“Captain America: Brave New World” (2025) is the thirty-fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the fourth film in the Captain America film series and first without Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a sequel to the television series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and the films “Eternals” (2021) and “The Incredible Hulk” (2008). It also would not hurt if you saw “Black Panther” (2018), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), and “Black Widow” (2021). Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the veteran who founded a PTSD support group and counseled Steve Rogers, is now known as Captain America and takes orders from the President of the United States Thaddeus Ross (formerly William Hurt, who died on March 13, 2022 so Harrison Ford has assumed the mantle but not the mustache), which does not sit well with Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), Korean War veteran and the original super soldier whose government betrayed his years of devoted service. When an unknown threat disrupts the White House’s Celestial World Summit, Sam and his partner, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), the new Falcon, must find the threat and prevent a world war. Is Ross a changed man who deserves redemption or the same Ross who endangered the world by targeting the Avengers, including the prior Captain America?
It is no secret that I am not a fan of Anthony “make daddy a sandwich” Mackie, but he won me over with “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” If “Captain America: Brave New World” is flawed, it is not Mackie’s fault. His take on Captain America without the secret sauce is reminiscent of Tony Stark in “Iron Man 3” (2013). He does not need anything because he is Captain America in spirit with a twist. Without his powers, Steve would jump on a grenade to save others, but Sam is the grenade. It is not until the denouement that the team of five (mostly television series) writers let Sam be Blackity Black, and it is a let down because it is what made the television series so riveting. It tackled the theme of the threat (and historically the guarantee) of betrayal of Black patriots with the implicit fear that at any time, Sam could be the next one thrown in a dark cell and experimented on. He already talks about his time on the Raft, but it is never paralleled with Isaiah’s time in a meaningful way. It is as if the MCU had a crystal ball and knew that an uglier element was taking over the world, and while still in opposition, would like their money so tempered their rhetoric.
Unfortunately, Sam’s Cap is a supporting character in a movie that does not have faith in their star or his character drawing in the box office bucks so they hedge bets by hinging the drama on the redemption of Ross. If Ford was playing any other character, I would agree with the move. Ford is like money in the bank with multiple franchises under his belt: “Indiana Jones,” “Star Wars,” “Blade Runner” and Jack Ryan films. Also having Ford play POTUS is a brilliant shout out to “Air Force One” (1997), but as a long-standing Ross hater, I just could not get with the program even if Ross makes a better President than Presidon’t. “Captain America: Brave New World” has decided to make Ross sympathetic by making him sad that his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler), went no contact with him after his actions separated her from Bruce Banner when Edward Norton played him (that is Pete Seeger in “A Complete Unknown” to 2024 moviegoers). His motivation as a world leader is to prove that he is a changed man, and even before he reveals the reason, cherry blossoms are everywhere—think “Citizen Kane” (1941) for babies. So Sam is reduced to a supporting character in the Ross breakout movie believing that he can change. Ugh! If I want to be generous, it is Sam doing what he does best: counseling a war veteran, and it is reminiscent of how T’Challa always wants to talk with and understand his enemies.
It does not help that “Captain America: Brave New World” comes out on the heels of an inauguration and goes into full bootlicking mode about respecting the President regardless of who holds the office and fangirling over getting to go to the White House. Who is this movie supposed to be appeal to? Younger people who want to enjoy a comic book movie. They are not the demographic to sympathize with a parent who is estranged from a child without expressing skepticism or just respect an office over the ideal principles that created it. The writers were really straddling the fence, and appealing to Presidon’t supporters is useless. They will just hate this movie for the same reason that they hated Obamacare—its association with people of color even if it benefits them. I hope that I am wrong because if this movie does not do well, the blame will fall on Mackie, not on a writing team so lukewarm they would make Jesus spit.
If you do not care about the meaning behind “Captain America: Brave New World” and just want to watch an action movie, it is fine. As my friend said, there are two and a half villains of varying quality though one is a spoiler—I found it irritating that his villain name is never stated in the story. Director and cowriter Julius Onah shot that character unevenly and made part of his body blurry even after he emerges from the shadows. Onah is best known for his critically acclaimed film “Luce” (2019), which starred Tim Roth who played Abomination in “The Incredible Hulk,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021) and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (2022), which I still need to see. When an art house director gets paid the big bucks, sometimes they can hit the ground running, but Onah stumbles though he makes it to the finish line. Casting Giancarlo Esposito as one of the villains, Sidewinder, is brilliant because Esposito is always going to nail the role. There is never a wrinkle in his performances. Finally there is Red Hulk, and all the promotions give away his human alter ego. It is a twist that could have worked if the advertising did not spoil it, but instead the MCU had no faith in its plot and decided to give up the details to attract more people. If moviegoers discovered it for the first time while watching the film, it would have been the best twist. Red Hulk is a great character though the ensuing destruction felt like twenty-first century Roland Emmerich lite.
There are cameos that I will not spoil (one is unidentifiable until you look at IMDb) and some new characters introduced to the big screen. Ramirez as the new Falcon and Sam’s sidekick is affable and attractive but feels more like a CW television series character than a possible future successor. Xosha Roquemore as Secret Service Agent Leila Taylor does her job, and she had good chemistry with Ford, who seemed to play his role as if POTUS secretly had a little crush on her or wanted to impress her in a neutral way though she is oblivious (or I watched too much “Scandal”). When did Takehiro Hira decide to play the Japanese Prime Minister in every movie—last year, he was in “Rumours” (2024) in a similar capacity. Israeli actor Shira Haas plays a member of Ross’ staff, and she seems more suitable to play a magical humanoid than a serious adviser. Like her fellow compatriot Gal Gadot, she is interesting to look at, but the acting is a wee bit wooden. When her character’s background is revealed, it feels like getting a generic brand of a legend.
While “Captain America: Brave New World” will not do for February what “Black Panther” did for Black History Month in 2018, it is still fun to see Mackie wear the Cap title and make it his own. He did his job, and Sam is his best character with acting performances that improve with each appearance. He deserved a better showcase for his talents. Instead, the fact that the latest MCU movie is being released on President’s Day weekend was the clue that it was really Ross’ movie.
