Movie Review: Captain America Brave New World
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD is one of those movies that will probably succeed or fail due to timing more than anything else. Whether Red, Blue, Purple, or anarchist, right now you probably have very strong feelings about politics in America. The question is whether you want to watch a movie that has nothing really to say other than "flag man punches big red troll and fights mad scientist." For some people, this will be a welcome reprieve from all the chaos of the real world and others will be annoyed it is as substantial as a vanilla wafer.
There's a lot of controversy for this movie, which is kind of hilarious because it goes out of its way to avoid it like Super Mario jumping over goombahs. They used Sabra, who is an Israeli special forces mutant that isn't either here but another Black Widow. They have a controversial new Captain America up against a corrupt US President except the two of them are buddy, buddy for 90% of the movie. They use Isaiah Bradley who was created in a Weapon Plus analog of the Tuskegee Experiments. They have a guy interned without trial on US soil for decades. But the movie just wants to be a good time. I don't hold it against it but you can tell it wishes it wasn't political by default.
But is the movie good? That is the real question of this review. The only one that really matters, really. Yeah, I'd say so. I wouldn't say it's great but it's a solid three, three and a half-star movie out of four. I got my money's worth of entertainment for going down to the movie theater. It's a solid B, B+ sort of movie and if that doesn't sound like high praise, well it's not. It's entertaining and I was never bored. It blows away Secret Invasion, Marvels, and Quantumania but isn't anything on The Winter Soldier. I have some complaints, but it is pretty to look at, bad guys get punched, and the CGI is good in 90% of the movie (with the other 10% being terrible).
The premise is Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) has decided to reform his image after being elected President of the United States. This means trying to reform the Avengers, sharing the mysterious metal known as adamantium rather than hoarding it, and trying not to be such a worthless waste of space as his character has been for decades. Would it have been better with William Hurt? I dunno, they both are great actors, but Hurt would have been more quietly menacing while Ford is more sympathetic. Different actors with different range.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is doing well as Captain America. In the comic books, the ascension didn't make much sense but in a long-running media franchise, it's fine to have characters replaced with others taking up the mantle. Sam is suffering a bit of Imposter Syndrome but the fact he's a veterans counselor actually makes him making his big idealistic speeches make sense. Still, Sam hasn't really been tested (disregarding Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and it's clear he isn't quite ready to take on the mantle of the Avenger's leader. Instead, he keeps turning to Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) for advice.
Well, everything goes to hell when Isaiah is brainwashed to try and assassinate President Ross and some evil bad guy (who trailers have spoiled but not as much as the poster for this film has for the climatic twist) is responsible. Sam must go on the road, going against the President's orders to stand down, and clear Isaiah's name. He must prevent a war with Japan over the adamantium and punch various villains, including Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder. There is a big punch up with the Red Hulk at the end. Movie over. These aren't spoilers because, again, the movie is all revealed in the trailers and poster.
Complaints? This film spends a huge amount of its time trying to build up the mystery of who is responsible for the brainwashing and what is wrong with President Ross, but we already know. The physicality of some of the characters is also questionable. Giancarlo Esposito is awesome as an actor but shouldn't be doing action fights at his age. "Ruth" is Sabra in name-only and looks like a child compared to everyone at least a foot taller than her in every scene. They also cut Rosa Salazar's Diamondback, which is a crime against humanity since this movie needed some more comic book color. Oh, and SPOILER, the Leader's makeup is kind of terrible. I understand they needed to dial it down, but he looks like a Lorne from Angel. Star Trek was doing big heads in the Sixties.
In conclusion, this is a good movie but if you're feeling MCU fatigue then it probably won't change your mind. Still, there are worst ways to spend an afternoon than sitting in the theater and watching this.
