The political thriller is one of my favorite genres. Whether it’s an investigative noir like All the President’s Men or a spy action series like the Bourne trilogy, those stories have elements that practically everyone can enjoy. Yet Marvel somehow made a political thriller boring.
Captain America: Brave New World, the fourth installment with our star-spangled hero, has all the makings of the genre but without the suspense. It also retreads familiar ground with a plot that feels neither brave nor new.
The film follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) taking up the mantle of Captain America years after he was handed the iconic shield in Avengers: Endgame. Sam now dons the red-white-and-blue uniform, keeping his signature wings from his time as Falcon. That moniker has been passed onto his sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). Together, they must uncover a conspiracy that threatens to throw the U.S. into an international conflict fighting for control over a gigantic deposit of adamantium – the indestructible metal used to create Wolverine’s metal claws, another teaser that Marvel Studios will make an X-Men movie in the future.
In the crosshairs of the conspiracy’s puppet master is newly elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over the role from the late William Hurt), who wants to prove to his daughter that he is a changed man. A three-star general, Ross previously hunted the Hulk and generally despises superheroes. The kicker is that by the third act, he ends up transforming into the Red Hulk. Well, it would have been a surprise if the character’s monstrous alter ego wasn’t featured in the movie’s trailers and posters. Alas, Marvel is incapable of doing anything right these days. This is just one blatant example of the film’s predictability.
A sequel-in-name-only to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Brave New World really has nothing to do with those movies because it doesn’t star the real Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers. Sam may have his predecessor’s shield, but he doesn’t prove himself as Captain America in his own solo entry. The closest the film comes to the two previous franchise installments is when its script pulls scenes and ideas directly from The Winter Soldier and Civil War, both of which were far superior in storytelling and action.
Instead, the film is more of a sequel to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – the Disney+ original series that showed Sam unwilling at first to take up the mantle because he thought the country wasn’t ready to accept a black Captain America – and The Incredible Hulk – a 17-year-old film that left a minor character on the backburner before he returned as the main villain in a Captain America movie.
While it may not be “woke,” for lack of a better term, Brave New World does include subtle leftist undertones. There are moments where Sam questions his own self-worth as the titular hero, alluding to the fact that he’s different from Steve because of his skin color. In the final scene, Sam tells Joaquin he feels extraordinary pressure in the role as he is responsible for “all the people who don’t have a seat at the table.” What could that mean, I wonder. The moralizing may not be as overt as in the racially pointed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it’s still present.
Beyond the preachy platitudes, the film contains too much exposition spelling out each character’s thoughts and feelings. The stilted dialogue suggests the film was written by committee, which seems likely given that the screenplay credits belong to five men. In the hands of stronger (and preferably fewer) writers, the dialogue would ideally sound more natural. The acting performances are passable, the fight choreography is bland, and the visuals are schlock. So, pretty standard fare for Marvel movies post-Endgame.
The fundamental problem of Brave New World is its failure to portray Sam as Captain America in an unforced way. Studio heads chose Sam as the next iteration of the comic book character because he checks the “diversity” box, not because he best serves the story in that role. I think it would have been much more fun to see Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) carry the shield to redeem himself from executing numerous assassinations as the brainwashed Winter Soldier. Furthermore, Bucky’s redemption arc would show that you don’t have to let the past define your future. The lesson exhibited by Sam – that empathy is just as much a power as superhuman strength, which he doesn’t have – is not as effective.
Although it’s not the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years, Brave New World isn’t a return to form, either. If you’re looking for a movie to pass the slow theatrical release month that is February, perhaps there is some enjoyment to glean from this mindless superhero flick. If you’re expecting a riveting political thriller on par with Captain America’s previous installments, prepare to be disappointed.
