“We share the same world, don’t we? This world you would die to save. It’s coming. I’ve seen it in the probability. Seen it plain as day. All you heroes protecting this world. Do you think you’re the only ones? Do you think this the only world? We’ll see what happens when you have to protect this place from the others.”
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is truly at a crossroads. Since the last Avengers film the studio has released one disappointing film after another. The big tentpole stars and characters have been lost along the way, and that star power has seriously damaged the franchise since that time. Certainly there have been some bright spots. Spider-Man No Way Home was the lone exceptional outing, and the recent Deadpool & Wolverine film was just plain fun. With Robert Downy, Jr.’s Iron Man. Gone. Chris Evans Captain America. Gone. Scarlet Johanson’s Black Widow. Gone. The films just haven’t been quite so epic. There hasn’t been the heroic heart. And the box office numbers have been reflecting the decay. There are big plans in motion and Captain America: Brave New World is Marvel’s attempt to get back on track. We have The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming this summer and another pair of Avengers films to top off this latest stage. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and this film really has to perform. Marvel has pushed all of their chips to the center of the table, and these next couple of films will be all or nothing. With James Gunn rebooting the DC universe, will Marvel be forced to hand over box office domination? This film is the best Marvel film in recent years, but it’s still a bit of a shaky start.
Since the alien ship crashed in the Indian Ocean, a new element has been discovered in the wreckage. It’s old hat for most of us, but when FOX still owned the X-Men film rights, Marvel couldn’t use that old favorite Adamantium in the MCU films. Now that Disney also owns FOX, they can now start working the element into the stories in preparation for the eventual MCU reboot of The X-Men. Adamantium, of course, is the substance that wolverine’s claws and skeleton happen to be made of. Now the discovery of this element has created world tension, and the world might be on the brink of war.
Enter good old Thaddeus Ross, the Marvel tough-as-nails general we last saw in the Ang Lee Hulk film. Then he was played by Sam Elliott, with his daughter Betty played by Jennifer Connelly. Ross is back, but he’s no longer a soldier. He’s the newly-elected President of the United States, and now he’s played by Harrison Ford. His daughter Betty doesn’t have much more than a cameo, but she’s now played by Liv Tyler, so I suspect they have more in store for her character. Ross invites the new Captain America, the former Falcon Sam Wilson (Mackie), to the White House to ask a favor. He wants Wilson to bring back The Avengers. But their relationship goes badly south when Wilson’s friend Isaiah Bradley (Lumbly) takes a shot at Ross during an event at the White House. That event pits the two against each other as Wilson tries to solve the puzzle of why. There’s mental manipulation and plenty of bad guys to share the blame.
There’s Sidewinder (Esposito), who really wants Wilson dead. And Samuel Sterns (Nelson), who wants revenge on Ross. Many of these reasons go back to that first Hulk film. It was always a grey area on that film being MCU canon, but this movie leaves little doubt that it is. And that’s part of the problem. If you haven’t seen that film, and that was 23 years ago, you might be a little lost. But it gets worse. Too much of this movie’s setup happens in the Disney+ series Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Now you have to watch all of the TV shows to know what’s going on, and I think it’s an unreasonable ask and could sink this fresh start before it gets out of the gate. I’ve never seen the series, and that left me at a disadvantage, and I didn’t like that feeling one bit. I don’t want to have to pay $20 a month in order to enjoy a new film. Disney also only recently started to release the shows on disc, and at a ridicules premium price. No review copies either, so I’m kind of feeling a bit rebellious about the situation. If the studio were smart, they would stop requiring so much investment of cash and time in order to enjoy a film at my local multiplex.
Of course, the big moment is when Ford’s Ross transforms into the Red Hulk. I think the trailers really ruined that moment. It was distracting waiting for it to happen, and then just didn’t have the bang for their buck it should have had. I know in the age of instant spoilers it’s hard to keep a secret, but I think they should have tried here. It’s a great moment, but I’ve seen it already a dozen times from the trailer and TV spots. So when it happens, the impact just loses its punch a little bit.
What saves this film isn’t the plot or the pretty awesome f/x. It’s the cast. I love Sam Elliott, but Harrison Ford kicks butt in this film. He’s at his best. Carl Lumbly deserves award consideration for his portrayal of Isaiah. There is so much heart and pathos in that performance that he frankly stole the show from Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson. It’s one of those characters and performances that stays with you long after you leave the theater. I noticed him first back with Jennifer Garner in the Alias TV series. I thought he was good then. This portrayal is absolutely brilliant.
Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role of Dr. Sterns from The Incredible Hulk (2008) film, and the connection is a bit murky from the two Hulk films here. He’s deformed and actually rarely seen, and he just doesn’t have the gravitas to be the big bad. It’s a weak character and performance. The B villain is Sidewinder, and you get a much stronger presence from Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder character, but he’s pretty much a red herring. The characters should have switched in importance. Still, the cast is the film’s best selling point, and worth a watch for that reason alone. The good news is that means the MCU is starting to put their emphasis back on good characters and great performances. Maybe the heart might return to the franchise.
All in all, Captain America Brave New World isn’t a bad movie. There’s plenty of action, and it does start to recall the best days of the franchise. It tries to play that political thriller element that made Captain America: The Winter Soldier one of the best in the series. It falls short there. The story itself just isn’t that compelling … but it’s a start. I don’t want to be that critic who pines for the good old days, but that’s exactly where this franchise has to go to start putting out one billion dollar film after another. “Looks like I am that guy, after all.”
