Movies with a Monstr: “Captain America: Brave New World” review

[By Gray Monstr]

It’s movie time baby! Firstly, I want to state that this review will be spoiler free and secondly, this is coming from the thoughts of an avid comic book fan, so my opinions on the characters and story will be in comparison to previous stories that I have read involving them. Now that that’s out the way, this was a fun movie to watch and definitely one you should watch with friends or family. I’ll admit now that this isn’t the best MCU movie, but it is by far not the worst. If anything, it feels like a breath of fresh air as it doesn’t feel formulated like how a good percentage of Phase 4 and Phase 5’s movies, combined, have been.

A lot of what made this movie feel good to watch had to come from its story. While the stakes were high, they kept the subplots down to earth and focused heavily on how the events that occurred in Brave New World affect the characters of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), putting strain on the moral and political nature that is harboured in the story. It deeply follows a mix between how the weight of mantles can often play with our psyche, and how people can still work towards being better no matter their age or past. Alas, this wasn’t a story without flaws. You can notice changes in the plot that were made during the reshoots this movie had, which can sometimes feel jarring at times even though the director, Julius Onah, did his best to keep the scenes seamless. 

The story though wouldn’t have been as good as it did if it weren’t for the performances from the cast. Taking the lead, Anthony Mackie continues to show how Sam Wilson can be a good Captain America, but he is also a different one to Steve Rogers. Anthony does a good job at keeping the movie together, and taps into how Sam is a hero of the people. A vital point that shows in how he fights for what’s right even if it puts him against President Ross, especially when it comes to Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Bringing me to the two best performances in the movie. Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was incredible. You could tell he had fun playing the former general turned president, and it showed in the chemistry between the cast. But I didn’t like the route they used in portraying the Red Hulk. This can also be said the same with Carl Lumbly as Isaiah. Even though his screen time was amongst the least in the movie, he was the heart and drive of the movie that made the audience feel for him. I would say though, the soul of the movie had to some from Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, who came in flying as the new Falcon with a sense of joy and banter that is needed to bounce off Sam. As for the villains of the movie, Sidewinder played by the legend Giancarlo Esposito, and the Leader played by another legend, Tim Blake Nelson, I felt like they were severely underutilized by a lack of screen time but also how the story was made. I, personally, would’ve loved to have seen the rest of the Serpent Society alongside Esposito as originally planned and design wise, they should’ve kept to the original design of the Leader for Nelson.

Talking about designs, the set and costume designs were actually really good for the most part of the movie. It felt nice that they had practical sets that allowed for the scenes that needed CGI to get the attention that was needed. Sadly… that was mainly for the original scenes, and the CGI from the reshoots could be recognised fairly easily, making it somewhat jarring like I stated before. As for costumes, they did a good job outside of the Leader’s design but that’s a personal preference from his appearances in the comics. The fight Choreography and Cinematography was mixed as, at times, it was really well done but then certain shot changes diminished the combat scenes as well. 

There are so many more aspects I can dive into and write about but this review is already getting a little too long, and I would like you all to experience the movie for yourselves. Overall, I’d say Captain America: Brave New World may not be for everyone, it certainly will be a fun watch for anyone though, and that’s why I give it a solid 7.6/10. (Comic geek tip: Watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and The Incredible Hulk before watching this movie for the best watching experience)

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Image credit: @adamrabalais