Captain America: Brave New World

Marvel has not always been successful when its supporting characters have stepped up to lead roles: even in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s charisma and chemistry were hamstrung by a messy script and shifting priorities. The good news is that, in his first official outing as Captain America, Mackie has a far stronger and more focused story to work with.

A standard opening mission runs into serious opposition from ruthless new bad guy Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito). But the real trouble begins when Sam Wilson, wannabe new Falcon Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and their friend Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a recipient of the super-soldier serum who was betrayed and imprisoned by the US government for decades, attend a White House reception in recognition of their heroism. There, a genuinely shocking attempt on the President’s life leaves Bradley back in prison and Wilson desperate to save his name. Of course, it emerges there’s far more at stake than one life, and there are shadowy figures behind the scenes to uncover before they enact their dastardly plots.

So far, so business as usual for Marvel – and this film does occasionally suffer from a feeling that it’s trying to follow a formula, as well as sometimes struggling to hit its comic beats and one-liners just right. Oh look! Here’s another quick action scene; there’s an inspiring pep talk; over there, a big, destructive showdown. What holds it together is Mackie, standing on shifting sands and trying to figure out what it means to be Captain America in a world where his country is not quite the shining city on a hill that it aspired to be.

Harrison Ford’s President Ross – a man with an established suspicion and dislike of “enhanced individuals” – asks the new Cap to work with him, and Wilson can’t figure out if this is a shot at redeeming everything he once stood for, or a trap to prevent him from doing the right thing. Ross doesn’t seem to know either. The film begins with his election, and hammers home the pain he feels at his estrangement from his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler from 2009’s The Incredible Hulk) to justify his attempted change of heart. Quite how big a change is of course visible in the film’s trailer and poster, a major self-own from the usually spoiler-phobic studio given how late in the movie the Red Hulk appears.

Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, as promised, shows up as The Leader, looking effectively terrifying when he’s in shadow and mostly just unpleasant in daylight. The design aesthetic overall is patchy: Cap’s new suit is a major upgrade, but the Falcon looks like a lost Mandalorian and Shira Haas’ formidable Ruth Bat-Seraph mostly keeps a trench coat over her super-threads.

The emotion of the film is more reliable. Ross is trying to be a better man, while Wilson tries to figure out if being a good man is enough, or if you need super-soldier-serum enhanced strength and speed to call yourself Captain America: the same question many in the audience have been asking since he was bequeathed the shield. A spectacular mid-air battle hangs on Wilson’s ability to keep the peace rather than make war, and that speaks eloquently even when the dialogue scenes feel stilted. Moreover, by emphasising Wilson’s history as a counsellor of veterans, and his ability to form relationships both as a mentor (to Joaquin) and mentee (of Isaiah), director Julius Onah makes a strong case that it’s Wilson’s compassion that makes him the right Cap, and that Batman levels of training can take care of the rest. His relationship with Isaiah in particular gives the film its heart, and makes you wonder how much better The Falcon And The Winter Soldier might have been if that had been at its centre throughout.

For a film that was, by all accounts, retooled more than most Marvels in its reshoots, the plot feels remarkably coherent and speeds along nicely. But it’s sometimes so busy getting us to the next action scene that it neglects to be as strong a thriller as it could be, abandoning the mystery element of what’s going on pretty quickly in favour of setting up more traditional villainy. That said, relying on Mackie’s easy charm, Ford’s history and Marvel’s sense of scale isn’t a terrible move. If it isn’t quite up to the standard of The Winter Soldier, it offers the same reminder that good people can fight for America even when their government falls short.