‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Review: Same Old MCU

The best superheroes represent an ideal that goes deeper than the costume they wear. Captain America is more than just the shield he carries or the red, white and blue stars and stripes that adorn his suit. He’s a symbol of resistance, endurance, and unwavering morals against impossible odds. No one carries the mantle better than Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, and with his passing on the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios has been trying to fill the massive hole he’s left ever since. After years of teasing back and forth, Captain America: Brave New World finally cements Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, but unlike the title suggests there’s little that feels brave or new as the studio attempts to stuff Wilson neatly into Cap’s old image rather than build upon what makes him uniquely worthy of carrying the shield. The film plays it safe, delivering some decent action and tying up some long overdue loose ends, and ultimately delivers more of the same old MCU we’ve grown accustomed to in a post-Endgame world.

Thaddeus Ross has been elected President of the United States with Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres taking on the roles of Captain America and Falcon under the his command. Global tensions are at an all time high as countries compete for control of the Celestial Tiamut that has been submerged in the Indian Ocean since Eternals. Whoever has control over the Celestial body has access to the abundance of rare materials and technology it contains, and therefore will be leading the global economy for who knows how many years to come. Ross is on the verge of signing a treaty with Japan and neighboring nations for the US to control its mining and distribution, but an attack on his life throws negotiations into chaos and trust in others balances on the pin of a needle. It’s up to Sam as the new Captain America to prevent a new world war from breaking out and unite everyone once again.

After struggling with the legacy of Steve Rogers in the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Brave New World officially cements Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. The series did a good job exploring the inner monologue of Wilson and what it means to take up Steve’s shield. I was hopeful that Brave New World would continue to explore those fears and hesitations he has of stepping into the title of Captain America as a black man in a world where racial tensions continue to remain at an all time high. There is so much potential for the character and Sam Wilson’s identity. Instead, the film focuses more on its political thriller theme and the bigger picture overall.

It is nice to finally see some attention brought to the giant Celestial body that has been sticking out of the Indian Ocean for four years and the film is more a direct sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk than anything else, but what made the other Captain America films great was how they revolved around Steve Rogers and his ideals. The First Avenger was about how pure brute strength wasn’t what made someone a superhero. The Winter Soldier put him against his own government. Civil War further tested his ideals when his own teammates sided with putting restrictions on others. Captain America has never been about fighting strength but strength of the heart and mind, and that is where Captain America: Brave New World struggles most.

One of the most unique things about Sam Wilson’s Captain America is that unlike Steve Rogers, he is not a super soldier enhanced with a serum. He’s just an ordinary man who is doing extraordinary things. You would think that would be inspiring, but Brave New World doesn’t take the time to acknowledge his ordinariness and instead puts him on an even greater level that Steve Rogers by giving him a Vibranium suit that erases what makes him different and turns him into just another superhero. Sure it might not make much sense how a normal human could hit Mach speeds and turn on a time, or stop a flagpole with his bare hands that is being hurled at him by a hulk and not be affected by it in the slightest, but he has wings from Wakanda so it’s all good. It’s fitting that the climax is a battle is between Wilson and the Red Hulk because that sums up exactly how different Brave New World is from all the other Captain America films; it’s not about facing a threat that clashes with your identity, but it’s who can land the biggest blows.

There are a few scenes that focus on Sam’s identity and struggle with being the new Steve Rogers, but they are few and far between. Carl Lumbly reprises his role as Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the conversations the two share are some of the best moments in the film. As a super soldier who was failed by and taken advantage of by his government, Isaiah knows firsthand the injustices that can happen and sees through Sam’s willingness to be a weapon of the United States. Their scenes together are what a Captain America movie is all about.

The Captain America trilogy are some of my favorite films in the MCU, but Brave New World fails to grasp what elevated them among all the other superhero films. It’s not a terrible film and still falls in line with the rest of the genre as of late. That may be fine for someone craving just another mindless action film. But for Captain America? I could help but want a little bit more.