Product Info

Studio

Marvel Studios

Director

Julius Onah

Genre

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated

PG-13

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Feb 14, 2025

Film Length

1hr 58min

Purchase From

Captain America: Brave New World is Marvel Studios’ latest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is average at best, playing it safe, and answers a few questions from prior MCU films. It acts more as a bridge than as a standalone film.

More Political

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Taking place after the events of the MCU’s 2021 Eternals movie, Captain America’s role has turned more into a political issue than one fighting non-humans. A new material called adamantium was discovered on the enormous stone figure in the Indian Ocean. This new material is highly valued due to its strength and multiple applications across various industries, from medical to weapons. Many countries, such as the US and Japan, are in a stalemate to own the material but one wrong move can start a war. There’s a peace treaty in the works to determine ownership of adamantium and prevent a large-scale conflict, but a sinister, behind-the-scenes force looks to drive things toward the worst outcome.

The audience doesn’t see new characters from the X-Men realm, existing Marvel characters who could benefit from adamantium’s discovery, or anything new that foreshadows something else entirely. Instead, Brave New World plays it safe here, which isn’t a bad thing, but it also prevents the story from exploring an interesting direction. It’s not the worst Marvel film nor is it the best. It’s fine rather than fantastic.

Hulk Connections

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The last time the audience received a film dedicated to the Hulk was back in 2008. While Brave New World is not a Hulk movie itself, it feels like a sequel to The Incredible Hulk. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the general who opposed the Hulk in that film, is the president of the United States here (now played by Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) after William Hurt’s death) as well as the antagonist that’s mostly kept secret until about halfway through.

Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal, Captain America: Civil War), previously the Falcon before Steve Rogers retired as the original Captain America, is officially the new Captain America. While Sam does his best, he has big shoes to fill and he has to fill them fast. Actually, the film and the combat within both feel a little too fast, especially in the close-up hand-to-hand fights between humans. Less choppy camera cuts would make for a smoother battle. From a narrative standpoint, it needed moments of reflection to slow things down. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series, which took place after Avengers: Endgame and dealt with Sam’s hesitance toward taking over as Captain America, perhaps took some character development beats that might have been better served here.

One of the biggest fights the movie (and the trailers) builds up to is between a red Hulk and Captain America. The story on how Red Hulk comes to be is interesting and the destruction between the two Marvel fighters doesn’t hold back. However, the way the battle ends is anticlimactic. It feels forced and the justification could have been written better.

Even so, it’s still fun to figure out the various connections this film has with one that appeared over fifteen years ago. The Incredible Hulk deserved more love, and it’s too bad it took this long for the MCU to acknowledge that it exists and has a role to play in upcoming movies.

Wild Red Destruction

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Brave New World’s soundtrack does exist, but it can only really be heard during dialogue and non-combat scenes. When all the destruction is happening, good luck trying to hear anything else. The film’s visuals were good most of the time. Watching Sam and his sidekick, the new Falcon, played by Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick, Assassination Nation), fly through the air, tackling missiles, was entertaining.

Sam versus the Red Hulk was one of the biggest highlights of the movie. That being said, side characters such as Sidewinder, played by Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Usual Suspects), and Isaiah Bradley, played by Carl Lumbly (Men of Honor, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), also do a great job. We can only hope that they make a return down the road.

Final Smash

Unlike the title would suggest, Captain America: Brave New World plays it too safe. There should be more character development, more ideas, and more experimentation because, as it stands, it doesn’t come across as a solid standalone Marvel film. At least the Red Hulk fight is entertaining for the most part…

An early screening provided for this review. Captain America: Brave New World arrives in theaters on February 14, 2025. Fans can visit the film’s official website for tickets.