Samuel Sterns, played by Tim Blake Nelson, was last seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe nearly 17 years ago, until the newest entry in the ever-expanding film franchise.
“Captain America: Brave New World” is a fascinating case of a film in which nobody seems to agree on the quality of the production. What cannot be denied, however, is that it is above all else a brand-new feel when it comes to action within the MCU.
Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson first appeared in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” However, he did not become the main character until the Disney+ show “Falcon and The Winter Soldier” in which he finally takes up the mantle of Captain America.
The problems with this film are nominal. Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns (known in the comics as “The Leader”) is not a bad villain, but the movie pits him against Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross.
Ross is a fascinating addition, playing the fool at every turn, falling directly into Sterns’ traps one by one, with Captain America working to keep his plans from coming to fruition.
This is the first Captain America movie since “Captain America: The First Avenger” in which Captain America works alongside the United States government rather than against it. This leads to interesting discourse as Sam Wilson was made a criminal by Thaddeus Ross following the events of “Captain America: Civil War.”
Overall, there are three major issues here. The movie simply is too short and feels entirely too rushed for the first 30 minutes. In those 30 minutes as well, it feels as though the producers desperately want the audience to like Sam Wilson, with barely any time passing with an absence of music.
The film also has continued the Marvel trend of including a slight overuse of CGI that does not always look great, especially whenever Captain America lands on the ground, and the final fight scene ends very anti-climactically.
However, the film is entertaining. The story is easy to follow and quite compelling, as most of the driving force of the film happened in the nearly 17 years that character Samuel Sterns has been absent. This forces the story to be one of mystery and intrigue, which, while not the best possible, is entertaining.
The best part remains the action, however. Sam Wilson as Falcon was never a main character. Due to this, he never received the spotlight for very long in action sequences, but as Captain America he gets the spotlight he deserves, and it delivers.
Fight scenes in the air featuring a character equipped with nothing other than a shield and two small drones were fascinating. The final major set piece involves an aerial battle between Sam Wilson and multiple fighter jets, seemingly slightly inspired by “Top Gun,” and was a fresh look into fight scenes in the MCU.
“Captain America: Brave New World” does not go for being the best of the best, it is a contained story that covers political discontent and a post-Thanos world, which was nice to see. It did not include anything involving multiverses or the end of the world, simply one man’s hatred for another and Captain America’s involvement in the conflict. It is entertaining, and that is all one can ask for.
