Captain America: Brave New World

Rating

Director

Julius Onah

Screenplay

Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Peter Glanz

Length

1h 58m

Starring

Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, William Mark McCullough

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Original Preview

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Review

There are few things more American than Captain America, a Nazi-punching, government-leery everyman who chooses to protect all Americans rather than the elite. Captain America: Brave New World continues looking for its enemies in the U.S. Government but it’s assault from without rather than from within that defines this latest chapter.

With Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers hanging up his shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) takes over the role with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) stepping into Sam’s old Falcon persona. Picking up the story as General Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) has been elected President of the United States, his goal is to form a coalition with three other major world powers to control the source of adamantium discovered in the Indian Ocean after the events of Eternals. When his state dinner to announce the partnership is interrupted by several sleeper agents attempting to assassinate him, Sam and Joaquin begin an investigation into the situation despite the president’s insistence they avoid involvement.

The Manchurian Candidate has a clear influence on the film as the sleeper agents are all above suspicion and as the pieces begin to come together, someone with ties to the president may be involved. Further, the president may be compromised in a different way. Without the political acumen of the original John Frankenheimer classic, director Julius Onah fields a sometimes facile look at government intrusion and dangerous countermeasures that don’t tie back to H.Y.D.R.A., one of the main villains that populated many of the latest wave of MCU productions.

There are entertaining elements to this chapter, most notably the interplay between Sam and Joaquin but a lot of it feels like familiar territory: the first act turn, the second act twist, and the predictable victory. It’s as if the screenwriting was performed by committee and to an extent that is true. With five credited screenwriters, Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Onah, and Peter Glanz, the material was unfortunately sanitized and calculated within in an inch of its existence. Not everyone may have loved Eternals, but you can’t say the film didn’t have an authorial imprint.

Finding a way to build fresh momentum is difficult in a franchise that has been so calculated and plotted out that any variance is seen as anathema rather than celebrated for its unique twists on narrative stagnation. Unfortunately, the departures like the aforementioned Eternals and Captain Marvel haven’t proven a draw for audiences. Even these same-ol’-same-ol’ pictures aren’t exciting anymore and that makes films like this look like halfhearted attempts to give minorities a break. Then, when they don’t perform up to expectations, they use that as an excuse to never revisit them.

Captain America: Brave New World deserved a lot better. A better script. A better director. A better villain. Everything about this movie was manipulated and committeed to the point of obsolescence despite the strong central performances by Mackie and Ramirez.

Review Written

September 2, 2026