Captain America: Brave New World

PG-13 2025 ‧ Action/Sci-fi ‧ 1h 58m

The Captain America franchise has consistently been my favorite of the solo Avengers movies. Brave New World is the fourth in the series and the first to feature Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) taking over as the new Captain America. So, I was excited to see it and cautiously optimistic. 

Sam Wilson does fine stepping up to assume the Cap mantle. Unfortunately, the writing or directing of this film is weaker than the previous entries in the series. Multiple times when Sam Wilson gets into trouble, he shouts, “Oh, shit!” Now, maybe that’s what someone might say when missiles are shot at them. Fortunately, I’ve never been in that situation. In the movie, the dialogue sounds as authentic as kids play-acting at recess.  

By title, this is obviously an entry in the Captain America series. However, it’s truly a sequel to the television series “The Falcon And The Winter Soldier” and 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. In TV series, Sam first accepts Cap’s mantle, Joaquin Torres is introduced as the character who becomes the new Falcon, and Isaah Bradley is introduced as a forgotten super soldier. Plotwise, The Incredible Hulk is the foundation for this film. Its Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, replacing William Hurt) has become the President of the United States and, as such, is Captain America’s boss. And in The Incredible Hulk, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) Is exposed to the Hulk’s blood and, nearly fifteen years later, we finally get to see the results in this film. 

Verdict: Brave New World is the weakest in the Captain America series, but it falls into about the middle of the pack of MCU movies. It’s not awesome, but it’s still fun. 

Image credit: Marvel