Captain America: Brave New World
Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan.
Captain America: Brave New World, Julius Noah
“I’m a wartime president,” snarls newly elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World (2025), the 35th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The retort is aimed at secret service agent Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquermore), during the throes of a dog fight between newly anointed Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), rogue U.S. pilots and the Japanese military. The line, which signals Ross’ flip from placid to maniacal as a result of gamma-radiated blood, is a direct nod to a recently inaugurated jasper-toned president. Whereas electoral college votes in the MCU are strictly determined by electorates’ abilities to shave, in 2024 they were determined by age, health and wealth of criminal indictments. Amidst those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it key jingling MAGA indictments lies a political thriller without any discernible politics nor tactile thrills, the moniker of the ‘genre’ being lip service only.
Ross’ turn as Red Hulk - coordinated by returning Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) whose sartorial choices mimic that of a 2010s Mark Zuckerberg – is the climax to the synthetic politics of Captain America: Brave New World. The imagery largely speaks for itself, leaving the audience with as much to chew on as they would from a Mr. Beast video, as the cast echo platitudinous observations and callow wisecracks like pull string action figures. If there was ever the opportunity for Captain America to make a return to punching fascists it’d be here; However, Marvel and Disney aren’t likely to challenge their audiences with morals less black and white than good and bad anytime soon.
What’s more is the insincerity of debuting a Black Captain America the same week Disney joins several of the largest business in the U.S. responding to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, helping enable the right wings nonsensical claims that any sort of critical or commercial failure is the result of a ‘DEI Captain America’. Fortunately, it is Wilson and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbley), the ‘forgotten Captain America whose story was detailed broadley in Disney+ show Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), who inject any sort of a pulse into a film that is dead on arrival through corporate meddling. Their storyline, which finds Bradley imprisoned after a failed assassination attempt on Ross, and Wilson working on his exoneration, is a steadfast antidote to a franchise long past the high of its own supply.
“What’s more is the insincerity of debuting a Black Captain America the same week Disney joins several of the largest business in the U.S. responding to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives”
The plethora of plots weaving in amongst each other - Sidewinder’s (Giancarlo Esposito’s) illegal sale of adamantium, the mummified celestial parked in the Indian Ocean creating a juncture for a resource war, Wilson’s private investigation into Lumbley and the Red Hulk of it all – crisscross with zero sense of cohesion, their connections entirely reliant on Dune-like unaffecting lexicon and politics that seldom reflect the real world. For those who can keep up with the camera as it flails around impetuously with Cap’s shield, a prominent focal point amongst action beats, the reality of having five screenwriters emerges and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau’s low angle-shots start to do more to demonstrate the vulnerabilities of the franchise itself than its characters.
Mackie, speaking to Variety at the 2022 Grammy Awards, teased Tupac’s fierce diss track “Hit ‘Em Up” (which played a large role in mid-1990s East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry) as the behind-the-scenes soundtrack for prep work, nonetheless, the same ferocity can’t be said of Laura Karpman’s score. Throughout the runtime Ross’ inner circle hold him accountable for his actions in Harlem, that took place during The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Wilson’s newfound sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) gawks at Wakanda’s technological achievements, yet Brave New World’s regards towards the Black history of the MCU are just as hollow and unmotivated as its political inclinations, as it rushes towards it’s inevitable Doomsday.
Release Date: February 14th, 2025
Directed by Julius Noah
Written by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Peter Glanz
Produced by Kevin Feige, Nate Moore
Starring Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
Cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Runtime: 118 minutes.