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Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

When it was announced that Marvel were effectively hitting the reset button with the Fantastic Four it meant that two films were already pointless. The other film is Thunderbolts but Captain America 4 is the big casualty. Coming six years after Steve Rogers handed over the shield and four years after Winter Soldier and the Falcon TV show which I admit that I haven't seen, this film shows Sam Wilson walk from one scene to another saying things while grumpy pensioner Harrison Ford who is now President (playing the role previously held by William Hurt) from going Red.

GOOD POINT 01 - ESPOSITO & FORD SAVE THE FILM

There are very few standout performances in this film but the only ones that stayed in the memory are Giancarlo Esposito and Harrison Ford. Esposito is wasted in this film but he still gives it his all and if I were involved in production I would have told Esposito to do the role he did in Breaking Bad because that would have made him much more valuable to the plot. Ford might be getting grumpier by the day (something thats probably been happening since 1982) but it was good seeing Ford get that sweet sweet Marvel paycheck.

GOOD POINT 02 - NICE CONNECTION TO ETERNALS

Nice is probably stretching it but I thought it was unexpected that they referenced Eternals which came out 4 years ago and to the best of my knowledge has not been referenced since. So it is a bit random that they did this now but at least it was on screen for more than a split second and was the backdrop behind one of the best scenes in the entire movie.

GOOD POINT 03 - NEVER BORED

Whilst it's not the greatest film ever made, I was never bored at any point during the film. It was just under two hours long and the film never felt like there was any padding. Admittedly it wasn't very good but it still managed to maintain my attention for the entirety of the movie.

BAD POINT 01 - ACTION SCENES HAVE NO ENERGY - I DIDNT CARE

It didnt take very long for me to come to the conclusion that the action sequences were going to be disappointing. The very first one in fact helped me draw to this conclusion. The ultimate problem is that while things are happening, nothing is really happening and there doesn't seem to be any energy to what we are seeing. Action sequences should be entertaining and at best the strongest one in this film were passable. 

BAD POINT 02 - SAM WILSON IS CAPTAIN BLAND

It’s alluded to in the trailer but missing from the end film but there is a line about Sam Wilson not being Steve Rogers and this normally wouldn't be a thing but Wilson is very dull and whilst Rogers was never the most charismatic person in the world, he did have a charm and this is missing from Wilson. Whether this is Anthony Mackie’s fault or the writing, I never felt like he could be a leader and would have made a substandard deputy. Wilson seems so wrapped up in clearing some old person’s name that he never shows us why he would make a good avenger.

BAD POINT 03 - VILLAINS MOTIVATION IS RUBBISH

So Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder would have made a good villain but he’s the secondary villain for some. The film decided that Samuel Sterns is the villain to show people the reason President because he’s a bit grumpy. Not only is Sterns a terrible villain but his motivation is mediocre at best. I just didn't care. I think I miss the days when the villain would want global domination instead of getting a tiny bit of revenge. Marvel has always had this problem and it shows no sign of being sorted out.

OVERALL

My expectations were low for this film and they were met. The film isn't terrible but it felt like a film that cost a lot of money but never felt like it had been spent on any important areas. The performances are ok at best and pointless at once and the directing is fine but never felt like it has any vision behind it or anything that would ever make me want to watch this again and I think even the Marvel shills will not be rushing to recommend this anytime soon. Hopefully this is the last time that Sam Wilson leads a film because I dont think Disney/Marvel can afford many more films like this especially the way their films have been received at the box office since Endgame.


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