Marvel Disappoints Again with a Too-Brave Brave New World

By Staff Writer Alex Duan

The latest installment of the Captain America series has arrived — a paltry disappointing continuation, without Captain America. Released on February 14, Captain America: A Brave New World, the fourth movie in the renowned Marvel series, follows Falcon’s journey after he dons the outfit of Captain America. Instead of opening a bold new chapter, Brave New World struggles to find the essence and identity of what made Steve Rogers’ Captain America so iconic. 

After Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) returns to the present as a senior citizen after time traveling at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Rogers passes the shield and the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who was known as Falcon. Wilson experiences an identity crisis, grappling with the fact that he cannot save everybody like Rogers did; he has neither Rogers’ superhuman ability nor his accomplishments, and feels inadequate as a result. However, Wilson gains a chance to prove himself after a mysterious plot brainwashes loyal Americans to kill President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). 

When Sam Wilson uses the signature Falcon abilities Marvel fans have grown to love, there is much to praise. In contrast with the messy, boring, and repetitive Captain America fistfights, the scenes featuring Wilson’s aerial combat were well-choreographed and produced, staying consistent with what the audience knows to expect from Falcon: a flying supersonic brawler fighting against modern military jets. He and his sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), also have excellent chemistry. Torres’s light-heartedness and recklessness complements Wilson’s focus, providing much needed comedic relief throughout an otherwise dry movie. Besides the protagonists, the rest of the main cast delivered superb performances. Harrison Ford is a nuanced caricature of a flawed but redeemable man, and the malice of Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson made their characters detestable, especially as they carried out cold, ruthless crimes. 

However, the movie falls flat when it tries to be James Bond, Iron Man, and a political essay simultaneously, leading to the feeling that the writers do not have a clear direction for their own movie. Captain America: A Brave New World tries to include some political commentary at the start of  the movie — making not-so-subtle pokes at militant, authoritarian  politicians — but completely forgets about this criticism by the end. It tries to be an action blockbuster, but seems to lack the budget to produce any large-scale action sequences even close to matching its predecessors’. Compared to the action-packed battle scenes from movies like Winter Soldier, Iron Man, or Avengers featuring unique superheroes, military technology, and magic, the fistfights making up a bulk of the action of Brave New World feel lackluster and repetitive. Marvel’s ambitions  to assemble a new team of Avengers with new, unknown characters feels rushed. It seems as though Marvel is trying to rationalize another series of five unremarkable movies featuring 20 different unrecognizable characters, characters that Marvel puts no effort into making us like them, to add to their Multiverse of Mediocrity. This movie is no change from Marvel’s current trajectory of trying to set up a new universe while still trying to pander to fans who want an essence of the old movies. 

Brave New World past the 90 minute mark is difficult to watch. If the big screen had just rolled credits before the last act began, this would have been a slightly disappointing yet bearable continuation of the Captain America series. Instead, Marvel continues their downward spiral of bland, predictable writing brought to life with awful CGI with an unconvincing ending that does little to set up their stated goal of building a new groundwork for a new Avengers. Red Hulk looks like the prototype render for 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, and the futuristic helicopters look significantly worse than their Winter Soldier counterparts, a movie that came out eleven years ago. In terms of plot, the conflict resolution is so banal and cliche that it gives the audience an excuse for an early bathroom break. Although the movie starts out strong, with the protagonists acting as detectives to solve a conspiracy to kill the president, the latter half turns into a painfully predictable mess. 

Even with Marvel’s recent lack of studio acclaim, it’s easy to have high expectations for this movie. The previous films in the series were some of the best Marvel movies ever made. It’s never easy to continue a namesake series after losing its main protagonist, but after nine years and hundreds of millions of dollars, Marvel has managed to kill their star characters, blow their CGI and production, and find themselves less talented writers. On its own, Brave New World is far from the worst that Marvel has pushed past its writing room in recent years. However, Marvel’s Captain America series has a track record of excellence, and the newest installment falls short of expectations. It’s not just that Sam Wilson doesn’t feel like Captain America; everything else doesn’t feel like a Captain America movie either.