Captain America: Brave New World

I'm not sure what phase Marvel is in these days but it's fair to say my interest in the franchise has certainly waned since Avengers: Endgame all the way back in 2019. The third Guardians of the Galaxy was a solid film but it seems the collective energy has buckled and there have been one too many duds, which Deadpool & Wolverine was quick to tease, even if that film wasn't everything it could be. But maybe there was hope with Captain America: Brave New World; perhaps this could reignite the spark and prove superhero films still have what it takes to win audiences over today...

With Sam Wilson having taken over the mantle as Captain America, he finds himself caught in a game of espionage involving the framing of an old friend, a mysterious villain and the US President. Directed by Julius Onah, this stars Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Liv Tyler, Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson. 

Unfortunately, a lot bad news preceded the release of Captain America 4 with talks of expensive reshoots following poor test screenings, and these reshoots sadly show in a rather disjoined and flat experience. There are many instances where characters appear on a green screen with lacklustre CGI while quite blatantly talking to an empty space, which has been cobbled together as the story was twisted and turned into something that misses the mark. 

There are moments where the action lands, offering some spectacle, and some of the conspiracy elements in the first half had me almost engaged. Mackie and Ford are doing their best here but, whether it is the screenplay or the infamous reshoots, the film feels strangely off and never hits the strides found in the original Captain America trilogy.

To make matters worse; this leans on audiences being able to recall multiple Marvel shows and films stretching all the way back to The Incredible Hulk from 2008. It was a bold move to bring so many storylines together but will likely fly over the heads of many and leave viewers out in the cold.

Captain America: Brave New World is a strange mess of a film that overcomplicates the plot but it does hint at some moments of promise amongst what must have been production hell. This should have been a win for Marvel in the right hands and they would do well to look at how Iron Man released feeling like a tightly produced story to avoid such expensive mistakes in the future. There is still a vaguely fun time to be had here but sadly a very forgettable one too.