all the screenshots in this post were taken directly from the movie by me.
Despite being quite distant from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I must admit that I've found time to enjoy a couple of projects with its name behind them, especially when it comes to works like Deadpool 3 or Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which abandon the tedious habit of placing everything in the main continuity, a habit that year after year seems to accumulate more and more drawbacks, and which at the same time considerably limits the creative vision that any writer or director could have behind any of these series or films.
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As a result of this, it's very understandable that whenever something within the MCU is released, we're predisposed to view it with a bit of bitterness, or failing that, we don't even bother to give it a chance, something that felt unthinkable a couple of years ago. And who can judge us? At best, we'll find a mediocre work, with a limited artistic vision and more focused on pleasing the timeline than on showing a genuinely high-quality story.
This cynicism, which has irrevocably permeated the public perception of Marvel Studios, is a determining factor in the way blockbuster cinema functions today. It's been seen in phenomena like Oppenheimer/Barbie, a sense of collective weariness, ready to accept more stimulating experiences away from the industry's usual suspects.
Ironically, while I fully understand why the industry is moving in this direction and personally applaud it, I can't help but feel nostalgic for those simpler times, and I appreciate that, despite its gigantic flaws, Captain America 4: Brave New World allows me to connect with them.
And while this is a film that shamelessly suffers from all the structural problems that have plagued this film series for almost 10 years (or more, depending on who you ask): a script incapable of organically revealing information, an unbearable mix of comedy and action, and forced connections to previous installments, there are also very solid ideas that land very appropriately at very specific moments, making the film feel pleasant and harmless, fulfilling its role without major problems.
In the overall MCU landscape, "Captain America" had one of the most solid trilogies behind it, starting with The First Soldier (a film that beautifully intertwined historical drama with science fiction elements) and continuing with the excellent Winter Soldier and Civil War, arguably the Russo brothers' most successful films, before Feige decided to give them the helm of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
In Brave New World, as many will know, the Captain America mantle no longer falls to Steve Rogers, and it is Sam Wilson's job to wield the shield from now on (something established and developed in Endgame and Falcon and the Winter Soldier).
On paper, this is a great idea, and the two projects I just mentioned developed it with varying degrees of efficiency, taking advantage of the contrast between the two characters (and their different historical/racial backgrounds) to tell a story with powerful social value within the soft parameters of a media conglomerate like Disney.
The problem with Brave New World, from a thematic standpoint, is that it doesn't know what to do with Sam's character after what happened in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, resolving it with a sort of character regression where we see the same thing again, but with a slightly different presentation.
Still, it doesn't bother me... And honestly, I don't care that much about the role this film plays within the larger Marvel universe, something that, considering the numerous changes the script has undergone and the constant reshoots, seems to be of little concern to its creators either.
Brave New World has a bit of Avengers 5, a bit of Captain America 4, a bit of Hulk 2, and even a bit of Celestials 2; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Beyond its narrative elements and its place within the canon, Brave New World is a mediocre but fun film, with action sequences that are far from as polished as what we saw in Winter Soldier, cringe-inducing dialogue, terrible special effects, and a decent, forgettable ending.
It's not alarmingly bad, but it's not good either.
This score was taken from my Letterboxd account.
Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss
Hmmm nice review , marvel tries with their actions
I could be better, but meeeh, it's a decent film
I will find time to watch it
Well, as far as Marvel films go, it's not a complete letdown. Good choice, @richardalexis. Remember to engage with other community authors.✨
Yh, but I feel there are a lot of negative reviews around marvel projects lately.
It's like they are going down slowly.
Someone told me it was a dull and boring movie and now I have pushed it backwards again on my watchlist
It's decent but nothing to write home about.
I haven't been interested in watching anything from marvel for a long time, and obviously this movie was no exception, good thing I don't miss anything.
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