Warning: This review contains spoilers!
“Captain America: Brave New World” premiered on Feb. 14, serving as the fourth film in the Captain America franchise. The film follows Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie’s) continuation of the mantle of Captain America from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021). The supporting characters cast consists of Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley and Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres. For the film’s antagonists, Harrison Ford resumes the character of Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk; Giancarlo Esposito plays Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society and Tim Blake Nelson plays the mastermind behind it all, The Thinker, who is featured in the last scene in “The Incredible Hulk” (2008).
The movie follows a super-spy and action espionage plot, akin to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014), my favorite Marvel movie of all time, and lives up to the trailer’s hype. The trailers depicted high-stakes political conflict and deception for these characters, but my excitement was only tied down by all the new characters that I didn’t have any attachment to or interest in: Ruth (Shira Haas), Joaquin and Thaddeus himself.
The Thinker, still imprisoned from the events of “The Incredible Hulk,” has been taken advantage of by Thaddeus in his plan to rise in political power from a general in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to President of America. Wanting revenge for turning him into a gamma-radiated “monster,” the Thinker has been feeding Thaddeus supplements for his aging heart that was infused with gamma. In doing so, he engineered the right levels of gamma radiation in his blood to release an onslaught of political headaches to turn him into the Red Hulk.
The Thinker targets the Adamantium Treaty (derived from the half-Celestial head sticking out of the Indian Ocean following “Eternals” [2021]) proposed by leading nations, particularly America and Japan. The Thinker uses mind manipulation technology techniques to control Isaiah and prompt him to nearly assassinate Thaddeus, leading to Sam and Joaquin working together to free Isaiah and protect Thaddeus.
My main concern for the film was how the writers, directors and producers would depict Sam carrying Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), but as per my other article, I was confident in Marvel.
Within the film’s first five minutes, I was hooked and felt that Marvel magic I so dearly missed out of all the films that came out since “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). Since the beginning of the Multiverse Saga, there’s only a handful of Marvel films that are on par with the Infinity Saga: “Deadpool and Wolverine” (2024), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021). Despite the short run-time for a Marvel film (one hour and 58 minutes), I was left completely satisfied and extracted a layered, whole story.
“Captain America: Brave New World” is everything that a Captain America movie should be: grounded in action with a heart that packs quite the punch.
The action was exhilarating. The film opens with a great action scene that showcases Sam’s new Vibranium suit. Sam’s fighting style has drastically improved from his last few appearances, and the opening fight has several callbacks to Steve’s iconic boat fight scene in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” I enjoyed the fluidity of blending hand-to-hand combat with aerodynamics and the use of the shield — all of which were insanely smooth and well-pieced together. I couldn’t stop smiling as Sam used Steve’s fighting patterns and made them his own. I also appreciated the intensity of the fights in this film, in both the air fights and gritty hand-to-hand combat sequences.
The air sequences are breathtaking–literally– I had to hold my breath as Sam and Joaquin dived and glided through the air, dodging and firing bullets and missiles. While these scenes were heavy in computer-generated imagery (CGI) and some practical components, the flying stunts were full of life and energy, especially when combined with the two using weapons to take down their attackers.
Another small nod was when Sidewinder shot at Sam in the car and made it explode, before engaging in an all-out brawl where Sidewinder shot at Sam repeatedly and stabbed him with a crowbar. The fight was reminiscent of when the Winter Soldier shot Nick Fury’s car in an assassination attempt and the freeway fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier.
The action was quick and witty and brought interesting dynamics. Sam was forced to think outside the box to beat someone with far more tactical advantage, but was able to quickly gain the upper hand. It was a nice nod to his likeness as Captain America besides the wings and shield.
I also loved the extra emphasis on Sam being Captain America — the camera would linger on his cool kick-up shots to hold the shield for just a moment. It was great to see Sam leading the physicality and heart of the film.
Sam Wilson is unabashedly Captain America. The film tackles deep themes, which is on par with the Captain America cinematic franchise. His loyalty to Isaiah drives him to the end of the film, and he expresses true patriotism by agreeing to work for Thaddeus as Captain America to give America a united front. Still, he questions Thaddeus’s motives when he resorts to anger instead of logic and hesitates to agree with him to re-establish the Avengers as a government asset given the events of “Captain America: Civil War” (2016).
Despite all that Thaddeus has done to Sam and the Avengers, Sam does not let his grudges get in the way of his job. Sam continues to work to protect Thaddeus despite his insults and models true compassion and patriotism.
In true Captain America fashion, Sam rallies Thaddeus and the American government to put aside their differences and focus on the bigger picture. He reiterates that Captain America is a symbol of hope and despite the tension and conflict surrounding them, they have to do the right thing and be okay with whatever outcome happens.
When Thaddeus fails The Thinker and abandons him with false promises, Sam makes good on his word to get Isaiah out of prison for his “murder attempt.”
As villainous as The Thinker is and as wrong as Thaddeus is, their characters have this emotive drive that allows the viewer to sympathize and understand their actions, without having a total sob story that excuses their actions. They are both victims of themselves and have to atone for their choices. While Thaddeus may be more of a gray character than a black-and-white textbook hero or villain, he is in no way a villain. Those around him manipulated him, and I found it slightly satisfying that the man who persecuted the Hulk endlessly, created the Sokovia Accords and imprisoned the Avengers at the Raft ended up as a prisoner at the Raft and now a Hulk.
Seeing this paralleled with Sam and Isaiah’s growing relationship was beautiful.
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” introduces Isaiah, one of the many victims of the American government’s attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum, much like The Thinker was. Isaiah was experimented on for decades and wrongly arrested in self-defense. He was exonerated in part due to Sam and guided Sam on how to be Captain America amid the racial pretenses surrounding the role.
Isaiah has a heartbreaking history, which made the scene when he was arrested so emotional. Hearing him whimpering and imploring the officers not to damage his suit (which was the one he wore on his wedding day) was a punch to my heart. Lumbly truly captured his character’s horror of what he supposedly did and his defeat in accepting his fate of being in prison again; his convincing acting proved all the more why Sam is worthy to be Captain America.
The political undertones of international conflict were an intriguing subplot, as the film demonstrates what American diplomacy should look like. The Thinker stages war between America (Thaddeus) and Japan, and without Captain America, civilians in the MCU would’ve probably experienced World War III (or who knows the number at this point?). Sam isn’t only protecting his framed friend or getting to the bottom of an assassination plot, he’s pulling his weight as an Avenger and saving the world.
Besides his relationship with Isaiah, I loved the brotherly relationship he had with Joaquin and the return of #sambucky with a surprise cameo appearance from Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
I loved Joaquin’s character and I am so glad that he did not die when he took a hit during the Celestial Island fight. He’s young, and very much the Peter Parker to Sam’s Tony Stark. He’s chatty, witty and can hold his own. I love that his reason for being with Sam is because he looks up to him and wants to be a superhero just like him. I can’t wait to see more of him and Sam in action.
Now, as totally biased as I am, the most profound part of the movie isn’t Sam’s heroic rallying, but the conversation that he and Bucky share.
During the fight on the Celestial Island, Joaquin attempts to defuse a missile in the air, but it backfires, causing him and his suit to take the explosion. He ends up in critical condition and Sam can’t help but blame himself and feel trapped on all corners. At that point in the film, his only ally is down, Isaiah is moved to solitary confinement and Thaddeus refuses to listen to him about how to handle The Thinker, who is at large.
Sam exhibits regret for not taking the Super Soldier serum — the very core of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” He expresses how small he feels and wishes that he had taken it when he had the chance, so he would be able to get himself and his friends out of this mess.
Bucky enters the scene off-screen and tells Sam otherwise. They reminisce about Steve giving Sam the shield for the very same reason Steve was given the serum: because they had a good heart and were willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Bucky reminds Sam of how much good he’s done as Captain America and, in an emotional tone, reminds Sam that even though Steve had the serum, he couldn’t save everyone.
“Steve gave them something to believe in, but you — you give them something to aspire to.” Bucky’s delivery of that line and the whole scene brought together why Steve chose Sam to continue Captain America. There is criticism from fans and characters within the MCU that this new lineup isn’t powerful enough to face their film antagonists, but that’s what Captain America and the Avengers are.
Maybe some of them have powers, and maybe some of them don’t. But having humility and humanity, as well as being accessible to characters within the film and the audience, is what drives the strength of Captain America, not having the Super Soldier serum.
It was nice to see a role reversal for Sam to get advice from Bucky and not the other way around, and I cannot wait to see more of Bucky in “Thunderbolts*” (2025).
Besides getting to have these new, nuanced character interactions, I liked the CGI of the Red Hulk and am content with the way the film handled the big fight between Red Hulk versus Captain America, since there was a lot of social media discourse about what such a fight would look like practically.
I appreciate that the movie had the characters go into this fight knowing that Sam would be no match for his opponent, Red Hulk. Red Hulk quickly breaks one of his wings (also, how many times will Marvel Studios do this to Sam? This has to be the third time now), and Sam is only able to “beat” him by releasing the vibranium in his unclipped wing. Even then, it’s not enough.
And so came the “heroic speech” trope. Usually, I’m not a fan of it. I’m not a total fan of it still, but it’s not like we had a Hulk around. Plus, Sam being able to remind Thaddeus of the cherry blossoms and him that he was doing all this to gain his daughter’s trust back post “The Incredible Hulk,” emphasized that Thaddeus isn’t actually a villain in this story.
Overall, the film is grounded in thrilling action and suspense; I was definitely not disappointed in expecting a “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”-like film. I cannot wait to see where these characters end up in the coming movies.
There is a trend of bashing the newer Marvel movies and consistently comparing them to the irreplaceable Infinity Saga. As a hardcore fan, I believe that both ideas can coexist: yes, Marvel should focus on quality over quantity, but also, there will never be a Marvel movie or series comparable to the Infinity Saga.
This film cannot be compared to any previous Captain America movies. They set the precedent, but this new era takes the character and legacy in a new direction. While new ideas are unfamiliar and thus suspect to critics, this film is clearly composed of so much love for Marvel’s and Captain America’s legacy. I had faith in Sam Wilson, and I have faith in Marvel to bring together a new era of Avengers.
Final Score: 8.5/10
