“Captain America: Brave New World” Review – Sam Wilson Deserves The Shield

SPOILER WARNING. THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS. THE FIRST 3 PARAGRAPHS ARE SPOILER-FREE.

I’ve seen a mixed bag of reviews from every angle before seeing this film. Some of those reviews showcased love but some reviews showed the opposite. It actually made it more intriguing for me as a content writer to head into this as I didn’t know which way I’d swing.

I’ve been looking forward to this film since the Disney+ exclusive show, Falcon & The Winter Soldier. That show created a perfect build-up into a world post-Steve Rogers. It was pretty much immediately after that show finished that the movie would follow up but this time, it’s with Sam Wilson fully taking the mantle on and being Captain America.

The film has naturally done alright over the opening weekend, bringing in $198,291,606 globally across 4 days. It feels like the beginning of a new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which now, we’re on the build-up again towards the next Avengers movies.

Overview

Despite critics and some awful comments I’ve seen, I’m going to start this review by saying I liked this film. If you’re here to completely pick apart this review then I’ll save you time now before you go through. This is my own opinion and I found the film to be good. It’s not the best MCU project ever, maybe in the sort of B tier but it’s still a fun movie.

I went into this excited because I adored the show on Disney+. Unfortunately, we’re unable to live in a world where Chris Evans can play Captain America forever. I do believe Captain America is a title that should live on. I think this was always the intention because the character generates money. I liked Sam Wilson’s struggle to adapt to the role in the show and to embrace it in the film. It’s nice to see that we’re into this next phase of Marvel where we’re on the road to the next Avengers movie.

I feel like nowadays it’s cool to hate projects. I understand people dislike the film and that’s okay, we all have different tastes and I respect that. I feel like Marvel may not have done the best job in the world after Endgame but not every film can be Endgame/Winter Soldier/No Way Home level. We need to have some grounded stories so we can build up into these major events. Brave New World does that. It’s like an introduction to a character that we know, that feels fresh and also feels familiar all at the same time.

I’m going to discuss the story, the characters, and some of my likes and dislikes in the film. In the end, I will score 8 different categories out of 10 which will give my final rating.

Story

The story effectively has 2 main aspects. Thaddeus Ross and also Tiamut. I thought both of these angles needed to be explored. Ross has always been against the Avengers having their own free will, it’s why the Sokovia Accords are still a thing. We know Ross hasn’t always been the guy trying to prevent catastrophes as he thinks he is, it was time for him to be outed in public and for him to be taken down once and for all.

The other aspect is Tiamut. Eternals happened years back and there have been several MCU films that seemingly glossed over the fact this massive Celestial is sitting in the Indian Ocean without even a mention. We now know that Tiamut is the birth of the adamantium metal in the MCU which up until now, hasn’t been mentioned.

The story centered around Samuel Sterns pulling the strings from the shadows. It reminded me of Baron Zemo in Civil War but instead of just ripping the Avengers apart, Sterns’ agenda was much more sinister nearly kicking off a war between the United States and Japan. He also was the man behind the Red Hulk and Ross being able to turn.

I’ll probably get some smoke for these comments but overall, the story was engaging, it was interesting, and wrapped up some of the questions lingering within the MCU which I’m all for. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the best MCU film but it’s certainly one I’d love to watch again. The story did enough for me to be intrigued about what’s next for Captain America. We know now the Avengers are going to be rebuilt with Sam at the forefront which I’m all for, this is the journey the story took us through.

People think that Marvel is done but I don’t think the first Captain America movie was anything to write home about. It was a good movie and this sets the tone moving forward. That’s what makes this film enjoyable for me. I found segments fascinating including the stand-off at Celestial Island between Japan and the US.

Characters

We had Anthony Mackie reprising his role as Sam Wilson/Captain America. I love this version of Cap, the sort of mix between Falcon and Captain America being brought into one is amazing. I loved it during the show and I loved it even more during this. I do wish Sam had the serum though which I do talk about a bit more during this review but ultimately, Sam Wilson deserves that shield and is the rightful successor of the mantle. I’ve seen a lot of comments directing hate to Mackie but Sam does take the mantle of Captain America in the comics, first seen in 2014. I feel like Steve Rogers’s story was done, I feel like it’s time to move on and I don’t care for sarcastic “DEI” comments either. It was always going to be either Sam or Bucky, Sam made the most sense morally. In the end, Mackie is the one that glued this entire film together.

It’s nice to see the circle become complete as well with Joaquín Torres. He makes for a very interesting Falcon bringing some humor to the character but overall he was brilliant throughout the movie.

The antagonist himself was Samuel Sterns. We don’t see him until later on in the film after Sam and Joaquín visit the black site to see that he was behind the White House shooting. I don’t believe Sterns to be the most interesting villain we’ve had in the MCU. He felt like a budget Zemo to an extent and his actions felt very similar.

The rest of the characters were great with no real complaints. I do want to give a huge shout-out to Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross. It’s never easy to take over a role from an actor who’s sadly no longer with us in William Hurt. Ford did a great job moving this forward and effectively wrapping up Thaddeus Ross’ story. My only real complaint with the Red Hulk idea is that I wished they hadn’t shown this in the trailers, I wish they left this as a surprise for the movie – I think I would’ve preferred to be blown away in the moment without already knowing what was coming.

In terms of the side characters, they were great. I’d be here all day if I praised every single actor individually but the casting choices for each character were perfect. There are no complaints at all in terms of that aspect, just the villain choice which felt like a reason to enhance Ross being able to turn into the Red Hulk.

For the full cast list, you can visit IMDb by clicking here.

5 Favorite Moments

1. Bucky making a cameo was great. I loved the fact that we got to see that Sam and Bucky are still very close. After all, we did see their relationship build throughout the Disney+ show so it makes sense for Bucky to make an appearance to at least give a pep-talk.

2. The fight between Sam and Ross at the end was entertaining. I have mentioned in the dislikes below that Sam felt way out of his league but this didn’t stop the fight being entertaining. We watched Sam throw everything we had at Red Hulk, all of his tech, his agility, and speed in a fight was incredibly well done.

3. Isaiah Bradley being arrested had me emotional. That scene was unreal. After Bradley shoots at Ross and starts the attack on the White House, he comes around having no clue what he’s done. He’s so terrified of going back to prison that it hurts, especially after seeing him so happy in the limo on the way to the White House. It’s a character I’m so happy they brought back and also did him justice in the end.

4. The altercation between the US and Japan on Celestial Island was a great scene. We see Wilson and Torres try to de-escalate the situation. We see the US pilots fire first and you could only imagine how terrifying that would be in real life, seeing 2 major countries that are allies on the brink of war.

5. I adored the opening segments with Captain America flying into the compound and getting right into the action. We see how capable Sam is with the shield now and it was a fun sequence overall.

5 Dislikes

1. If I’m being honest, I think Sam Wilson should have taken the serum despite Bucky’s advice even though this is effectively against the comics. Sam felt outmatched in nearly every fight although he handled it brilliantly, it just felt like he was out of his league. This is only going to enhance further when we know the likes of Dr. Doom are on their way, it’s even more concerning since he technically lost the fight against Red Hulk. After all, Sam’s entire gear had been destroyed, Red Hulk got back up so it does beg the question of how Sam would fair in a fight against a much more powerful and cosmic enemy.

2. The post-credit scene was a waste of time. Samuel Sterns didn’t explain anything that we didn’t already know. This could’ve been used to do something much more impactful, even a shot of Dr. Doom to begin the hype.

3. I wish they left the Red Hulk reveal as a surprise instead of showcasing this in the trailers. It’s hard to be blown away when we’ve seen the best parts of the scene in the trailers.

4. This may be just me but what I found during the film is the MCU feels empty now. It shouldn’t due to the sheer amount of heroes we have but it felt like we’re beginning this entire thing from scratch. It’s a weird one because I know this is setting up the new Avengers but I couldn’t help but feel like that.

5. I do think more reference to Bruce Banner was needed here. After all, the story began with a throwback to The Incredible Hulk movie which has rarely been acknowledged in other films. The fact that he’s managed to figure out how to control his, I think it would’ve been nice to acknowledge that Bruce could’ve helped with Ross and the situation. I don’t expect a full-blown intervention but Bruce is still alive and well.

Recommendation and verdict

I do. My advice if you haven’t watched the movie would be to go in with an open mind. Make up your own mind against the film and don’t let critics or comments defer you. I enjoyed the movie, I know others did too and I also know others that didn’t enjoy it too much. I’ve already mentioned this during this review that it’s definitely not the best MCU film ever made but it’s still a fun, action-packed ride. If you have some time to visit the cinema, it’s worth a watch.

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Rating 8.2/10

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Captain America: Brave New World is available in cinemas worldwide.