With Sam Wilson stepping into Steve Rogers’ shadow, ‘Brave New World’ is not just about superpowers and capes, but identity, responsibility, and the blurred line between heroism and politics.
The newest Captain America film is unlike its predecessor’s determination to defend the weak but rather takes the perspective of those Steve Rogers was so desperate to defend. Does it succeed? Maybe.
The film was not bad, it is an okay entry into what I consider the greatest comic book character film adaptation of all time. When compared to the greats of ‘First Avenger,’ ‘Winter Soldier,’ and ‘Civil War,’ ‘Brave New World’ simply pales in comparison.
First off, the CGI (computer-generated imagery) is questionable at best. Of course, give it credit, it is a massive and ambitious project, but the CGI looks cheap compared to the peaks of CGI ‘Endgame’ achieved. To be entirely honest, Marvel is just that—cheap. That is the best way to sum up Marvel since ‘Endgame.’ Thirteen movies have been released since, none of which have even touched the heights of the previous Marvel movies. Yet, I would say ‘A Brave New World’ gives a little taste of what they are still capable of.
The soundtrack and CGI failed in my opinion, neither of which is notable, and the majority of the cast seems bland. Yet light lingers in the darkness. Anthony Mackie has an impressively mediocre performance; I like the concept of the new direction for Captain America’s mantle. Although Harrison Ford feels out of place as Ross due to the recast, he does a commendable job compared to the rest of the cast.
The film serves as a sort of sequel to ‘The Incredible Hulk.’ Featuring a diverse cast drawn from ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,’ the previously mentioned ‘Incredible Hulk,’ along with several new characters. Among the new characters introduced, none stand out as particularly impressive. The weakest of them is Sabra, portrayed by Shira Haas. Her character is dull and contributes little to the film. Sabra comes across as a crude imitation of well-developed characters like Black Widow and Pepper Potts, making her seem like a poor imitation of these amazingly written characters.
The plot follows Captain America as he attempts to take down the man behind an assassination attempt on the president, prevent an all-out war, and free his friend and mentor Isaiah Bradley, who has been wrongfully imprisoned. The man behind this plot is Samuel Sterns, making his long-awaited return; his last appearance was in The Incredible Hulk’ sixteen years ago. Keep in mind that many of Marvel’s current fanbases are not even that old. Samuel Sterns is portrayed as a typical evil mastermind seeking revenge, but his backstory is uninspired and cliche.
If this movie had been released two to three years after the original ‘Hulk,’ I might have been more intrigued, but regardless it is just a boring bland movie. Most viewers and critics seem to agree, as it holds a score of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the movie isn’t entirely bad, for example, the relationship between Ross and Captain America, although contradictory at times, has its moments. In particular, Ross is a deep and intriguing character with many layers, and I genuinely enjoy his story, especially his eventual transformation into the Red Hulk. Unfortunately, the film undermines this development with a lackluster ending. Oh, and Giancarlo Esposito is in it.
