Captain America: Brave New World (Movie Review)

After scaling things back in 2024, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back with full force this year. I mean, you only need to take a look at its packed slate to see just how much content will be coming out of its production pipeline. And out of all those movies and TV shows, Captain America: Brave New World is among the most hotly anticipated by fans. But is the movie the return to form the franchise desperately needs, or is it yet another misstep in a long string of false starts?

Set 3 years after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the film finds Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) well into his tenure as Captain America. But more notably, it picks up with Thaddeus Ross (now played by Harrison Ford) after his first hundred days as President of the United States. The president tasks Cap with rebuilding the Avengers, except those plans are put on hold following an assassination attempt. Both men are soon embroiled in a brewing global conflict, the outcome of which could very well shape the future of the world at large.

As a diehard MCU fan, I must admit that it was hard for me to muster any kind of excitement heading into Captain America: Brave New World. This was of course due to just how many times I'd been burnt already by the near-total slop Marvel Studios has been serving up of late. Because for every Deadpool & Wolverine or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there seemed to be no shortage of Secret Invasions or She-Hulks. 

Then there was of course the news of the film having to be rejigged well into production, resulting in extensive reshoots. Such things are never a good sign, even though they don't necessarily spell doom for the film's critical and financial prospects either. So even though my expectations were as low as they could get, I still mustered enough cautious optimism to drag myself to the nearest movie theater, hoping for something at least half-decent. And in some respects, the movie delivers just that. 

Starting off with the positives, I was really happy to see some of the story threads introduced in movies like Eternals finally starting to pay off, with one of that movie's celestials serving as a central plot device in this one. In other words, the MCU is starting to feel like the MCU again, with what some might consider a good showing of some of the interconnected storylines fans have come to expect from the franchise.

Then there were the action scenes and the visuals that helped bring them to life. I was especially enamored by the climax, which had all the pyrotechnics one could hope for in the third act of a superhero movie. A lot of it was pure eye candy, for sure, and eagled-eyed viewers might even spot a few instances of egregious green effects here and there. But overall, I was pleased and appropriately thrilled by what was on display.

What I found less thrilling though was the film's hodgepodge storyline which was filled with plot contrivances and driven by yet another lackluster villain. I won't spoil who it was but I doubt anyone other than the film's writers would find the villain in question compelling. The same could be said about most of the supporting cast, who range from your stereotypical girl boss to the overexcited sidekick. These are archetypes we've seen a lot in the MCU already, and these ones bring nothing new to the table.

But I think perhaps my biggest grievance with the movie is just how criminally underutilized Giancarlo Esposito was. He barely got enough screen time to showcase his talents and the little time that he did get was let down by the cobbled-together storyline. The actor has already proven himself more than capable of portraying iconic villains in shows like Breaking Bad so I was disappointed that he didn't get to tap into any of that here. His inclusion felt like an afterthought or like a product of those extensive reshoots.

Captain America: Brave New World is another middle-of-the-road entry into the MCU that would have you pining for the good old days. Sure, its story might alternate between implausible and just plain dumb, but at least it is the fun kind of dumb, not the sludge that has been passing for entertainment with alarming frequency of late. And sometimes, that's all it takes to set itself apart or earn a reluctant recommendation.