'Captain America: Brave New World' Review: Is Marvel's 2025 launch disappointing or worthwhile?

Anthony Mackie got his movie, so what was the result?

What does a world with a heroic yet human Captain America running around in it look like?

That’s the genesis of Julian Onah’s new Marvel entry, Captain America: Brave New World, a movie that sets the table as much as it wraps up a phase. Since taking over the shield for Steve Rogers’ after his world-saving work in Endgame and getting a team-up television series with Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has encountered elevated status and quadruple the risk he carried as just a sidekick.

Enter a new President (Harrison Ford taking over the role of Thaddeus Ross for the late William Hurt) who wants to reenlist Sam and company in a new government endeavor that could contain a lot of gray area with which the command the new Cap would have in relation to oversight is crooked at best. The threats and hazards of 2015’s Civil War and the Sokovia Accords drips ink all over Brave New World, which pits the forces of good against a new villain in Tim Blake Nelson. His powers I’ll let viewers experience live.

Throw in a new sidekick for Sam (Danny Ramirez) and the President’s new chief investigator (Shira Haas) to go with the original super soldier (Carl Lumbly’s Isiah Bradley), and that’s the general setup and chess pieces in position. When Ford’s Ross is nearly assassinated (as seen in the trailer) and everybody is either acting weird or is a suspect, Sam finds himself with his special shield and a whole load of doubt from his superiors.

Here’s the deal, folks. There are five sets of hands on Brave New World’s screenplay, leaving one to understand that anything wholly original isn’t coming their way. One can’t help but think the laptop got passed around. There’s usually a person who wants to rip something to the ground (Nelson) who is willing to fire up the right person up (Ford’s hulky Prez) to take out the good guys. What matters is what the director and cast do with it.

Without being great or something to solely pin the hat of a comeback on, Brave New World is a nice step in the right direction that works on old school thrills. Think of it as a red meat version of 2014’s Winter Soldier, blending espionage and thrills to create a worthwhile experience that pleases instead of pains. We’re not in the stink of Eternals anymore. While there are things teased in the final act that set up the next phase, it’s best to appreciate this 2025 launch as a nice and solo distraction after an extra long awards season push.

It helps that Mackie is insanely likable and can handle the spotlight of top billing. He has charisma, toughness, and an ability to switch from a joke to a forceful statement in seconds. As Ford’s Ross taunts, Sam may not be Steve Rogers but he’s a pretty incredible force for a guy who didn’t take the magic potion to gain super strength and muscles. When he gets stabbed or slashed, there’s thankfully Wakanda-infused armor and Kevlar to break the fall of a major wound. By inserting a more humanistic Captain, the Marvel gods engage a 1980s action movie aesthetic where entertainment is the main idea.

Yes, there are plot holes and a few things that happen too conveniently but that works in a movie that isn’t setting up two or three movies. The post-credits scene doesn’t tease any new characters but does look forward. It’s more of a wrap scene than anything juicy. Once again, jaw-dropping work doesn’t live under a roof with so many writers attached.

The mix of CGI-infused aerial action is blended with a grounded, ear-rattling practical approach to certain scenes--especially an encounter or two with Giancarlo Esposito’s gunman. For the first time in years, there’s more hand-to-hand or barrel-to-shield combat than something composed on a computer screen. Bring on more of that!

I know what you’re thinking, though. How’s the big fight? Everyone saw the part in the official trailer where a big red hand catches Cap’s shield and buries it in the concrete before a proverbial standoff. Since spoilers are still so well protected, I don’t have to get too deep into the fight between Ford’s Red Hulk and Mackie’s Sam, but rest assured that it delivers the goods. Let’s put it this way. It’s not weak like the Dave Bautista/Josh Brolin clash in Dune 2.

The aide for Brave New World is the deep bench of cast members. Ramirez provides a good sense of comic relief and keeps things light, and Lumbly gets to continue his world-revealing world that got a nice bump from a prominent role in Netflix’s House of Usher. Everything that comes out of his mouth sounds soulful. A Jewish actress who hasn’t gotten much exposure on American grounds, Haas makes a dent as a small yet fierce woman of action who finds the right side to fight on. Any serving of Esposito is good and Nelson is rightfully diabolical here.

Ford plays similar notes as Hurt did with Ross, but adds an emotional element that gets a boost from a third act speech. He’s not angling to wear a tux next March; he knows what the role needs and fulfills it. Outside of that, he does what has been revealed in interviews and has some fun with the lighter material. For the seemingly ageless actor, this must be a thrill to be paid a few yachts worth of cash to smash play the executive in chief and maybe smash things. What transpires with him and Wilson isn’t exactly unpredictable, but the actors give it juice and make it mean something.

Mackie is the real reason to watch this one, though. He’s easy to root for and has put in the work. When you train with a guy who does countless laps around you for all those years, finding courage lying around becomes easy. “On your left” becomes “all you” in Brave New World, and it’s an enjoyable event. Yes, a non-Marvel fan who watched a few of the previous movies could come in here and have a good time. The heavy lifting is left for the big event films ahead.

While a world with a killable Captain America has its limits and may not break box office records, getting some entertainment out of it is all a moviegoer should ask for at the door. After a string of mostly forgettable duds, Brave New World gives Marvel fans something to be thankful for. Right now in this current climate, I’ll take it.