’Captain America: Brave New World’: Review

Dir: Julius Onah. US. 2025. 118mins

In the latest Marvel adventure, the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), fears he cannot live up to the legacy left behind by the previous superhero who wielded the shield — an all-too-appropriate metaphor for a film struggling in the shadow of its mightier predecessors. Captain America: Brave New World benefits from Anthony Mackie’s gritty presence, but otherwise this lacklustre sequel makes one wistful for a seemingly bygone era in which Marvel’s blockbusters felt far more vital.

Pales in comparison to earlier Marvel films

Still, Disney should expect sizable grosses for Brave New World when it releases globally on February 14, capitalising on scant competition at the multiplex for action fare. Mackie first joined this series with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with his character The Falcon eventually inheriting the mantle of Captain America from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. But Brave New World will test the actor’s box-office mettle, especially since the film is intended to set the stage for future Avengers pictures. 

As Brave New World begins, Sam is feeling unworthy of his daunting his new position as Captain America. Not only does he lack the Super Soldier Serum that made Steve Rogers such a formidable hero, he also is lacking in self-confidence. But Wilson must put those doubts aside after a failed assassination attempt on the recently-elected president, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), leads him to believe that a terrorist organisation orchestrated the attack. Working with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), a cocky Air Force lieutenant gunning to become the new Falcon, Captain America hunts Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a mutated genius scientist who shares a dark history with the new president.

Directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox), Brave New World is populated by characters aspiring to be their best selves. Alongside Wilson, who wishes he had Rogers’ courage, Torres wants to prove he can be a superhero, while Ross hopes to be a more peaceful leader than he was during his polarising, warmongering past. (Longtime Marvel fans will remember that Ross, previously played by the late William Hurt, has often been an antagonist to the Avengers.) This theme has potential in a film in which Wilson and Torres are both mere mortals, suggesting that real bravery does not come from incredible powers but, rather, the willingness to put oneself in harm’s way to protect others. 

Unfortunately, the film often feels as unremarkable as its protagonists, evincing little of the impressive spectacle or snarky wit of Marvel’s best instalments. Brave New World’s political-thriller setup recalls the far superior Winter Soldier, but without the clever twists or ingenious action sequences. Onah, one of five writers credited for the script, does a good job staging the initial terrorist attack, but from there the picture features conventional set pieces that pale in comparison to earlier Marvel films. 

Mackie was one of the two stars of the 2021 Disney+ streaming series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, which allowed him to take centre stage after being relegated to a supporting role in Marvel’s big-screen sagas. But Brave New World has the same sense of smallness as the series: in both cases, the story feels like a holding action meant to establish necessary plot points that will be important for future Marvel projects. Notably, the film’s characters spend a lot of time debating the need to create a new Avengers team, even though (with one brief exception) none of the original Avengers put in an appearance. It hardly counts as a spoiler to mention that such conversation is designed to sow the seeds for where this franchise is headed, leaving Brave New World as little more than a feature-length excuse to get audiences comfortable with a new Captain America.

Speaking of this Cap, Mackie projects a gruff, tough demeanour, one that is belied by Wilson’s insecurity. However, the intriguing notion of an unconfident hero gets pushed aside by an overly busy plot with too many mediocre supporting characters. Shira Haas has the correct amount of stern resolve as Ruth Bat-Seraph, the president’s steely security officer, and Nelson oozes menace as the villainous Sterns, who was a crucial figure in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. But after so many Marvel films and series, none of these individuals offers much surprise, although Ford tries to infuse Ross with a penitence that can be touching. The trailers have already revealed how the president will transform during Brave New World, but that’s not the only reason thist twist is so anticlimactic. Recycling tired tropes and catering to shrinking audience goodwill, this sequel actually doesn’t boast much that’s especially new, to say nothing of brave.