I went into Captain America: Brave New World with some trepidation. Marvel’s series of films (and television shows) have been on unstable footing for a little while now (Deadpool & Wolverine notwithstanding). The film went through a lot of changes and reshoots, which is usually signs of trouble, but the end result wasn’t all that bad. Not great, but certainly not terrible, and definitely enough to keep fans like myself entertained.
After the events of the show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is firmly entrenched as the new Captain America. He and a team are sent on a mission to intercept a valuable item for sale on the black market. After a battle and the introduction of a new bad guy (Sidewinder, portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito), we learn that the item in question is a sample of a new metal, adamantium, which is stronger than Wakanda’s vibranium and which is found on the relic Celestial (remember The Eternals? Me neither). The new President of the USA, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over the role after the death of William Hurt from the original Hulk film) is trying to broker a deal between several countries to share the adamantium and the technology found on the Celestial, but someone or some group seems intent to put the kibosh on those talks. Some brainwashed soldiers attack President Ross at the White House, and other countries go on alert, thinking America doesn’t have everything as under control as they like to think.
Wilson teams up with the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), in hopes of saving the peace talks and preventing an all-out war. But there’s another bad guy in the background pulling all the strings. The person who brainwashed those would-be assassins is a face from the past, someone Marvel viewers haven’t seen in nearly 20 years. It sets up a climactic battle in the end, and also lays the foundation for the future of the Avengers.
As I said, the movie isn’t stellar. The plot is rushed in some spots and drags in others, and definitely has the feel of being “cobbled together” to try to create a whole story. That being said, the action scenes were fantastic, and there’s a solid base there that Marvel can build from in future films. I like Mackie as a person, seems like a good dude, so I hope he gets his chance to grow the role of the new Cap in future installments (with maybe some better writing behind him). Still, I enjoyed the film and will look forward to watching it again one day. ★★★½
Jons Movie Takes 