Captain America: Brave New World review – Pulls its punches when it matters

At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a behemoth. Launched almost thirty years ago, it now comprises dozens of movies and series, which amounts to a lot of costumed hero lore to keep track of as projects spin off, cross over and now even get multiversal revisits. It’s not so bad for fans, but it does mean that newcomers will generally struggle to make sense of “continuation” tales which carry on the stories of established characters instead of brand new introductions like upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The point is that Captain America: Brave New World is unflinchingly one of the former. Who’s this character? Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. What’s this territorial dispute about? Check out Eternals. Where’s Steve Rogers? Did you not see Avengers: Endgame? What’s the Red Room? Time to load up Black Widow. Captain America: Brave New World even expects a solid enough memory of The Incredible Hulk, which dates all the way back to the year that started it all for the MCU: 2008. So no, the film is not accessible for casual viewers.

At the same time, those steeped in the MCU for so long that they’re the human equivalent of Builder’s Tea at this point will probably feel like Captain America: Brave New World is a pale copy of things experienced before. Even the story of US Airman Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), an ordinary human being, donning the mantle of Captain America had more edge in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as the Disney+ miniseries included some spiked commentary about whether a black man can, or should, stand as an emblem of US authority and values. That show even managed, through discarded Super Soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), to allude to wartime experimentation on African-American troops, like The Tuskegee Study.

Captain America: Brave New World isn’t daring or provocative at all. Though it’s more the fault of the script than Mackie, Wilson is a genial get-the-job done figure who secretly suffers from an ongoing crisis of confidence but never loses his temper. Meanwhile, the big political message of the movie is to always look for good in the other side. It’s trite, but it also aligns with a sense that Captain America: Brave New World is trying to follow in the footsteps Captain America: The Winter Solder – still arguably the best of the MCU movies – while being made for an audience of undemanding, unthinking adolescents.

Because Brave New World also comes with political conspiracy to untangle, and there’s even a brainy (but very cheesy) villain pulling the strings from inside a secret military facility. It’s just that proceedings are lacking in smarts. Dialogue is clunky and the mystery’s solution is laid out in one conversation halfway through the film, with no further twists.

That mystery for the record: Someone has made an attempt on the life of general turned US president Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford), using mind control to trigger the assassination attempt. The foiled murder, in addition to some badly timed information leaks, dismantles confidence in the US to oversee an accord that will equitably share a powerful new resource. Cue the risk of world war as the militaries of various nations race to stake their claim on that resource.

This review is no doubt sounding purely negative at this point, which is unfair as Captain America: Brave New World isn’t without its strengths. Well-choreographed, coherent and never outstaying their welcome, the action scenes come with welcome additional tension due to the fact that Wilson and his new Falcon wingman Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) aren’t invulnerable.

Then there’s the veteran trio of Ford, returning Lumbly, and Giancarlo Esposito, who energise every scene they’re in, in different ways. While Esposito is a scenery-chewing villain, jeering in Wilson’s face, Lumbly and Ford lay bare the more vulnerable side of white-haired military men who carry around decades of fears and regrets. If you were at all concerned that Ford would just be phoning in a mumbled performance in Brave New World, don’t be. It’s some of the most interesting work the star has done in a popcorn blockbuster in years, running the full emotional gamut as he injects the film with genuine emotional warmth that is otherwise missing from the project… along with humour.

It’s unfortunate that Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t demonstrate that same tonal range at an overarching level. Subject to a title change as well as extensive reshoots, there may once have been a braver, bolder movie here, with its own unique identity. The one that’s made it to cinemas, though, just doesn’t have the sharpness of Wilson’s Vibranium wings. To best enjoy it, turn off your brain, but maybe save a tiny bit of cerebral processing to appreciate the sight of a furious, brightly coloured boomer bringing destruction to Washington DC.

Captain America: Brave New World is in cinemas, including IMAX, from 14 February.