I was actually excited for ‘Captain America: Brave New World.’ I really, really enjoyed ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ on Disney+ and I personally believe that Anthony Mackie is the new Captain America. Yes, Chris Evans was amazing in that role. He will always be the original MCU Captain America, but time has moved on. And so should we. And I can’t believe that this is how I’m beginning a movie review because the politics and the emotions surrounding this movie is just out of this world. It is also a clear example of the power of the movies and the image. 

Now with all that said, why is Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross stealing the movie from Anthony Mackie? It’s because unlike previous Captain America movies or in his own show, ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ our protagonist isn’t having a crisis of faith or identity. As Sam Wilson, the new Captain, he’s just out there trying to unravel a complex conspiracy that threatens the very leadership of his country. He’s trying to stop a world war, but he doesn’t have any conflict of self throughout this whole movie. The one who has this arc is Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. And I feel that it was such a great disservice to the character of Sam Wilson and the actor, Anthony Mackie.

From Phase 2 onwards, we know that Sam Wilson and Thaddeus Ross are not in the best of terms. Ross has even put Wilson in the brig for joining Steve Rogers during the events of ‘Captain America: Civil War.’ Ideologically, they are not in the same team. But Sam is the captain now and Ross has just won the presidential election. He’s trying to create a legacy by brokering a treaty among other nations to cooperate in making full use of Celestial Island (the Celestial in the Indian Ocean, which formed during the events of the film ‘Eternals’). Wilson and Ross agree to work together but a failed assassination attempt at Ross by Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) puts the two back in the opposition and Wilson must figure out what’s happening and who’s pulling the strings as Ross tries to keep the treaty from breaking down.

The film introduces a whole new set of characters from Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres, who takes over the mantle of Falcon. Ramirez is a breath of fresh air and gives the movie the comic-book energy the fill needs. He’s charming and draws you in and does a wonderful counterpoint to Mackie’s Wilson, who is carrying the burden a little too much. Giancarlo Esposito is always amazing, and he shows up as the assassin Sidewinder, who is more than a match for Captain America. It’s always fun to watch Esposito work and this is no exception. Shira Haas plays Ruth Bat-Seraph, a former black widow who is now the security officer of Ross, and plot-wise, acts as Ross’ muscle to face off Wilson and Torres when they must come at odds.

Directed by Julius Onah, there’s a sort of realism to the fight sequences (especially at the beginning) because it sorts of underlines that unlike the rest of the Avengers, Sam Wilson is a not super soldier. He gets tired. He gets badly hurt. And he’s not as fast. The film has its fair share of fight choreography, though the best parts are when both Captain America and the Falcon are in the air in a dog fight trying to stop two nations from killing each other. It’s pretty exciting. But that happens mid-way and all the stuff that happens after feels a little less thought-out. As seen on the trailer, we know that Ross turns into the Red Hulk, and then the film shows a ton of US military coming at him as if they think they can make a dent. It feels so counter intuitive. You have Captain America in the scene. It’s a hulk. Shouldn’t you just run? It doesn’t help that the film is known for its reshoots and you can see it in full glory in the final scenes. The CGI and the green screen effects look dodgy and rushed. It’s a far cry from the first half of the film where everything looked good (except for the folding of the wings).

While I appreciated the attempt of the film to hold on to its thriller/intrigue tone, the person who is actually pulling the strings is a little to all-encompassing to accomplish what he has at this point in the film. You can say that Hydra did the same in ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier” but Hydra is an organization and they’ve been fully established in the first Captain America movie. While this is not an unknown character, what this character is able to do is equal to that level of far-reaching circumstances. It just felt so convenient.

The thing about it is that ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ is not a bad movie but it’s not a great one. I felt more invested in Ross’ story because Ford did such a good job with it and his character had the most character development. Everything Sam Wilson was problematizing on an individual, character-level he’d already managed in his own series. In the end, it felt like an episode of a tv show rather than a movie of its own. Steve Rogers had a crisis of faith and patriotism in his second and third movie. I guess I wanted the stakes to be that high for Sam Wilson too, because he deserves it. Mackie has earned that shield and we’ve seen him grow into it in his own show. I wish the movie pushed him further.

My Rating:

Captain America: Brave New World is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.