Around halfway through the latest big-name Marvel superhero instalment, Anthony Mackie’s super-heroic Sam Wilson declares – surrounded by swirling conspiracy – that he just wants to know the truth. But the truth is staring everyone in the face, and not just because the mystery of Captain America: Brave New World (2025) is as paper-thin obvious as a Steven Seagal action romp.
It’s also because this film makes it more painfully clear than ever that Marvel has no idea what it’s doing now. Trends come and go, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s attempt to evoke even a bit of drama from this clunky mess shows that there’s no point in trying to return to the days of the serious superhero if this is the result.
It takes a good hour of research to explain the plot outline, even after watching the film. There was some talk from the stars before the release of Captain America: Brave New World (2025) about the film being a soft reset for the superhero franchise giant. That turned out to be marketing talk.
Instead, the film asks that the audience remember The Incredible Hulk (2008), a film more than 15 years old, and Eternals (2021), a mid-pandemic and just plain middling Marvel film that barely made a splash upon debut. If you don’t remember them – tough. Captain America: Brave New World (2025) picks up plot elements from both films, and why that decision was made is as head-scratching as Harrison Ford’s decision to make a star appearance. It took a decent bit of post-cinema research to understand what was even going on, and any lapsed viewer can expect the same.
So, there’s a massive statue rising out of the Indian Ocean. And it’s got a fabulous new metal inside. Harrison Ford, playing former general Thaddeus Ross, has just been elected President, and he wants Captain America – no, not the Chris Evans one, there’s a new one – to help him promote an international treaty to use the new element wisely. But there’s a shadowy conspiracy at work to sabotage Ross’s efforts, and Sam Wilson, our new Captain, is forced to unravel it.
But there’s very little to unravel, and after less than 45 minutes, Captain America: Brave New World (2025) decides to throw in the towel and just make it obvious who’s behind it all. That’s after a baffling first act featuring an attempted Presidential assassination, a divisive, raving populist elected to the White House and an innocent black man, a previous victim of military experimentation, being thrown in jail. Who knows what the thought process behind those uncomfortably-close-to-reality plot beats was, because the film suddenly decides that it has no opinion on those issues as soon as they arise.
The film starts off trying to cobble together a meaningful political allegory and barely gets through that before deciding that that actually really isn’t worth exploring. Instead, a CGI mess of a villain – their introduction reported to have caused laughs in some cinemas – is dangled in front of the camera and some Star Trek technobabble is used to explain what’s been going on. The vast shadowy conspiracy? Well, the villain’s conjured up mind control tech to puppeteer anyone they want, at any time (though conveniently, only when the plot demands it) and…that’s it. Better to be spoiled than misled. The marketing team trying to spin this as a political thriller should be paid double.
And speaking of underpayment, Marvel need to resolve their disputes with their visual effects providers, because Captain America: Brave New World (2025) would’ve been crucified for its CGI work even if it had come out ten years ago. It’s been an ongoing issue for at least a few years and there are shots in this film that look about as bad as Dwayne Johnson’s CGI appearance in the 2001’s The Mummy Returns. That stuff isn’t minor, either. Mega-franchises have to be trusted to provide a basic level of quality and as soon as that gets shoddy and Marvel stop bothering to pay for the top visuals, mass appeal goes out the window.
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All in all, it’s a real mess of a film and the millions of dollars poured into reshoots show. The writing is pretty painful – characters turning to the camera to explain their motivations quickly stops being funny and just gets irritating. It starts off self-serious and dull and finishes unintentionally campy and dull. None of the actors seem like they’re having a good time, and even the forgettable post-credits scene felt like a flailing attempt to evoke the old magic that kept audiences glued to the seats. It really feels like the moment has passed for the superhero blockbuster, if there’s anything to learn.
Is there anything redeemable? Well, Harrison Ford seems to be having a bit of fun, and it’s never a bad idea to have him on screen in anything. And Kendrick Lamar’s best-ever song plays over the credits, which was honestly the most enjoyable part of the film. Although it does open the door to a bad joke about Marvel being mentally stuck in 2015. Movies are supposed to be escapism, though – maybe in these tough times that’s not the worst idea.
Still: Disney