The 35th Marvel Cinematic Universe film mixes Tom Clancy style espionage with the increasingly complicated trappings of serialized superheroism, and the whole hulking smash-up faces an identity and creativity crisis. Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World (C) chronicles two characters in the honeymoon periods of newfound careers: Harrison Ford as newly elected and problematic U.S. President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson who assumes the mantle of the Captain America persona with a touch of imposter syndrome. A proposed team-up between commander-in-chief and the newly coronated Cap is quickly jeopardized by a series of meddling menaces plus raiders of a lost “adamantium” element that proves to be a MacGuffin most mid. The story fails to transport viewers to interesting places despite the fact that one location is intriguingly titled Celestial Island and then not developed in the slightest. Conversely the production devotes multiple minutes to a junkyard fight and one single row of cherry blossom trees shot from various angles. A presidential security advisor played by Shira Haas is furnished limited lines when there could have been a smart political subtext unfolding. Danny Ramirez coasts on charisma as Joaquin Torres/Falcon, a sidekick who’s both silly and sentimental and generally the most genuinely entertaining part of the movie. The action sequences move fast, largely masking any real momentum, while generally the film’s pace crawls. Much of this installment plays out like a chore with phoned-in performances, despite the participation of multiple past Oscar nominees. Ford and Mackie are game for the drama, but the temperamental POTUS and the bearer of the shield can only wield so much life out of this flimsy episode.
My “FilmThirt” persona reviews this movie on TikTok: