future releases, to focus on other films that deserve my attention. Brave New World wasn’t high on my list, especially given its release slate. The trailers revealed too much, while stories of extensive re-shoots and changing the subtitle didn’t prove that the studio had faith in this fourth solo title, featuring Sam Wilson as the new Cap. Rightly so, because the end product is a stitched-up monstrosity that ain’t either Captain America, nor is it really a sequel to The Incredible Hulk. It ain’t terrible, but it also isn’t good.

So rage with me through this review for Captain America: Brave New World!

Following the events that made Sam Wilson the new Captain America, just like the near-cataclysmic emergence of the celestial Tiamut at the end of Eternals, the world finds itself in the middle of an international incident. Wilson, stuck in the middle of this delicate situation, needs to entangle a web of intrigue plus deception.

Let me begin by stating that the core ideas from the writing staff were interesting. However, the execution behind it was lacking dramatically. On top of that, Brave New World faced some serious production challenges; from real-world issues like the Gaza war, or the political tensions in the U.S., to extensive re-shoots, as well as budget constraints.

Director Onah tries to emulate The Winter Soldier’s formula by blending political thriller with heroic drama, though falls short, struggling to carry a high level of urgency into the overall tone. The narrative feels disjointed, without having a clear structure or thread.

The script itself tries hard to balance character development with a tension-filled political message, but regrettably, the narrative feels so overstuffed that the protagonists get little introspection, and the premise’s web of schemes is overly explained to viewers, instead of naturally integrated. 

The story rehashes a lot of themes that had already been brought up in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier series. It also sets up a complex political setting that sprang from the finale in the Eternals, with an arms race to mine the newfound indestructible element “Adamantium”, just like bringing back a major figure, who made his debut in the Incredible Hulk, though after the events in Harlem was never talked about again. All in all, it is too convoluted, with subplots introduced, yet never explored or resolved.

Dialogues sound more like expository dumps than organic discussions. Generally, conversations are awkwardly written, operating like a blueprint for the general plot. This hinders emotional engagement with the characters. 

Anthony Mackie returns in the role of Sam Wilson, giving a solid performance as the new Captain America. He brings a good amount of charm and likability with him, balancing it out with adequate physical displays. Unfortunately, Sam does come off as extremely preachy at times, just like rehashing insecurities he worked out in his own Disney+ show. The character is underwritten, lacking the nuances that made Steve Rogers’ path so compelling.

Harrison Ford took over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross after actor William Hurt’s passing away. Though he was reportedly difficult to work with, he still managed to infuse the persona with a layer of complexity. Elected as the new President of the United States, Ross obtains more screentime, rounding him out even more than in previous MCU movies.

Supporting cast like Danny Ramirez, as the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres, who was introduced in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier, show potential but are sidelined due to the packed casting. This is also true of the villain Sidewinder, played by a great Giancarlo Esposito, who is shoehorned into the story. 

In contrast, Tim Blake Nelson’s return as Samuel Stern, since his disappearance after the events of The Incredible Hulk, is better explored, with Nelson giving a strong rendition of the villain, even though he is underwhelmingly written.

The cinematography for this new Marvel blockbuster is great. Director of Photography Kramer Morgenthau tried to recreate an aesthetic feeling that mimics 1970s political thrillers. Using different anamorphic lenses on an Arri Alexa Mini LF IMAX camera, he managed to give the picture the needed grain plus hallation, to evoke that exact flair. The aerial sequences above “Celestial Island” are beautifully captured, which can’t be said about other battle segments, disorienting audiences by using shaky cam mixed with close-ups. 

The effects are a mixed bag. While the motion capture of Ford's facial features is well rendered onto the Red Hulk, the transformation scene, just like other segments using CG or greenscreen, look unfinished; the final battle between Cap and the Red Hulk is a prime example of this. The design for Sterns looks terrifyingly disturbing, however, I would have wished for something a little more comic-book accurate. 

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Verdict: I left the theatre utterly disappointed. Even amid all the news of extensive reshoots, script changes, and set drama, I was hoping for something better than we obtained. Sadly, the overstuffed plot reuses ideas from previous MCU projects, stitching them together into a  Frankenstein-like monster of a narrative. The jarring pacing, exposition-heavy dialogue, plus many side arcs leave little room for any sort of character development. Anthony Mackie gives, as always, a good iteration of Sam Wilson, though his dialogues come off as preachy. Harrison Ford takes over as Thaddeus Ross, giving the character great emotional depth. The camera is solid, using anthropomorphic lenses to give the picture a grimey 70s thriller aesthetic. The effects, on the other hand, are hit or miss, as a lot of the CGI looks unfinished. In the end, this is another MCU entry I don’t need to revisit. I’ll give it a 5.0 out of 10.

What about you? Have you seen Captain America: Brave New World? Do you agree with my review? Leave a comment in the section below & thank you very much for reading!