Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe expanded its lineup of movies with the release of a new installment into the series: “Captain America: Brave New World.” This new movie has the same feeling of the old Marvel style while carrying out a new storyline.
This film is based on the Marvel comics that follows Sam Wilson as Captain America and is the fourth installment in the “Captain America” film series. It continues the storyline from the short Disney+ television series “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.” The film was released on Feb. 14, bringing Marvel fans special plans for their Valentine’s Day and beyond.
With the mini series “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” producing a small, yet impactful run in 2021 for fans, the Marvel Universe was set to continue the story for Wilson in his new role as Captain America and expanding the Universe’s story. However, this movie did not receive the high ratings that Marvel was going for and instead received negative comments on the story, political commentary and visual effects. However, they did praise Harrison Ford’s performance in his new role.
Despite the negative reviews, I intended to see the movie with fresh eyes and go in blind. As a longtime Marvel fan, I was excited to see how they would continue the Captain America storyline with Wilson and how they were going to bring the rest of the Marvel comics to life. When looking at the trailer, I was excited to see how the entire movie would be and I was not disappointed.
This movie follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who finds himself amongst an international incident that places him on opposite sides of President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). Wilson must work to discover the reason behind the world-ending plot set by a mastermind that is hiding right under their noses. Wilson finds the true mastermind behind it all before the world discovers the truth behind the President and they see him for who he truly is.
“Captain America: Brave New World” is a thrilling addition to the Captain America universe and brings fresh air to the Marvel world. For a while, Marvel movies have not had the same energy and feeling that they used to. They fell a little flat and felt almost like they were being recycled. With this movie, it feels like Marvel is starting to break through with their new movies and trying to get back to how things were before.
There is a mixture of new and returning characters that bring a sense of joy to the story. They did a great job with letting Wilson pave his own way as Captain America and redefining what it means to be that character. Alongside Wilson, Danny Ramirez from “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” returns now as the Falcon, which brings a strong performance to the screen. The whole cast delivered powerful performances that brought the story to life and contributed to the film’s greatness.
While bringing in some content from the past, Marvel is introducing new ideas on politics and coming to terms with the times that we are in. It was refreshing to see and to welcome into the cinematic universe.
With intense fighting, banter, entertaining battle scenes and a look into Bucky Barnes’ life that sets up for another movie, this movie is one to watch. I completely disagree with the critics and believe that this film is not mediocre, rather it invites fans back into the fascinating world of Marvel.
This film is worth watching whether you are a Marvel fan or if you are just looking for an action packed movie with strong characters.
4/5 stars
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @anthonymackie, Instagram
