CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (2025)

Genre: Action/Comics
Director: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 February 2025

Synopsis: After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red. 

Movie Review:

Sam Wilson isn’t Steve Rogers, but he is the new Captain America audiences have to embrace in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has huge shoes to fill, not just because Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers was a fan favourite. Will we be used to the new Captain America suit (with wings!), or will we ever see a super bulked up Sam Wilson?

The 35th movie in the MCU, which is also the fourth instalment in the Captain America film series, reportedly faced some hiccups during the post production stage. Besides a delayed release date from May 2024 to February 2025, there were also reports that reshoots had to be carried out due to the less than favourable reception during an early test screening.

Directed by Julius Onah, the movie plays like a political thriller. Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford playing the role like a pro) is a new President of the United States, and he wants to negotiate a treaty where all countries can have equal trade of a precious metal found on an island. Sam Wilson and the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (played by an earnest Danny Ramirez), find themselves in a mission to intercept the illegal sale of the metal. The plot thickens as they uncover secrets along the way, and realise Thaddeus Ross may not be the leader he appears to be.

Thanks to marketing materials released before the movie, we already know Thaddeus Ross will become Red Hulk. We can’t think of a better way to do this, but the element of surprise in plot development is greatly reduced because viewers will be anticipating the moment the rash (and sometimes emotionally out of control) president literally turns red in fury to change into Red Hulk.

To fully appreciate the 118 minute movie, you would require prior knowledge from previous entries in the MCU franchise. Does the name Thaddeus Ross sound familiar? He was portrayed by the late William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk (2008), where Edward Norton played the titular character (before Mark Ruffalo took over in The Avengers in 2012). Other characters from the Louis Leterrier’s film show up in this movie as well.

Then there are characters from the series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier who also make appearances in this feature film. One prominent character is Isaiah Bradley (a dignified Carl Lumbly), who was one of the many soldiers experimented on with the super soldier serum. Marvel fans would know adamantium, the metal that the world is after, to be the material that coats Wolverine’s bones. The island is Celestial Island, which are the remains of the celestial Tiamut shown in Eternals (2021).

Phew, that’s a lot of things to know. But as a standalone superhero flick, this movie delivers the thrills you’d expect from a Marvel production. A sequence where Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres try to intercept fighter planes is exhilaratingly executed. And the finale where Thaddeus Ross turns into Red Hulk before engaging in a showdown with Captain America is worth the wait too.

Mackie holds his own and then some as the new Captain America. As a human character who declined to be injected with the super soldier serum, he proves that he can be a Captain America that people look up to, even without superhuman abilities.

Movie Rating:

(Sam Wilson holds his own as the new Captain America in this superhero movie that is also a popcorn political thriller)

Review by John Li