Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” officially brought the new Captain America onto the big screen to show Sam Wilson, portrayed by Anthony Mackie, has taken on the role. While I was hopeful for a movie to bring me back to the glory days of the Infinity Saga, unfortunately, Marvel was consistent in its now shoddy filmmaking.
The plot follows Sam Wilson and allies navigating an international incident at the White House involving new president Thaddeus Ross and uncovering a nefarious plot to bring Ross’s downfall. The film includes classic Marvel plot lines beginning with a mission for a government agency, an inciting event leading to a problem, a tragic character injury and some good old superhero sleuthing. Unfortunately, the mark was missed when screenwriters tried to randomly insert stories of reconnecting President Ross with his daughter Betty and Wilson’s internal crisis regarding his new role as Captain America without proper connection to the overall plot.
Mackie’s overall portrayal of the character went relatively smoothly, considering how much the script and scenes were working against his ability to actually play a meaningful character who advocates for good and has overcome oppressive challenges. However, there were many parts of the film where it was clear his character was almost being forced to look cool through quips, poses and other various actions. The new Captain America himself is an amazing character to viewers; he doesn’t need to make a fool of himself as a hero for fans to see that.
Another thing that immensely took away from the quality of Cap’s character was the egregious amount of poor-quality CGI throughout the film. Why does something as simple as a sky or a building look like it is completely fake? A reported 180 million dollar budget should be able to make things look at least a little bit better.
Speaking of CGI, the Red Hulk’s scenes, which were only on screen for a few minutes toward the end of the film, were not living up to expectations. The film’s attempt to foreshadow his appearance was a bit too obvious to keep things interesting and his final fight scene with Captain America seemed somewhat meaningless.
Though the film had many faults, this is not to say it is a one-star movie. The narrative about the character Isaiah Bradley portrayed by Carl Lumbly did well with its symbolism of injustice and was an interesting way to bring in a twist of who the true villain was. The overall mysterious vibe toward the beginning of the movie did lead to a very satisfying villain reveal and it was fun to follow the hero’s process of unraveling the web of government lies and secrets.
Overall, as a Marvel fan reminiscent of the amazing movies the company used to produce, “Captain America: Brave New World” left me wanting something far better. This said, I still loyally stayed till the end of the credits to get a sneaky hint to what the upcoming Avengers movies might look like. Here’s a hint: apparently, we are not alone.
