Director: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, and Giancarlo Esposito
1h 58m
In the television prequel, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” the newly appointed Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), begins to understand the harsh realities of carrying the superhero shield that represents a tarnished history of oppression and injustice for the sake of power and pride. In “Captain America: Brave New World,” Sam Wilson is still struggling with bearing the weight of the iconic superhero identity while battling a tumultuous political landscape with a newly elected, former Marvel antagonist, President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).
Director Julius Onah builds this superhero story in the essence of a political, paranoid thriller akin to “The Manchurian Candidate” and “The Parallax View,” both exceptional cinematic exercises in dramatic suspense. “Captain America: Brave New World” exchanges the paranoia and suspense for a superhero spectacle and a big red Hulk. While it may not reach the narrative heights of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, and Carl Lumbly provide compelling performances and, though it’s disappointingly never fruitfully explored, the new Captain America’s emotional journey creates a thoughtful lens to view current political reality.
Sam Wilson is feeling more confident bearing the heavy burden of representing superhero America, working to move beyond comparisons of super soldier Steve Rogers as a non-genetically altered human hero. New elected President Thaddeus Ross, a wartime general who destroyed New York City chasing after The Hulk, has softened his temperament in hopes of unifying multiple nations to establish a truce in mining a miracle metal known as adamantium from a continent-sized Celestial body left in the Indian Ocean after the events of “The Eternals.” Ross invites Captain Wilson, the new Falcon Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), and the ‘forgotten Captain’ Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to a White House assembly to convince Wilson to reestablish The Avengers. During President Ross’ speech at the assembly, the chimes of The Fleetwoods’ “Mr. Blue” provoke a mind-controlled Bradley, along with other military personnel, to commit an assassination attempt. Bradley flees and is caught, unaware of his actions. He is sent back to prison, forcing Captain America to unravel the events and identify the true intentions of the assassination.
Anthony Mackie is a great choice to play the embattled Captain America. Mackie’s emotional range is never utilized to its fullest potential, but during a few moments, especially with the wonderful Carl Lumbly, the depths of the character, two Black men of similar yet vastly different circumstances, are nicely layered to show the complicated nature of fighting for an America that often never fights people who look like you. Lumbly is superb throughout the film, both in moments of calm yet cautious optimism, a car ride to the White House with commentary about the importance of a good suit, and ultimate defeat and betrayal, surrounded by police officers ready to take him back to a prison Bradley never thought he’d survive. Harrison Ford is also well suited for the gruff and impatient role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a longtime villain hoping for sympathy in his final years of life. Ford is provided with a few scenes that display the sole saving emotional grace for the character, a connection to his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler).
The frustrating aspect of “Captain America: Brave New World” is the unrealized, often contradictory narrative that rarely understands where to place its intents. It tries to be a political thriller, one minute crafting an intriguing story of mind control and the next minute solving its mystery with two throwaway villains, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) and Serpent Leader Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), that never feel threatening. The attempts at social commentary are loud and in-your-face, like a Red Hulk standing atop the White House waving a flag pole with the ol’ red, white, and blue hanging on for dear life (although I did laugh quite hard at this image). The approach to providing some sense of emotional depth and compelling conversation to topics like historical trauma, racial oppression, and the state of America’s misguided attempts at acknowledging past atrocities are entirely in the realm of possibility with this story. Unfortunately, it consistently returns to its superficial ideologies and primary role of being only a superhero movie.
“Captain America: Brave New World” explores what it means to be a hero in a broken society. While the film takes a few moments to unravel the brutal truths behind the shield-wielding spectacle, it unfortunately never finds its harmony of themes. Anthony Mackie is a thoughtful actor and will hold the focus role of Captain America for future films, which is exciting and promising for both this version of the character and the actor's growth within it.
Monte’s Rating
2.50 out of 5.00
