‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Review: Anthony Mackie Soars High in a Mixed Bag Debut

Three years after Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) officially took on the Captain America mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, his first solo film, Captain America: Brave New World, has finally arrived in theaters. Five months after Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) was elected president of the United States, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) is found responsible for an assassination attempt on the president’s life. As Captain America, Wilson investigates to try to prove his friend’s innocence, with the help of his new ally, Joaquin Torres/Falcon (Danny Ramirez). But they uncover a deeper conspiracy that could cause a war between nations.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in the middle of its Multiverse Saga, Captain America: Brave New World takes a step away from variants and alternate worlds to tell a grounded, political drama that’s reminiscent of the early MCU days. Audiences have complained about the lack of connectivity between projects, but Captain America 4 silences those criticisms by being a sequel to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Incredible Hulk while addressing (the overly criticized) giant Celestial that was unearthed in Eternals.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Wilson struggle with Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) decision to give him the Captain America shield in Avengers: Endgame, but by the end, he accepts the pressure of being a Black man who wears the stars and stripes because he can be a symbol of hope who champions honor, dignity, integrity, and equality in a nation that couldn’t be any more divided. Even with a shaky plot, this message thankfully isn’t forgotten in Captain America: Brave New World.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Welcomes a New Era in the MCU

Mackie is much more confident as Captain America this time around, solidifying his position in the mantle. Since Wilson doesn’t have the strength and durability that the super soldier serum provides, his fighting style is different than Steve Rogers’, showcasing a new way to use the shield. Wilson shines in this film by not relying on his Wakandan tech to defeat his enemies — he fights harder and smarter. But even though he’s more sure of himself, the film’s antagonists constantly compare him to his predecessor, a representation of the internet trolls who can’t accept a Black man as Captain America.

After the tease in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that Torres would take on the Falcon mantle, he’s still learning the ropes and assisting Wilson with select missions. Their Captain America/Falcon dynamic isn’t the same as Rogers and Wilson’s, nor should it be. You have two characters who grew up in a world where they didn’t see people like them as superheroes, so they share the weight of representing their communities and inspiring the next generation. While not every joke from Torres lands, Ramirez delivers an emotional performance that makes the character’s journey exciting to follow in the future.

Harrison Ford and Carl Lumbly Are Powerful Additions to ‘Captain America 4’

Taking on the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt, Ford perfectly captures the character’s rage while peeling back a new layer that makes him more complex than ever before in the MCU. He continues to have a strained relationship with his daughter, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), but he still works toward proving to her that he’s changed over the years. Ford steps into this role with ease, causing audiences to question if he’s someone to be trusted. Thunderbolt Ross and Wilson have been on opposing sides of the law since Captain America: Civil War, so it’s interesting to see how they collaborate in their new roles. Mackie and Ford are electric together, making the characters’ dynamic all the more tense and engaging.

The heart of Captain America: Brave New World lies in Lumbly’s performance as Isaiah Bradley. After being experimented on and kept in prison for over 30 years, the U.S. hid a Black Captain America from the world. Wilson changed that with a tearjerking moment in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Bradley was given an entire exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution honoring his story and what he sacrificed for his country.

By Captain America 4, he’s not entirely sold with Wilson working alongside the U.S. president, especially someone with a harsh reputation as Thunderbolt Ross. In Lumbly’s limited screen time, he’s a reminder of why Wilson stepped up to take up the Captain America mantle. The country has made many mistakes over the years with how they treat people of color, so Wilson working closely with the president is his way to provide a voice to different communities and ensure they never get mistreated again.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Is Loaded With Villains (for Better or Worse)

17 years after The Incredible Hulk teased Samuel Sterns’ (Tim Blake Nelson) turn into The Leader, the character finally makes their return in Captain America: Brave New World. Unfortunately, there isn’t much time devoted to The Leader to make him a compelling villain. A common rule in visual media is “show, don’t tell.” A lot of Sterns’ anger and motivation are told to the audience, rather than shown to fully invest or sympathize with his cause.

On the other hand, Sidewinder might seem like an underwhelming character for the talented Giancarlo Esposito to play in the MCU, but he makes him a menacing and conniving foe. Sidewinder may not be a major player as the franchise heads toward the end of the Multiverse Saga, but he could easily fit in the grounded corner and be a worthy adversary to characters like Charlie Cox’s Daredevil or Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

From the very first trailer and poster for Captain America: Brave New World, the marketing team made it clear that the big threat Wilson would have to deal with was the Red Hulk. It would’ve been nice to have this surprise saved for the theater experience, nonetheless, it’s an epic battle. The antagonists in the film challenge the different aspects that make Wilson a great hero: his strength, his intelligence, and his weaponry. Watching Wilson challenged like this is an excellent way to show what kind of hero he is and how he’s not Steve Rogers — in a good way.

The Glaring Problem With Ruth Bat-Seraph, Explained

With the traumatic history and the recent acts of genocide from Israel towards Palestine, the inclusion of the Zionist superhero Ruth Bat-Seraph/Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World is a bold decision from Marvel Studios. In the comics, Ruth is an Israeli superhero and an agent of Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency).

In 1981’s The Incredible Hulk #256 comic, Hulk befriends a young Palestinian boy who teaches him human values. The boy becomes collateral damage when Ruth chases after the Hulk, but she barely feels remorse and blames Hulk for the kid’s death. But Hulk retorts by saying “Boy died because boy’s people and yours want to own land! Boy died because you wouldn’t share. Boy died because of two old books that say his people and yours must fight and kill for land!”

Those who side with Palestine find it traumatizing to see a character so tied to Israel and the country’s views be given a global platform to glorify Israel’s government. Following the backlash, Marvel released a statement saying Captain America: Brave New World would take “a new approach” with Ruth. When it was revealed that Ruth would be a former Black Widow and a high-ranking U.S. government official, the pro-Israel community saw this as erasing the character’s history.

It didn’t help that Shira Haas, who plays Ruth in the film, has vocally supported Israel and voluntarily enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) despite being given a medical exemption after being diagnosed with kidney cancer at a young age. With so much controversy and people boycotting the film for these reasons, it begs the question: Why even include this character?

Ruth is a major supporting character in the film as a high-level security agent that Thunderbolt Ross trusts. While the character’s history has been written to be a former Black Widow, did she have to be based on someone so controversial (the character’s name is literally a “symbol of loss” to Palestinians and represents a tragic massacre), and played by someone who strongly believes in Israel’s actions? If Marvel wanted to have more diverse characters in the film, they have decades of people to choose from. They could’ve also created an original character. It’s frustrating that a movie that celebrates a brave new world is tied with gruesome real-world tragedies when they could’ve easily cut out the character completely and gone in a different direction.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Glides Along, but Doesn’t Reach MCU Highs

As reality has become an uncertain and scary time to live in, Captain America: Brave New World offers some hope for a better tomorrow. Mackie excellently leads the film and proves why he deserves the mantle of the Star Spangled man. The story stumbles along as it feels too much like a retread of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It’s admirable to see how that film’s formula is injected here, but Sam Wilson deserves a story that’s made for him without having to draw comparisons to what’s come before.

Ford and Lumbly give powerful performances that lift the stakes and beat the heart of the film. Esposito and Nelson aren’t given enough to work with to make their characters leave a mark, but hopefully, we haven’t seen the end of them. The CGI and background work unfortunately looks unfinished and will take some audiences out of the grounded nature of the film. But the action is worth seeing on the big screen. Now that Wilson is established as Captain America, it’ll be exciting to see how he leads the Avengers against Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Captain America: Brave New World releases in theaters February 14. Follow the Agents of Fandom socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.