For those keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since “Avengers: Endgame,” the past thirteen movies have fit into one of two categories: major disappointment or smashing success.
“Eternals” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” are two examples of major disappointments. With cluttered plots alongside lackluster special effects and uninspiring character development, both movies were met with less-than-stellar reviews. The former earned 47% on Rotten Tomatoes while the latter received 46%
On the other hand, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” were delightful sequels that provided enjoyable conclusions to their characters, each earning approximately 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With the announcement of the first MCU movie since 2023, fans were anxious to see which category “Captain America: Brave New World” would fit into. After watching the film, it’s clear that the most recent MCU movie was somewhat of a letdown. Marvel had a chance to redefine Captain America’s legacy, but “Captain America: Brave New World” plays it too safe.
With a new phase of production consisting of two new Avengers movies right around the corner, “Captain America: Brave New World” was tasked with the difficult mission of tying up many of the loose ends in the MCU. The main two were the Celestial remains hanging out in the Indian Ocean from “Eternals” and James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes’ presence with a group of anti-heroes in Marvel’s next movie, “Thunderbolts.”
“Captain America: Brave New World” accomplishes the first one rather well and fittingly portrays how modern politicians might handle the situation. The Celestial Island contains an element even rarer than Wakanda’s Vibranium named Adamantium, and naturally, many major countries want a piece of it because of its capabilities for medicine and warfare. While it’s a bit of a weird choice to have the dead Celestial from “Eternals” become the entire plot of “Captain America: Brave New World,” it works well.
However, the movie deals with Bucky’s newfound situation with less precision. In a mid-movie cameo, we learn that Bucky, former HYDRA assassin turned Avenger, is now running for Congress. While this handles the confusion many fans had about why Bucky wasn’t with Sam Wilson after they teamed up in “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” it certainly doesn’t explain why he has formed a team of anti-heroes in “Thunderbolts.” Perhaps he believes that redeeming notable characters such as Taskmaster and John Walker and saving the world with them will encourage citizens to vote for him.
“Captain America: Brave New World” was also riddled with missed opportunities. For a film about Sam as Captain America, it doesn’t seem to address how groundbreaking his role truly is. Sam is supposed to show that anyone can be Captain America, regardless of ethnicity or background, making him someone that children and even adults can look up to. However, while the movie mentions on a few occasions how Sam fears that he won’t live up to be the man that Steve Rogers was, it doesn’t dive deep into him exploring these doubts before accepting that he’s worthy of the title “Captain America.” Marvel had the chance to make “Captain America: Brave New World” a movie that tackled real-life racial and political themes. Instead, it feels more like a political thriller focused on a villain interfering in relationships between the United States and Japan.
“Captain America: Brave New World” also introduced brand-new MCU characters. One of these was Ruth Bat-Seraph, President Thaddeus Ross’ security advisor and a former Black Widow. She had the potential to become a strong female character along with the likes of Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanoff. Instead, her character is relegated to a messenger between Sam and Ross. While Ruth is featured in one brief fight scene, we don’t see her full capabilities in the rest of the movie.
At the end of “The Marvels,” a statement from Kamala Khan confirms that the Young Avengers, a long-awaited comic book team, will soon appear in the MCU, but “Captain America: Brave New World” overlooked the chance to further the creation of this new team. In “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Isaiah Bradley’s grandson, Eli, is introduced. After this, many fans speculated that Eli would eventually become Patriot, a comic book character who was a part of the Young Avengers. But, Eli is nowhere to be found in the latest Marvel movie, making this a missed opportunity for Marvel to hint at the Young Avengers further and drive fans of the comics to movie theaters to catch a glimpse of Patriot.
Nonetheless, parts of “Captain America: Brave New World” worked well. Many of the fight scenes were as engaging and entertaining as previous Captain America movies. Even though Sam chooses not to take the Super Serum, he can hold his own in a fight. Part of this is due to his military background and extensive training, but he also has some new gear courtesy of the Wakandans. Sam’s suit is a perfect blend of Captain America and Falcon, with Steve’s old shield and Falcon’s metal wings, but it is also infused with Vibranium, giving him an advantage in fights. He can get back up again and again, even after taking many blows like Steve Rogers would. Although, it would have been the cherry on top if we’d heard Sam repeat Steve’s iconic phrase, “I can do this all day.”
Overall, while “Captain America: Brave New World” had missed opportunities and leaned too heavily on tying up loose ends, it still set the stage for future MCU projects and kept me entertained from start to finish.
