Moments before siccing a group of goons on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) – AKA, Captain America – Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who serves as the big bad of “Captain America: Brave New World,” gives Cap the once over and says, with as much mirth as he can muster: “You’re a fascinating problem.”
Oh, how I wish that were true. But “Brave New World” could not be less interested in Sam Wilson, going so far as to make him an interloper in his own movie – a movie that essentially functions as a sequel to 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” instead of a continuation of Sam’s story from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” If you even remember watching that.
In “Brave New World,” Sam is treated like an ancillary character. He’s relegated to the side in his own film, given little-to-nothing to do from a character standpoint and often feeling like a far more bland iteration of the Sam Wilson who appeared in previous films. The movie around him, which was reportedly heavily reshot, is awkwardly stitched together, both from an editing and a plot standpoint. It might not hit the, “What are we even doing here?” levels of some of Marvel’s other recent offerings, but that’s only because it’s so boring – and that almost feels worse.
We pick up the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the newly-elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford taking over for the late William Hurt), determined to prove he’s not the violent, impulsive man he used to be. When Ross invites Sam and his friend Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) – a Black Korean War vet and super soldier who was falsely imprisoned and experimented on by the U.S. government for 30 years – to the White House for a celebration involving a new international peace treaty, Isaiah abruptly, and seemingly without knowing he’s doing it, tries to assassinate the president. Quickly, Sam and Ross realize there’s a larger mastermind behind the assassination plot and become stuck in the middle of a far more dangerous game.
It turns out Sterns is the one orchestrating most of the drama in the film, mainly as an act of revenge against Ross. But – for as much as he might consider Sam “fascinating” – he really couldn’t seem to care less about the ostensible hero of the film. But why should he, considering how little the movie seems to care? “Brave New World” passes right through previous character development, plot points – or sometimes even just common sense – to make way for the plot.
In a world where Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) exists, why is everyone so slow on the come up when it comes to mind control? Why would Isaiah Bradley, a man tortured by his own government, accept an invitation to the White House in the first place? Why does Sam treat the office of the president with such reverence when the man who holds it once threw him in an underwater prison? “The Falcon and the Winter Solider” has its faults, but it did at least attempt to reckon with what it would mean for Sam, a Black man, to take on the mantle of Captain America. In “Brave New World,” those worries seem to have completely disappeared – that is, until the end of the film when Sam delivers a vague, half-baked monologue about pressure and seats at tables.
All of this, and everything having to do with Sam, is yadda yadda’d away. The movie is far more interested in everything having to do with Ross and Sterns – AKA, the stuff directly connected to an ill-regarded film that came out 17 years ago. Understanding Ross’ relationship to Sterns doesn’t come easily if you haven’t seen “The Incredible Hulk” in quite some time (which I’m guessing you haven’t), so the film necessarily often functions as an exposition machine, punctuated by adequate, but not exciting, action sequences to fill those gaps.
For what he has to work with, 82-year-old Ford delivers a pretty solid “old man at the end of his rope” performance. The movie star’s age is evident throughout the film, and he uses the tension between Ross’ advancing age and the anger the man is so desperate to tamp down to his advantage. Mackie, on the other hand, feels a bit checked out. I don’t blame him.