“Captain America: Brave New World” had two tasks to accomplish: First, it needed to reintroduce us to Sam Wilson — played by Anthony Mackie — and give us a reason to accept him as the new Captain America. Chris Evans left big shoes to fill, and passing the torch successfully could make or break this character. Second, the movie had to set a new direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to follow, much like “Captain America: The First Avenger” did. After years of hit-or-miss releases, Marvel needed this movie to be unique and set the tone moving forward. After watching the film on release day, I am happy to report that it stuck the landing on both objectives.
The story starts how one would expect, showing off Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. The opening fight scene was beautifully choreographed and did a fantastic job showing the unique fighting style as a mix of both the Falcon and Cap. He’s not Steve Rogers — Wilson is his own unique superhero. This scene also introduced the first villain of the movie, and the first departure this film takes from most Marvel movies.
Many MCU films are very formulaic, with an introduction to the villain, an introduction to the characters, a fight scene they lose and finally beating the villain by the end. “Brave New World” takes a much-needed departure from this formula by having not one, but three separate villains in play. All are introduced uniquely, have their own storylines and intertwine together for a much more memorable story. This shifts the movie toward being more of a mysterious political thriller. Most of this idea was done amazingly, with only certain scenes or moments feeling underdeveloped.
By the second act, most of the important characters are introduced and the audience can start to appreciate the acting talent on display. Harrison Ford plays President Ross, a pivotal character in the story, and has multiple emotional and dramatic moments. This is personally my favorite role of his at this stage of his career, fitting the character perfectly.
Danny Ramirez portrays Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon and sidekick to the Captain. Despite only acting for less than a decade, Ramirez is full of energy and perfect in this role. As a younger, wide-eyed character who’s been thrown into the world of superheroes, he works as a stand-in for the audience to relate to. Both of these characters are written and portrayed excellently, as well as the villains of the movie that I don’t want to spoil here.
So, does this movie follow through on its goals? Absolutely. First, The new Captain America is easily the best part of this film. He never has a bad or dull moment, and I am excited to see more of Anthony Mackie’s chops on screen in the future. If you have doubts about a new leader of the Avengers, I implore you to watch this movie. Second, it sets up multiple new villains, heroes and everything in the middle moving forward. For the first time in a while, I am actually looking forward to seeing what becomes of these characters. With a post-credit scene that teases what’s to come, the future of Marvel looks a little brighter after this movie.
Overall, this movie gets a solid 4 stars out of 5. For every negative in this movie, there are two positives. For example, the script isn’t perfect and can feel rushed at times, but the characters are written masterfully and the fight scenes are dynamic and unique. This film is worth a watch if you’re a fan of Marvel, political thrillers or even if you’re just trying to watch an all-star acting performance.
