‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Is Just MCU: Business as Usual

Heavy is the hand that carries the red, white, and blue shield. As you all remember from the end of Avengers: Endgame — and from diligently perusing the perpetually in-progress timeline one needs to maintain in order to keep up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Sam Wilson, formerly known as the Falcon, was passed the torch to become the new Captain America. In the The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he was still using his old superhero handle. Now, Wilson has fully taken on the mantle of responsibility for representing a nation that, at least in this fictional world, continues to stand for truth and justice. He is committed to being our modern Captain America. And what that name means one fourth of the way into the 21st century is a lot different than what it signified in 1941.

At least, you think it would mean something different, right? Directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, Luce), Captain America: Brave New World wants to establish Wilson — and by extension Anthony Mackie, the actor who’s played him for six movies over the past decade — as the figure who will lead whatever new incarnation of the Avengers is currently being assembled. In that respect, the movie is successful; the Julliard graduate has always been the sort of actor who has screen presence to burn, and he’s more than up to the task of shouldering a blockbuster. Mackie’s superhero-movie bona fides have been well established. Like the character, he’s earned a level-up.

But maybe you remember that speech that Wilson gives at the end of his shared Disney+ series, when he talked about the significance of “a Black man carrying the stars-and-stripes,” and why words like “terrorist” and “refugee” inform and/or taint policy decisions, and the notion of state-sponsored heroism being a far more complicated concept than politicians comprehend it to be. There are a lot of ideas packed into that monologue, and precious few of them make the jump to the big screen here. Cap’s sub-franchise within the MCU may be where Marvel Studios’ version of a 1970s conspiracy thriller gets slotted (see 2014’s Winter Soldier), but this feels way more like a boilerplate ’90s action movie that semi-mindlessly slogs its way from one set piece to the next. It’s as if someone had gently ladled a teaspoon of artificial political-thriller flavor over a substandard Marvel movie, being oh-so-careful as to not upset corporate overlords or the status quo. A better title might have been Captain America: Business as Usual.

What’s old is new is old again: Wilson may be Captain America 2.0, but he’s still using his wings to get around. The next-gen Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), may still be logging his flying hours, yet he remains a hothead eager to mix it up. Both of them manage to disrupt the selling of contraband to some bad guys, which is being brokered by Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), a member of the reptile-themed mercenary-for-hire organization known as Serpent. It’s worth noting that said contraband is [possible sorta kinda spoiler alert] admantium, an indestructible metal alloy most associated with a certain X-man. How the introduction of this highly valuable resource will be used to integrate the Marvel mutants into the MCU, or how much it will screw with a number of timelines involving former Fox intellectual property being under this cinematic-universe umbrella, remains a mystery. Regardless, the element has been found on Celestial Island, a recently discovered island made up of a dead Celestial, which makes sense if you’ve seen 2021’s Eternals; or maybe it doesn’t.

Meanwhile, at the White House, ex–Hulk hunter and recently elected president of the United States Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) is hoping to strike a deal with allied nations to share this bounty collectively. Captain America stopping the sale to some unknown criminal buyer has saved the diplomatic proposal from becoming an all-out disaster. Once upon a time, Ross supported the suppression of superheroes. Now, he wants to work with Cap for the greater good. Wilson, Torres, and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) — original super soldier, imprisoned and experimented on, long story — are invited to a White House event. In the middle of a presentation, Bradley and several secret-service agents are “activated,” Manchurian Candidate-style, and attempt to assassinate POTUS. Thankfully, Ross survives. Wilson is told to stay out of it. He starts investigating who framed his friend anyway.

Harrison Ford in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New WorldCourtesy of Marvel Studios.

The answer has to do with Ross’ past, and the election, and that aborted contraband deal, and a lot of other things that are peripherally related to one another and the larger MCU saga. The head of the president’s security, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Unorthodox‘s Shira Haas), also gets in on the action; she’s a graduate of the Black Widow School for Ass-Kickers, and can more than hold her own. There are cameos. The name Samuel Sterns is continually mentioned, which means a lot if you’re a longtime Incredible Hulk reader. Speaking of which: If you’ve seen the trailer, you already know that Harrison Ford’s leader of the free world turns into his own red version of the Hulk known as [checks notes] Red Hulk. The star is no stranger to playing U.S. presidents who can tussle when necessary. Here, his POTUS completely gives into his inner brute and reduces more than a few Washington, D.C., landmarks to literal rubble. Ross smash!!! And somehow he’s still only the second-most destructive, rage-filled commander in chief to ever hold office.

Captain America: Brave New World gives early lip service to the idea that even when a rampaging, out-of-control bully with anger issues threatens the security of our nation, you still have to work with him because, hey, he’s the president! ‘Nuff said! Clearly, the movie has been in the works for a long while and has other agendas it’s intent on satisfying, but that doesn’t mean the taste this leaves in your mouth isn’t horrendous. (Without giving anything away, let’s just say that the ending is pure 100 percent escapism.)

So maybe no one was necessarily looking for trenchant commentary on our through-the-looking-glass moment in a Marvel movie, even if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier provided the perfect set up. We just want to be entertained and thrilled, and the fact that this latest Cap adventure is barely even up to that task is the bigger offense. Barely any of the story sticks. Set pieces bleed into one another, whether they’re firefights over the Indian Ocean or fistfights in shadowy labs, the halls of power, or the streets. When the big payoffs do come, you may find yourself numbed by the same CGI onslaught reminiscent of a million other comic-book extravaganzas writ large.

We know, we know: Don’t hate the player, hate the game that dictates whatever the genre dishes out will be lapped up and fill stockholders’ bank accounts no matter what. Except the player and the game are virtually inseparable at this point, and while Brave New World is nowhere near as bad as the various MCU low points of the past few years, this attempt at both reestablishing the iconic character and resetting the board is still weak tea. The end credits’ teaser — you knew there would be one — feels purposefully generic and vague, as if the powers that be became gun-shy in regards to committing to a storyline that might once again be forced to pivot. Something’s coming, we’re told. Please let it be a renewal of faith in this endlessly serialized experiment.

From Rolling Stone US.