MOVIE SCENE CANADA
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD
​I Marvel Studios Canada I February 14, 2025 I 118 mins. I
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Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
CAST:
DIRECTOR(S):
51%
Julius Onah
* As of 2/14/25
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 2/14/2025
RATING 4 out of 5
Captain America: Brave New World is a fun throwback to the political action thrillers of the 1980s that features strong performances from Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford and Danny Ramirez, delivering high flying Marvel excitement even if it is not ushering in the brave new world that the title teased.
Marking the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, audiences are once again treated to a Captain America film almost a decade after the previous entry in the series: Captain America: Civil War. But not only that, Captain America: Brave New World marks a turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with only three films to go until the next Avengers film and after taking a hiatus last year from releasing multiple films to rework the larger vision for the series after dwindling fan enthusiasm, Sam Wilson returns to the big screen to kickstart the road to Avengers: Doomsday. There is no denying that Anthony Mackie was made to lead a Marvel film as Sam Wilson, as he is excellent in the lead role, while Harrison Ford and Danny Ramirez deliver two scene stealing supporting performances, but the overarching story for Captain America: Brave New World is not the game changing story that fans were expecting. With a more hyper focused story on wrapping up loose ends from past films in the series and laying the seeds for what is to come, the pacing doesn’t slow and never for a second does Captain America: Brave New World forget to entertain with excellent action sequences, a thrilling yet predictable story and great performances, making for a solid entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe even if it does not have a larger impact on the series’ overall story.
While the film falls into the Captain America series, Captain America: Brave New World is in fact not a true Captain America film. Even though Sam Wilson is our lead character, the story is actually not his story. The film, in fact, is a secret sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk thanks to the inclusion of Thaddeus Ross and the film’s main villain (who will remain unnamed in case it has not already been spoiled for you), with Captain America being the hero caught in the middle of the power struggle at the heart of the film’s story. At the same time, we finally have acknowledgement of the events of 2021’s Eternals with Tiamut, the celestial whose emergence was stopped in that film, becoming the focal point of an international resource race for the newly discovered metal alloy adamantium that can be mined from the celestial’s body.
Trying to emulate the tone of Captain America: The Winter Soldier with a grounded, thriller storyline, the film races through it’s almost two hour runtime throwing multiple twists and turns in the mystery at the audience, which sadly do not have the desired effect as the film’s big reveal is all over the film’s marketing so the audience is always one step ahead of the writers. But, even with this, it is never not an entertaining watch from start to finish as the film captures the essence of an 80s action thriller; never for a second pretending to be smarter than it is but always with thrills and entertainment as its primary focus. While Captain America feels like a pawn in this story, there are some excellent moments where Sam reflects on the legacy of the shield, what it means to be a black man carrying the mantle of Captain America and unjustly comparing himself to Steve Rogers, and it is at these moments where the most impactful scenes of the film unfold. Yes, it was done better before in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, giving the time for these thoughts within Sam to develop, but for his first big screen outing as Captain America, Sam Wilson does not disappoint for a second. Even with the title teasing a brave new world, the larger impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe is rather minor, merely tying up unresolved plot lines from previous films, while laying seeds for the introduction of the X-Men and continuing to lay the groundwork for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s never a bad film, but for both Sam Wilson and Mackie, it would have been nicer to see a film created for them rather than merely using them as the main player in a story concerned about other aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Even with the story not giving the focus to Captain America, there is no doubt that Mackie is a true star in the role. After joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe a decade ago, Mackie is finally leading his first film, and he makes for an incredible lead. Bringing the humility, honour, heart, grit and comedic chops that we have seen from Mackie in his entire run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mackie continues the heroic legacy of Captain America and capably carries the film on his shoulder. He’s at his best during the more personal moments to Sam Wilson, bringing an emotionality to Sam’s new role in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he more than proves himself worthy as the newest leader of the Avengers heading into the next two team up films. Ford, replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, is excellent in every scene that features him. No one can play a complex, conflicted and grumpy old man like Ford, and he does so with a presence and gravity that captures both the grounded, gritty vision of this story and the fantastical, larger than life aspect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, quickly becoming the film’s MVP. Ramirez is a scene stealer as Joaquin Torres who takes up the mantle of Falcon, always infusing the film with a levity with some great, wise cracking comedic moments that will have the audience laughing. Shira Haas is a great addition as Ruth Bat-Seraph, bringing an undeniable intensity that matches the tone of the film and creates a worthy adversary for Sam and Joaquin. Carl Lumbly once again is excellent as Isaiah Bradley, helping to create the emotional core of the film as he is implicated in the larger plan, bringing up heated emotions given his character’s history with the United States Government. And while they have smaller amounts of screen time, Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson make for great villains, even if they are largely working in the shadows pulling the strings akin to Daniel Brühl’s Zemo in Captain America: Civil War.
Most important for any superhero film is the requirement of good action, and Captain America: Brave New World delivers on that in spades. Featuring one exhilarating aerial sequence set at Celestial Island that lets Sam Wilson’s version of Captain America shine, as well as lots of smaller combat moments throughout the film, there is no shortage of action sequences that explode across the screen. Especially in the IMAX format where the majority of these sequences are filmed for IMAX and expand to the 1.90:1 aspect ratio, giving audiences more of the action and the true scope of director Julius Onah’s vision for these set pieces. Characterizing the entire film is a darker tone, from the grittier action sequences, darkened cinematography and Laura Karpman’s musical score which provides high intensity scoring to propel the film’s story, ensuring that that once the film’s opening action sequence begins, it doesn't stop until moving at a brisk and thrilling pace until the credits begin rolling. Even with a few moments of questionable CGI, the result is a gripping film with tense moments, even if it never reaches the heart pounding and shocking heights of some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best films. But, Captain America: Brave New World more than satisfies with an action packed big screen outing that calls back to the simplicity of some of the earlier films in the series.
At this point into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans are always expecting the next event level film, but that it is not necessary for an exciting entry in the series. And that is exactly what Captain America: Brave New World is: a highly entertaining stand alone entry in the series that gives Anthony Mackie his first Marvel film to lead with explosive action sequences, great performances and a grounded thriller story that never misses its mark (even if it's not the mark that many fans and critics are expecting from it). With impressive performances from Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford and Danny Ramirez leading the charge, the grounded yet straightforward homage to the 1980s action thriller knows exactly how to entertain with spectacle filled action sequences and plenty of twists and turns, making Captain America: Brave New World an entertaining, high flying Marvel action flick to tide over the wait for the bigger entries just around the corner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.