Captain America: Brave New World is a sequel to Avengers: Endgame, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, The Incredible Hulk, and even, to a much lesser extent, Eternals. For fans who have complained about a lack of connectivity in the Multiverse Saga, there's plenty of that to be found here...for better or worse. Serving so many previous stories robs the movie of a clear identity, and the messiness of it all often overshadows an otherwise action-packed, exciting first solo adventure for the MCU's new Captain America, Sam Wilson.
The story? It's what you've seen in the trailers. After President Ross is attacked, Sam must investigate a conspiracy that could result in another world war. There are some interesting moments along the way - despite The Leader being sorely underutilized, his dynamic with Ross is by far the most compelling subplot - but it's a relatively straightforward political thriller which culminates with a Red Hulk battle worth the price of admission alone.
Much has been said about reshoots but they aren't as glaringly apparent as some would have you believe. If you've combed through every set photo, plot leak, and trailer, then yes, it's obvious that sweeping changes have been made (ranging from missing characters to cut storylines). The bigger issue with Captain America: Brave New World is how choppily edited it feels and the way the movie has, at times, been Frankensteined together. Filmmaker Julius Onah was clearly out of his depth here and the fact there were five screenwriters shows. Tonally, it at least feels relatively consistent and a Red Hulk eventually rampaging into the story - which, up until that point, is relatively grounded - isn't remotely jarring. Onah deserves credit for that, but something went wrong with this one and it likely started at the script stage.
The action scenes are a highlight, even if Sam not having the Super Soldier Serum robs them of the oomph Steve Rogers' clashes with his foes typically had. The aerial battles are intense, the hand-to-hand combat (mostly) impresses, and when Sam and Red Hulk finally do battle, it's Marvel Studios at its finest. Red Hulk has more screentime than we've been led to believe and it's so much fun watching an angry Hulk be unleashed on screen again. Every time Harrison Ford appears, Captain America: Brave New World soars to new heights; the legendary actor is marvellous as Ross and his scenes with Anthony Mackie are among the movie's best. Ford is the greatest addition to the MCU in a long time and delivers a captivating take on the President that only stumbles when the script doesn't give him strong enough material to work with. More time in the White House would have been no bad thing.
It's true that Anthony Mackie cements himself as Captain America here, even if some of the messaging is repeated from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The actor had already earned his place as Cap in the Disney+ series, so dwelling so much on him not being a Super Soldier and feeling unworthy of the mantle is a tad redundant. Carl Lumbly's return as Isaiah Bradley is welcomed, though the same can't be said for Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres. This movie doesn't need a second winged hero and the character, mainly here to deliver comic relief, is neither particularly interesting nor enjoyable to spend time with.
In fact, this movie would have benefited greatly from pairing Sam up either with another Avenger or someone like Isaiah or Bucky who could have enriched the story being told with a richer dynamic than a former Falcon and, uh, Falcon Jr. Xosha Roquemore and Shira Haas are largely non-factors (the latter gets a Black Widow action scene we've seen many times before) and Giancarlo Esposito sadly didn't leave us wanting more Sidewinder.
As for Tim Blake Nelson's long-awaited return as The Leader, the actor is in top form, but only occasionally shows up as the zombie-like baddie to reel off some probabilities and taunt his foes. He's not in this movie anywhere near enough and needed considerably more screentime to leave a lasting impression. Captain America: Brave New World had the chance to set Samuel Sterns up as a major player in the MCU but largely squanders him.
So, yes, this movie is flawed. However, it's never downright awful and certainly not the disaster some would have you believe. Still leaps and bounds ahead of comic book movies from other studios, Captain America: Brave New World is an enjoyable action flick with a simple enough story and some genuinely delightful action scenes. Sam is an awesome character and a blast to spend time with. While his first movie feels more like an extended episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier on occasion, when it's good, it's really good. Had the costumes, sets, and story been a little more cinematic (the lines between film and TV have blurred a little too much, something that was also evident in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels), it would have made the world of difference. As it stands, Cap and Red Hulk make this one worthy of the cinematic experience.