It’s no secret that the MCU has sputtered in recent years. The strikes and Covid Pandemic didn’t help matter. 2025 is supposed to be the year of big returns for them. Once again trying to set up bigger things in the future. The first of their 2025 slate is Captain America: Brave New World, originally called New World Order. As mentioned, things have changed, and this film went through 80% re-shoots to change the story. It was supposed to come out last year.  It’s finally out in a February slot that has been good for Marvel Studios in the past. Let’s see if that magic continues with this release.

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has decided,  despite his past differences with General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, now played by Harrison Ford , previously William Hurt, that he would try to be a team player and support the now president of the United States Ross. Going forward. Ross is trying to bring the country “Together” as he says in his campaign slogan. With that comes the current Captain America on his side. In the MCU, though, there are always people out to upset the apple cart. With a peace treaty imminent over the rights to a new element,  Adamantium, on Celestial Island, the time to cause chaos is now. An assassin attempt is made on the President’s life by none other than Isaih Bradley (Carl Lumbly) and a handful of others. This causes more questions to be asked than answered. 

Anthony Mackie has made a name for himself after his breakout role in The Winter Soldier.  Roles in streaming shows and other movies prove people still want to see him on the big and small screen. It is the role of Sam Wilson that people care about the most, though. He has a mini-series on Disney + and has been in other MCU films. This is his first solo outing as the man with the shield that he was gifted at the end of Endgame,  and the stars and stripes uniform signifying he is now Captain America. Mackie holds his own mainly opposite juggernaut of the film industry for the last 50 years. He uses the mix of humor and seriousness he’s come to be known for in his career. Just like this movie, he’s fine in it. He’s nothing to write home about, but he carries the film respectfully. 

As for Harrison Ford, he does the same when he’s on screen as the president and as a giant raging hulk towards the end of the film. How he got from point A to point Z in the story I won’t say because that’s a spoiler, but it makes sense in the context of the continuity Marvel Studios is trying to set up. Ford is a very commanding actor that most  pay attention to when he’s speaking. It just so happens Ross is the president now, and so he demands more attention than he did in past films. Ford replaced Hurt quite well, all things considered. He’s the perfect foil for Mackie’s Captain America if there isn’t a green Hulk around to stop instead. There is even a funny joke about why he doesn’t have the iconic mustache this character is known for. 

The script of this movie has five writers attached to it because of all the rewriting and so forth. The story was changed, which is why they had to do the reshoots. Considering all that, the script isn’t bad. It’s as I said just fine. There is a manipulation aspect to the story, which makes sense in terms of the assassin’s attempt on Ford’s character’s life. This film has a mix of past Captain America films, like the investigative nature of The Winter Soldier and the Hulk film from 2008. It’s more so as a sequel to that Hulk movie if you want me to be completely honest. The story mixes the two well, though despite all the behind the scenes drama, this production has been involved in.

With any Marvel film, you know you have to have a lot of action to keep the rabid fans satisfied, and this movie has a couple of big, expensive sequences that show off the talents of the two leads. The first is a dog fighting scene in the Indian Ocean adjacent to Celestial Island. Where two feuding countries are trying to claim the right to Adamantium.  The navy’s are fighting, but Captain America has to intervene with his sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). These scenes were amazing. They were straight out of WWII or some other war. I loved all the dogfighting action. The second big fight sequence is a culminating battle between Captain America and the Red Hulk. This was more action-packed than I originally would have thought, considering the two combatants. You would think Red Hulk would mop the floor with Anthony Mackie ‘s Captain America,  but with a little bit of ingenuity and some good old-fashioned grit to stay in the fight. The CGI looked a little wonky, but I eventually got used to it. 

Captain America: Brave New World is a bit of a mixed bag. I give it a pass because of what this production has been through in the last few years. Fine is the word I keep coming back to because it’s not anything special, but it’s not bad either. It’s basically what I would have expected considering what this film has been through behind the scenes in the world as a whole. Mackie is once again okay with being this character after the Falcon and the Winter Soldier show he did. He fully embraces this character as his own though this time out. I liked him in the lead role. As a foil, Ford plays Ross as well as can be expected considering replacing Hurt from previous films. He stands his ground pretty well as the President and Red Hulk, respectively. This film is going to get people to go see it, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be considered one of the better MCU or Captain America films for that matter. It’s a shame because it is not a bad movie. It’s a fine movie you don’t have to think too hard about. Just enjoy it for what it is.

3 stars

Dan Skip Allen