- Date of Release: 14 February 2025
- Genre: Action, Adventure, SciFi
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Captain America: Brave New World
Introduction
The MCU finds itself at that cinematic stage which has fast ensured that it is heading towards being completely phased out. And you pretty much are witness to their downfall after their peak in Phase 3 which basically was after Endgame. There has been desperation too – from trying new cinematic concepts to uno-reversing their own creative decisions by bringing folks from the dead in the current Phase 5 of the universe. Barring Spiderman and upto an extent Deadpool (and their respective franchises), nothing really has clicked. Interestingly, the best cinematic phrase that could describe the MCU as it stands today is from the DC character Joker who states in the film The Dark Knight – ‘Either You Die A Hero Or Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become A Villain’. And that quote would also apply to the 35th MCU film Captain America: Brave New World that is yet another addition to some lazy writing in the superhero genre. A direct sequel to the show ‘The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’, the creative decision of opting for a dark-skinned person to lead the Captain America franchise was a great one given how complex the internalisation of the superhero would be in a country that is still facing racism. The identity crisis of the protagonist was the cream concept here which would have made for such a nuanced watch, if the writing was brave enough. Sadly, the writing itself felt safe while further skewing the politics that it intended to showcase in the first place.
Story & Screenplay
The premise of Captain America – Brave New World is interesting given the high stakes that are established early on in the film. A group of nations headed by the US President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) lead the discovery of a powerful metal adamantium that would in turn lead to the resolution of many issues that are predominant in the world (and don’t miss. At the center of things is Wilson aka Captain America (Anthony Mackie) who is tasked with reassembling the Avengers again till a potential Parliamentary attack leaves him and his friends in a pickle, particularly when one of them is arrested. The basic premise is that of Wilson getting to the bottom of the mastermind and safeguarding the metallic deal for peace and prosperity. I was unusually drawn into its premise that did manage to keep the basics right. It wasn’t extravagant but atleast managed to hold my attention with the participation of some of the principal characters. To kick start things, the initial action set-piece did keep the ball rolling with an adrenaline pumping sequence that raised my hopes for the film. Seldom did I know that soon I would be transported to reality.
I will give it to the writers for the establishment of the conflict in the first act – an illusional crime while captivating the thoughts and the psyche of the individual was a solid start. What it did right was create a breadcrumb of sort while tactfully unraveling the plot towards the mastermind while maintaining the levels of discovery on par with the protagonist. In other words, Wilson knew the same amount of information as the viewers, and so it was a steady buildup towards the unmasking of the mastermind. Elsewhere briefly so, you could feel that there is something amiss with Ross, even as I keenly awaited on how the threads would eventually tie in together. But once the cat was out of the bag, it all went downhill!
Two major issues with the skeletal framework of the writing was that the ‘mystery’ was revealed a little too early (remember how the mystery was kept alive in The Batman (2022) right until the end?), and two as it turned out, the antagonist did not have much screentime to truly create an aura of panic and chaos while acting as a potential threat for the protagonist. This was one of those in between approaches that heavily affected the drama given that the rest of the writing was just vanilla. It also did not offer the protagonist enough space to undergo an identity crisis which could have added a little more depth to the drama given its already political setup (and at the cost of being radical). Imagine Captain America briefly going rogue against The White House, and the implications that would have followed post that with the antagonist in the fray. But nothing of the sort transpired.
One of the biggest letdowns for me remained the skewed politics of the drama. The idea of morality was very much a part of the thematic setup of the conflict given how you discovery Ross’ connections with the antagonist, and how a potential power tussle being an underlying layer in the narrative. Imagine the dilemma of The Batman from The Dark Knight (2008) having to choose between two equally weighed options, always standing to lose something at the end of the day. Yet, the idea of the protagonist siding with a particular party made no real sense with the ultimate outcome that was in store because the writing chose to remain vanilla. The transformation of a character into the Red Hulk was more due to the pertinent and selfish decision of the character rather than being at the receiving end of the wrongdoings around him (like say a Thanos), that made it a missed opportunity. The only justification being laced with an emotional connect was literally the lowest hanging fruit here. As a result, even the final face-off doesn’t necessarily engage with you on an emotional level even though the scenes were well-choreographed. The idea of wanting to make everyone happy by the end of things did come back to haunt the film that was massively diluted and just off the mark by a countrymile. Even the post-credit scene felt blsnd and a low-brow effort at best.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
Remember the good ol’ days with the once trademark humour that beautifully acted as fillers in multiple MCU films? That same humour is only a past reality given how stuck up the fillers were in this film. They were neither funny nor necessarily engaging, and that can be attributed to just flat writing. The BGM is adequate but nothing much to write home about. The cinematography is good with some solid VFX capturing atleast a couple action set-pieces that are well choreographed (despite having virtually a zero emotional connect). The editing is decent but there is no real contributing factor to the narrative. Director Julius Onah begins on a promising note but soon conforms himself to the familiar trappings of the genre. After a point, even the basic conflict fizzled out and his failure lay in switching lanes in order to add depth to the proceedings. It was all vanilla after a point almost like playing a videogame on easymode that never felt threatening. The characters that once seemed interesting lay flat for most occasions in the narrative which was such a shame given how potential tweaks could have elevated the drama. The direction was a miss in my books.
Performances
The performances are decent with no real standouts for me. Tim Blake Nelson as Sterns is hardly there in the film which was quite odd given that he was the antagonist of the film (or an enabler at the very least). Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder is good while surprisingly having a more screen time than Sterns. Shira Haas as Ruth and Danny Ramirez as Torres are decent but bareky make a stir. Harrison Ford as Ross is pretty impressive here despite the writing keeping his character restricted to the surface only. Anthony Mackie as Wilson aka Captain America is alright but there is nothing that defines his character. There needed to be some conflict that would make him vulnerable (yes as a superhero too). It was all too safe and vanilla that made for a rather forgettable outing.
Conclusion
Captain America: Brave New World is a lame new world with no nuance and skewed politics that is packaged in yet another low-brow MCU outing. This superhero universe needs a superhero to rescue it. Available in a theatre near you.
