‘Captain America: Brave New World’ – Mackie soars in middling movie

You may notice Captain America is a little bit different. In more ways than one, the star-spangled man with a plan has undergone a metamorphosis since his last cinematic appearance facing off against a purple alien armed with nothing but a broken shield and an all-powerful hammer. He’s no longer a white man with the strength of 10 men, instead, he’s a black counsellor with armoured wings whose abilities lie in his wisdom to talk his enemies down before resorting immediately to violence.

It’s no longer a story of a good man receiving great power and taking on the responsibility it comes with, instead, Sam is a man who receives the responsibility but without the power to help him carry it – yet doing it anyway, because it’s the right thing to do and he’s a good man. In Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie gives one of my favourite performances for a superhero, instantly relatable, with a commanding presence that’s never without vulnerability.

It’s a pity that with such an exciting new direction for the character, Captain America: Brave New World ends up being just okay. The story is formulaic, hitting the requisite beats for a Captain America film, but where the swift action and complex plots have been thrilling in previous entries, Brave New World doesn’t quite deliver. The first half of the film fairs the worst with simply too much to throw at the audience with not enough time spent to process it all.

It’s when the movie gets going, and all its plot lines have been established, that Captain America: Brave New World feels like the movie I came to see. Sam Wilson may not be a super soldier, but he’s a sight for sore eyes as he soars through the air, zipping between fighter jets, and taking on monsters ten times his size. There’s some action in the film that’s frankly unforgettable, with a creative spin on a character we’ve seen before.

The supporting characters are not just well-developed but well-acted. Harrison Ford’s turn as a president with a dark side is captivating, though his ability to admit wrong-doing feels like the most unrealistic element in a movie where he becomes a red hulk. Carl Lumbly, as Sam’s advisor and friend Isaiah Bradley, is the heart of the movie, grounding Sam’s journey with a personal stake beyond the world-ending chaos around him.

I liked Captain America: Brave New World more than I didn’t. There are glaring inconsistencies in the plot, shoddy special effects that should have never made it to the big screen, and characters that are at best ancillary, and at worst offensive. Days after, what sticks in my mind is the thrilling action, the message of the film, and the joy of watching Anthony Mackie slip comfortably into a role that once belonged to someone else, and making it his own.

Rating: Half Price

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies