The main problem with Captain America: Brave New World is you can clearly tell which scenes were added after principal photography ended. While it’s not uncommon for many movies to have tweaks here and there and additional scenes shot to clear up plot holes, this movie feels like a Chose Your Own Adventure book that someone adapted without understanding the concept.
The movie production became tabloid fodder for reports on reshoots and release delays. It didn’t help that a major character had to be recast after William Hurt passed away in March 2022. Then there was the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes further delayed the production. What you have is a movie that looks like it was completed just so Disney could show up Warner Bros. Discovery who took the L with that failed Batgirl movie.
Eleven years after the great Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the action sequences here seem shoddy and added due to obligation rather necessity to the plot. Take the scene with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as the new Cap battles it out with Seth Voelker (Giancarlo Esposito) who is also known as Sidewinder. The scene takes place in a desolate small town with little extras around.
For the past 10 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has made great use of the Georgia Film Commission and its tax incentives. Yet, this is another MCU movie that throws in a scene set in Bumblefuck Georgia solely for the purpose of the tax incentives. The Winter Soldier had thrilling sequences on the D.C. Beltway and also in an elevator. This action scene seems like it belongs in a low-budget action movie.
As for duel between Cap and Red Hulk, also known as President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford replacing Hurt), it feels less than thrilling than it should be. It might have been a huge surprise if Disney and Marvel Studios didn’t use this for the marketing for months prior to its release. I also had a huge question as why many people are shooting at Red Hulk when he’s still the President. Wouldn’t law enforcement and the military worry about the consequence?
The plot involves some Manchurian Candidate-style way of having normal people turn into killers when they hear The Fleetwood’s “Mr. Blue. .” The villain this time is a character all the way back from 2008 The Incredible Hulk and it’s Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who looks like the Jolly Green Giant deep in a meth addiction. Apparently, all the way back in 2008 if you remember, Sterns was infected with the superhuman serum Bruce Banner had which has genetically mutated his body but given him superhuman intelligence.
It’s okay if you don’t remember. They finally brought up the Celestial Tiamut in the Indian Ocean that emerged at the end of Eternals a few years ago but many many installments since. It’s just another sign that they didn’t really have a game plan after Avengers: Endgame to continue the story. It feels more like Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Liv Tyler pops up briefly as Betsy Ross, Thaddeus’ estranged daughter. But you’ve be forgiven if you thought it was Jennifer Connelly who played the role in the 2003 Hulk.
Mackie does what he can in the role but it’s best they just kept him as Falcon. Chris Evans did such a great role as Steve Rogers. He’s really just Captain America in name only. It’s nothing against Mackie. Even in the comics, Sam becomes the new Cap. Filling in the role as the new Falcon is Joaquin Torress (Danny Ramirez) who is so forgettable in the role I had to double-check while writing this.
The movie does have some good moments. It’s still a far better movie than the horrible 1990 Captain America flick. Yet that’s not saying much.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 