Mackie solid despite underwhelming adventure awaiting Captain America: Brave New World
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| The final theatrical poster for CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. © 2025 Walt Disney Studios. All Rights Reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Shira Haas and Xosha Roquemore
THE REVIEW: Given the current political/social state of America, it should come as zero surprise that if you are the type that has demonized the letters “DEI,” CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD is not the film for you. Likewise, if you are suffering from superhero fatigue and/or cannot see past the skin color of the film’s titular character, you should stay home as well.
However, if you enjoy most of Marvel Studios’ releases and are able to watch a story that focuses more on traditional superhero values (peace, a man with designs on revenge and/or justifiably using his intelligence/force for the right reasons but in nefarious ways), BRAVE NEW WORLD hits the mark more than it misses.
Much moreso than in the lackluster Falcon & the Winter Soldier Marvel limited series, Mackie carves out his own niche as Cap in BRAVE NEW WORLD, paying homage to Chris Evans work in the role while putting his own stamp on the character. Wilson’s status as a black man is a minimal part of the story, which instead focuses on a man trying to honor his predecessor and serve the country that, in 2025, all of its citizens may or may appreciate his service. With Mackie’s Sam Wilson rumored to lead the next iteration of The Avengers, his performance shows he has the stamina to step into the role Evans helped define … Even if he still needs a bigger defining experience to firmly establish him as such.
In fact, if there is one thing that could be seen as more of a letdown, it’s the fact that BRAVE NEW WORLD simply follows the beats required of a standard Marvel adventure: There’s a hero facing some sort of internal crisis, a villain with motivations you can somewhat understand and some really good fight sequences with jokes throw in occasionally for good measure.
What BRAVE NEW WORLD needs, however, is a truly remarkable villain and definitive moments that make it feel like less of a prelude to other adventures. Nelson’s version of the man known to many comic book fans as The Leader doesn’t feel like he’s truly capable of such a name and you’ll either enjoy Ross’ gamma antics or find them too familiar to drive you. (The latter crowd is the type that almost takes more enjoyment in not enjoying something ala Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.)
All things considered, in trying to show Sam Wilson can be just as good as other heroes, BRAVE NEW WORLD is fine … But it fails to do the one thing it needed to do, which is the exact opposite of the aforementioned sentence: Give him a adventure that make his heroics stand out in definitive fashion as compared to the rest of his peers.
