Captain America: Brave New World

First movie outing of 2025 for me and I started with the latest offering from Marvel Studios, Captain America: Brave New World.  As usual, standard non comic book reader disclaimer applies.  But I’m also going to switch things up a bit and add an additional personal bias/personal baggage disclaimer as well.  Feel free to skip down to the actual movie review.

PERSONAL BAGGAGE DISCLAIMER:

I’ve been both highly anticipating and dreading the release of the first non-Steve Rogers Captain America movie since Avengers: End Game.  I was quite emotional and thrilled when Steve/Chris handed the mantel to Sam/Anthony. Tears galore, immediately wondering if the powers that be were really going to hand the shield to a black man (canon be damned).  True to the world we live in, the push back started immediately, escalated with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and has only grown. Adding the cries of boycotting the film due to the presence of Shira Haas’ casting, the haterade and efforts to make sure this film is a failure for reasons other than the actual film itself has been epic and heartbreaking to me.  

Yes, as someone who has spent their entire life as a proverbial fly in the buttermilk, I’m invested, probably too invested, in wanting this not to end up being a one and done scenario. Growing up, I didn’t see the kind of diversity (eww, gross, I know) in films and movies and the thought that there are so many determined to make sure that my experience once again becomes the norm, frankly, pisses me off. Everyone’s stories deserve to be told/seen/heard.

Whether or not you chose to listen/engage with them is your right.  

When I pulled into the movie theater lot yesterday, I was thrilled to see people turned out to see the film opening weekend. I didn’t even make it out of the car before I ended up in tears. I'm old, and emotional. But the sight/sounds of a little white boy of 4 or 5 clutching his Sam Wilson Captain America action figure, babbling about how awesome he is, both broke me and gave me back some of the hope and faith in humanity that’s been missing for the last 16 years of my life.

ACTUAL REVIEW:

Okay, enough of my bullshit.  You’re here for the movie review, not my existential crisis.

Captain America: Brave New World, is it an out of the park home run?

No.

Is it a solid film that entertains and is a good foundation to build on? 

For me. 

Definitely.

Over the course of its hour and fifty-eight-minute running time, Brave New World delivers great action, wonderful character moments, picks up and expands on previous story lines, and ties into what’s come before while giving hope to what comes next.

Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Cap is as grounded, empathetic, dignified, relatable and integrity filled as ever. Harrison Ford restored my faith after his turn in the last Indiana Jones film and seemed to actually want to be involved in the project and had fun. Danny Ramirez shines as he continues to step into his new role in the MCU. Carl Lumbly, damn. There’s a reason he’s had such a long and illustrious career. Giancarlo Esposito chewed the scenery and spit it out with a vengeance, and I was there for his every scene. Xosha Roquemore, Takehiro Hira, and William Mark McCullough were all engaging characters who left me wanting more.

Which is one of the shortcomings of the film. 

I wanted more of so many of the characters. More scenes, more character development, more info on who they are and how they fit in. From Esposito’s Sidewinder to Ford’s Red Hulk there’s definitely room for development/fleshing out. As for Shira Haas, honestly, I’m apathetic towards her character.

Being more grounded, the action/fight sequences are grittier and intense. With the lack of enhancement people get jacked up and add to the realism.  I've always been drawn to the characters that can get hurt/killed yet step up anyway. There are scenes and moments that really hit hard emotionally.  There’s some good humor thought it’s a bit too few and far between for my taste.

The first third of the movie while serviceable, didn’t engage me as thoroughly as I wanted but did have its moments. I wasn’t restless or bored. The pacing throughout was fairly consistent with some lags here and there but nothing too bad. I admit that the soundtrack didn’t do much for me either, so that’s a shame. The political intrigue/mystery aspect is nice but is undercut a bit relying on characters seemingly “forgetting” or ignoring what by now should be common knowledge.

Captain America: Brave New World does deliver a good time. I’m glad I made the effort and saw it on the big screen both as a fan as well as for personal reasons. There are some hard truths addressed not too heavy handedly, thrills to be had, and hope for the future. If you have any interest in seeing this one, make an effort to see it at the theater. Be sure to stay all the way through the end credits for the bonus scene.

Captain America: Brave New World gets a biased 7.5 from me.

#captainamericabraveneworld