Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Directed by: Julius Onah
Premise: Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has taken over the role of Captain America and former general Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) has been elected President of the United States. Sam investigates an assassination attempt while an international conflict escalates.
What Works: The Marvel Cinematic Universe had an impressive run that started with 2008’s Iron Man and culminated in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Since then, the series has been wildly inconsistent and the story has splintered between movies and television shows. Captain America: Brave New World signals a return to form for the series. It’s a mostly self-contained narrative that ought to be understandable to viewers who haven’t watched every MCU story since Endgame. At the same time, Brave New World rewards attentive fans with references to the 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Eternals, and the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Recent MCU films have adopted a cartoonish look but Brave New World is more restrained and resembles the tone of the original Iron Man. The story and themes of Brave New World most closely resemble Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Like that movie, Brave New World has a harder edge than we’ve usually seen in comic book films and the mystery challenges the patriotism that Captain America represents. The action sequences are done well. The danger and violence are appropriate to the PG-13 rating but there is also a ferocity and credibility to the action that gives the set pieces some gravitas. Harrison Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross, previously played by William Hurt (who died in 2022) and Ford does a good job. Ross was previously a villainous character but in Brave New World he is morally ambiguous. Ross claims to be a changed man but violence simmers underneath, and Ford emphasizes those qualities in his performance.
What Doesn’t: The story of Captain America: Brave New World is increasingly unwieldy. It begins as a relatively straightforward assassination thriller and then ropes in several subplots and periphery characters. The filmmakers can’t quite keep all the narrative plates spinning. It’s revealed that a character from Thaddeus Ross’ past is pulling the strings but the exposition is clumsy and the character’s intentions are murky. The film comes to its organic conclusion and then keeps going with a final set piece that feels tagged on and often doesn’t make sense. Ross is partly motivated by his relationship to his estranged daughter (Liv Tyler) but she’s treated as an afterthought. Brave New World also suffers from a lack of character development. The better installments of the MCU evolve the character’s superhero status and change their relationships. There’s nothing much accomplished in Brave New World. The characters end in virtually the same condition that they started.
Bottom Line: In many respects, Captain America: Brave New World course corrects this franchise after some wobbly entries. It is ultimately a satisfying but middle tier addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Episode: #1036 (February 23, 2025)