By Daniel Paiz

Cypher Flicks reviews Captain America: Brave New World as Marvel releases their first of three MCU movies set for 2025. There’s action, political intrigue, and a bit of blast from the past with a few characters in this compact, under two hours film. Audiences get to experience Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) fully entrenched with the shield as Captain America, and a new iteration of Falcon with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) to tag along.

Online reviews have been mixed, with the all too common overly harsh audience scores for any Marvel films led by a character who is Black, Latino/Mexican, Asian, or a Woman. There are some parts here and there that could’ve gone differently. But what stands out is a near return to Phase One focus with regards to a mash-up between a political thriller meets action movie.

A majority of the info below is what viewers would see in the trailers. There are a few parts here and there towards the end that bring up specifics but do not spoil the plot or the ending of the film. Proceed with caution if you want no specific details, but opening weekend is now over and few things from the movie aren’t already online.

What Happens

One could regurgitate the whole film from memory, but only those seeking the script for this movie would be passively interested in that. A quick recap of Brave New World will avoid this as much as possible. Essentially, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford takes after the passing of William Hurt) has recently won the general election for President. Ross and Sam interact despite their prickly history. Sam and Joaquin are sent on a mission that deals with Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) and part of his Serpent Society, and the result gets Sam, Joaquin, and the storied Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to the White House.

Shenanigans ensue at the White House, then in West Virginia, where Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson of Incredible Hulk fame) interacts with Sam and Joaquin. Further info discloses something eerily similar to what Bucky Barnes dealt with in terms of mind control is Sterns’ dirty work. Meanwhile, Ross and the rest of the world are trying to get their hands on control of Celestial Island. The tension dial is turned up, grand action scenes abound, and the world sees what Sam Wilson can truly do.

Favorite Sequence

It might be a bit of a surprise, but for this viewer the favorite sequence was actually when Captain America and Falcon team up to tackle the rogue pilots. Everything focuses on Celestial Island and if it will be split up via international treaty (Ozaki-Ross Accords) or if one nation decides to take control. Japan and the United States at this juncture are both headed to this isle of Adamantium with warships in tow.

Stearns has influenced dozens of military personnel, and two of those are pilots on the warships. Nearly too late this new dynamic duo finds out what’s happening, and a series of political brinksmanship raises the stakes. The flying maneuvers Sam and Joaquin perform are acrobatic, and the choreography in the sky pushes tension and worry. These two succeed in their efforts, but not without some damage.

Important Takeaways

Dealing with expectations

Sam and Joaquin worry about always being on point, not making mistakes because as Black and Brown men they don’t get the same opportunities nor the same leeway. Steve and Bucky were given more leniency; they also had the Super Soldier serum and were given space to fail. The new Cap and Falcon have no serum and have to show that a Black or Brown man isn’t the stereotype shown to society despite not having the same help. Overly scrutinized, underappreciated, and expected to fail are the reality of Sam and Joaquin daily. 

However, when they succeed and advance, they become beacons to the generation growing up, looking for a version of themselves in the spotlight. To look beyond the athletes and entertainers that young men of color are permitted or almost expected to be. Sam thought Steve didn’t make mistakes, accomplished great feats and he couldn’t measure up. He made the same mistake nearly every single human being does: he didn’t give himself grace. 

To be expected to perform without the same power is unrealistic. And yet, Sam holds himself to it. Joaquin does the same in that he sees Sam’s accomplishments and not his failures. To step into the role of a hero, someone trying to protect others while operating within razor thin parameters is a tall task. Joaquin throughout the events of Brave New World pushes to take on the Falcon mantle. He, like Sam, has to accept there are growing pains, and failures are a part of the learning process. Minimizing the impact of those failures is an important point to remember while embodying the role one chases. 

“Guess I’m gonna be that guy”

This film does a good job of returning to what Marvel had success with in Phase One. Brave New World focuses on being a political thriller while also including action that moves the plot along and fits into what’s happening. The hard conversations between Isaiah and Sam, between Sam and Joaquin, those are crucial to building a character and adding layers.

Some viewers might choose to hyperfocus on well-known actors like Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross. However, an important part of this film is Isaiah Bradley. This man served his country, often coming to blows with people from his own government. They repaid him with jail time and countless experiments. In Brave New World Bradley is a mentor to Sam but has to once again revisit the demons of incarceration. The grief in his eyes, in his responses bares to the audience the mental and physical scars of the past remaining today. His past efforts still aren’t enough to grant him innocence but rather predetermined guilt. Ross largely doesn’t deal with that, despite his own guilt and anger.

These are human beings who despite previous actions and current barriers are working towards something. Even Ross despite himself and his rage has the goal in mind to recant from old habits, albeit in his case he allows power hunger to misdirect him. 

Several of the conversations between key characters felt like panels torn out of a comic book. That’s something that’s not appreciated by everyone. Important conversations, hard conversations happen in comic books. Sometimes those talks are between friends, and sometimes between adversaries. This dialogue is how the story moves to the big action scenes. The balancing act between dialogue and action sequences is well maintained throughout for this viewer. 

Underutilized, or building for the future?

There is the wildcard Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli character who hails from the Red Room that sometimes feels out of place. President Ross needed someone removed from what’s happening, that makes sense. Bat-Seraph is in the comics, but with mutant powers and an agent of Mossad (Israeli Secret Service). Here, Ruth is neither of those things, but it does feel shoehorned in. During these unbelievable times that Palestinians are going through, this character could be a reason why some might not see this film. Take that how you want, it’s not unreasonable to see why some folks wouldn’t support anything related to Israel right now. 

Sidewinder and his Serpent Society are also slightly cajoled into the film. While they fulfill the role of moving along Stearn’s grand scheme via mercenaries for hire, outside of that they feel out of place. Clearly Sam and Sidewinder have history of some kind, and there’s no time to explain why Sidewinder would kill Sam so readily. The Serpent Society would be intriguing to learn about and could be a preview of who Sam has to deal with for the foreseeable future. Obviously for now, further exposition of the society is not going to happen here. At least we saw Copperhead and Sam square off in Mexico.

Final Verdict

Backlash follows Marvel movies regardless of the subject matter these days. Deciding not to take time to watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a personal choice. Deciding to not google and briefly scan a Wiki of sorts about that show or 2008’s The Incredible Hulk is another one. Fans can watch hours of a TV or streaming series no problem, but not a movie and that’s your right.

When it comes to a franchise with this much going on, it isn’t unexpected that a little homework has to be done. My final verdict for this movie is that it’s a solid return for Marvel where they utilize a few different movie genres to tell a story about superhero and villainous characters. This film shows Anthony Mackie can carry the Captain America franchise, and there’s several others there to help along the way.

Brave New World reminds audiences to push past societal norms and personal doubts, especially when it comes to doing what’s right.