'Captain America: Brave New World' Sacrifices Depth For Comfort

There’s a famous scene in 2004’s ‘Spider-Man 2’ (chances are that you know it) where Peter Parker is unmasked and trying his hardest to ensure a subway car doesn’t fly off a hole in the tracks. He’s holding on for dear life to many strands of web New Yorkers don’t plunge to their deaths. While watching ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ I couldn’t help but think back to this scene as a metaphor for the film itself – a good performance by a lead who is trying in his power to slow down a runaway train with little to keep it in line. The 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is where all the ambitions in this ever-sprawling collection of stories come together and buckle under that weight. ’Brave New World’ is expected to be a pseudo-sequel to a film made 17 years ago (2008’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’), tie in a significant event that happened in another film that wasn’t as well received (2021’s ‘Eternals’), a Disney+ show not given adequate time to flesh out its themes (2021’s ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’) and looking ahead to a massive, multi-versal war. You got all of that?

If anything, ‘Brave New World’ only compounds a problem the MCU has been experiencing since the knock-out triumph of 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ Everything has to serve the bigger story. In doing so, characters and plotlines feel like they are on a conveyor belt you can only see for a minute, given the increased output. There is a place (or in the spirit of things, Earth, give me a number) where Marvel incorporates the themes of ‘Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ in a theatrical container rather than relying on massive exposition in this film. Who gets to be Captain America when a country has already ordained that a specific type of person can embody patriotism? What happens to governments at large after the effects of the blip? What ramifications would be felt if those in power were so adverse to giving the mantle of Captain America to a Black man that an unstable soldier commits an international crime holding that position? These are some of the issues tackled within the Disney+ show. However, there, too, was the tug of multiversal inevitability, which short-changed a rather compelling (and timely) path the MCU could have explored.

Instead, Julius Onah’s ‘Brave New World’ paints over what could have been the standout portions of “street-level” Marvel as a skeleton of what a political thriller could be. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) is laser-focused on achieving two main objectives. First, there’s the matter of “Celestial Island,” where Tiamut partially emerged in the Indian Ocean. Ross is trying to get ahead of an international incident because it just so happens that a valuable metal called adamantium (another wink at what’s to come) is present on the island. So, to salvage his legacy somewhat, Ross is adamant on getting a worldwide treaty signed. There’s also the matter of repairing a fraught relationship with his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler) because of his actions against Bruce Banner in ‘The Incredible Hulk.’ At this point, Sam is settled into the Captain America role with a new Robin-esque sidekick, Joaquin Torres/Falcon (Danny Ramirez). After a successful mission of retrieving a stolen adamantium sample, Sam and Joaquin are invited to a White House gala. Even given the years of experimentation and wrongful imprisonment, super soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) comes along for the ride. Things seem great until The Fleetwoods’ “Mr. Blue” plays in the background. This elicits a response from Bradley to make an assassination attempt on Ross’s life.

(L-R) Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Joaquin Torres/The Falcon (Danny Ramirez), and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.

Wilson must prove Bradley’s innocence before he stands trial with the death penalty hanging over him and investigates this dangerous Winter Soldier command phenomenon. ‘Brave New World’ lets Mackie’s natural charisma take over as the film constantly moves from place to place and plot point to plot point. Wilson’s interactions with Torres’s character are genuinely cool from a veteran showing an eager rookie the ropes. The interesting and confusing relationship ‘Brave New World’ lives and dies on is between Sam Wilson and President “Thunderbolt” Ross. The film intends to provide a pathway for Ross to become redeemable in some aspect – this is why getting the treaty is the most significant part of a film this side of 1999’s ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.’ You never understand why Ross got elected in the first place or what his politics are. If anything, his reasoning for being a pacifist is shrouded in selfishness and secrets. Given Ford’s icy nature in delivering specific moments, there’s no sense Ross will change his ways. Thus, ‘Brave New World’ places Wilson’s character on the altruistic mantle. ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ gave him reasons to have ample questions to wrestle with in holding the shield. Yet, ‘Brave New World’ doesn’t address any of those rightful hesitations until dialogue happens within the final scene. For much of the film, Wilson tries to incessantly seek the good in Ross when the President gives him little reason to do so.

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2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’ allowed Steve Rodgers to doubt the institutions he stood for because he disagreed with the Sokovia Accords and aspects of regulating The Avengers (which Ross also has a hand in). Despite all the problematic realizations about race in the Captain American mantle, Sam Wilson doesn’t get that opportunity. He’s a willing participant in upholding a standard that the President isn’t even interested in doing. It makes you wonder why Marvel chose to go this route initially if it wasn’t going to follow through.

Another issue is the lack of compelling antagonists throughout ‘Brave New World.’ Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder doesn’t have enough time to establish himself other than acting as a go-between for the shadowy figure pulling string. Our ‘Incredible Hulk’ returning champion Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) is relegated to cliched supervillainy dialogue with a master plan to boast. You’ll find out what Wilson, Torres, and chief of security/ex-Black Widow Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) investigate relatively quickly. It leads to the big ole showdown, which was telegraphed in the preceding film trailers. Red Hulk vs Captain America is good to see on screen, but hampered because of the fight being tied to an emotional callback spelled out to the audience on numerous occasions. ‘Brave New World’s’ insistence on explaining itself distills the fun of what could have been a reasonably enjoyable bridge.

The next film in the MCU (and the last of Phase Five) is Thunderbolts, which features John Walker/U.S. Agent. In some way, shape, or form, he has to atone for what he did in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. My inking is that it will run into the same issues as ‘Brave New World.’ “Yes, we understand this great thread, but we have to set up ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Secret Wars.” The totality of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ is something Marvel/Disney will have to reckon with sooner than later. At some point, you will have to be brave and investigate complexities in dealing with real-world issues. It’s the MCU dipping its toe in those waters with ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and (to a lesser extent) ‘Secret Invasion.’ Unfortunately, ‘Brave New World’ will be an example of why comfort isn’t always the best medicine.