As a Marvel fan, it is my solemn, masochistic duty to watch every single theatrical release (I can’t… I just can’t) and every Disney+ mini-series (I can’t… I just… listen, I’m not a masochist). Ever since the Infinity Saga wrapped up in a bow of perfection, we, the fans, have been unknowingly conditioned to expect well-written, top-tier, comic-accurate (for the most part) productions. Marvel couldn’t miss. They were cranking out billion-dollar blockbusters like Kevin Feige had a money printer hidden under his baseball cap. The formula had been perfected, much like Bruce Banner’s Hulk transformation—each film bigger, stronger, smashing harder.
The Staggering Fall From Grace
Let's talk about how we got here. How did we go from Endgame—a film so massively successful it fundamentally altered the landscape of blockbuster film-making—to this? How did the biggest movie studio on the planet go from running a cinematic empire to being a glorified content farm, churning out assembly-line schlock that doesn’t even pretend to be inspired?
Black Widow – Who asked for this? More importantly, why was this made? Releasing a prequel for a character who had already died in the most climactic moment of the franchise is the equivalent of betting the mortgage money on a roulette wheel because you just “had a feeling.” The movie isn’t bad, but it’s completely irrelevant, which is arguably worse.
The Eternals – Whoa! Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! If you’re anything like me, you must have been exhausted by your children and the neighborhood kids relentlessly clamoring for Eternals toys, merchandise, and content. The pressure was unbearable—every morning, the kids would bang on the windows, screaming, “Where is our live-action Eternals movie?” But seriously, folks, there were more people on the Titanic than people who actually saw this film.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – A strong first outing. Great potential. But does Marvel even remember that this character exists?
Spider-Man: No Way Home – There are exactly 1.92 billion reasons why anyone’s negative opinion of this movie is irrelevant.
Thor: Love and Thunder – Three years later, and I’m still trying to figure this one out. I’m convinced that if you stare at the post-credits scene long enough, you can actually see the moment Marvel gave up.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – I loved the concept. There was a lot riding on this film. Kang was supposed to be the next Thanos-level threat. But the execution? Woefully lacking. Instead of establishing an ominous, terrifying new villain, they gave us a Marvel movie with all the visual polish of a Disney Channel Original Movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – James Gunn, when left to his own devices, delivers. This movie was proof that creative vision still matters—something Marvel seems to have forgotten.
The Marvels – Read my review.
Deadpool & Wolverine – Like the bank robber told the teller: “Just throw it in the bag.” How much? ALL. THE. MONEY.
The Burden of Captain America
The casual fan is expected to have seen The Incredible Hulk, The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier, Civil War, The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, The Eternals, and Hulk Vol. 1 #1 (trust me). That’s a lot of time to dedicate to a single character arc. Even your unemployed uncle might find that daunting.
Picture this: A fugitive running from the government. A gruff president fighting enemies aboard Air Force One. A brainwashed super-soldier embroiled in a conspiracy. No, this isn’t The Fugitive, Air Force One, or The Manchurian Candidate—this is Captain America: Brave New World.
Sam isn’t a super-soldier, which is Marvel’s way of making him “relatable.” Unfortunately, his relatability is overshadowed by the audience’s reality, which is that we just don’t care. The movie pays lip service to his anxiety but does little to explore it. The film could’ve been a fascinating exploration of legacy, self-doubt, and the cost of heroism, but instead, it treats these themes like a checkbox on a corporate spreadsheet.For the past decade, Marvel has been riding a high so unstoppable, so unprecedented, that they truly believed they could do no wrong. And yet, here we are, staring down the fourth Captain America film—a film that should be a triumphant chapter in the legacy of an iconic character—but instead? It’s an Incredible Hulk sequel in disguise.
That’s right. Captain America: Brave New World has nothing to do with Captain America and everything to do with wrapping up loose ends from a movie that came out in 2008. The worst part? They don’t even have the decency to admit it. This movie isn't a continuation of The Winter Soldier’s espionage themes. It’s a Hulk movie cosplaying as a Captain America film, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the biggest mystery in the film isn’t the political conspiracy—it’s why in the hell President Thunderbolt Ross doesn’t have a mustache.
Let’s get into it.
The Plot: Or, At Least, What’s Left of One
The plot, if you can call it that, revolves around Ross (Ford, who, let’s be honest, visibly does not care) attempting to secure a world-altering resource (adamantium—yep, because why not tie in the Eternals?). Meanwhile, Sam struggles to rally the new Avengers while also questioning his alliance with Ross, the same man who spent two decades trying to squash the Hulk like a cockroach.
But wait, there’s more! The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) is here, looking like a science experiment gone wrong. He’s a villain with the power of predictive analytics—because nothing screams compelling antagonist like an Excel spreadsheet.
The climax? It’s a The Incredible Hulk throwback fight with a CGI monstrosity (not to be confused with Marvel’s budgeting department). Ross Hulks out, and the movie, much like my patience, crumbles into a CGI graveyard. this: Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, is finally taking center stage. Or at least, he should be. Instead, he's pushed aside in favor of a story that has nothing to do with him. The movie kicks off with Sam trying to lead a new version of the Avengers, but instead of exploring what that means, the film quickly devolves into a political thriller without the thrill.
Seventeen years after his brief tease in 2008, The Leader has returned, and… his master plan is probability analysis. That’s it. His evil scheme revolves around statistical calculations—he is quite literally a walking, talking algorithm villain. All that waiting, and they made him a sentient data analyst.
And if that wasn’t enough of a slap in the face, Ross, who has been desperate to gain control of power for decades, eventually Hulks out into Red Hulk—because Marvel needed a big CGI showdown in the third act.
Marvel, I Want You to Explain Yourself...
Marvel has been sneaking in after curfew for the last few years, missing their box office targets, throwing together half-baked scripts, and hoping we won’t notice. And now they come home after another failed cinematic bender, expecting us to just accept that the long-ignored Hulk storyline will suddenly be relevant? Marvel, sit down at the table. Look me in the eyes. You have some explaining to do.
Captain America? More Like Supporting Character America.
“You’re not Steve Rogers,” snarls President Thaddeus "Red Hulk" Ross (Harrison Ford, who absolutely does not care and we all know it). This was supposed to be a powerful moment. A gut punch to our new Cap, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who has spent the last few years literally and figuratively trying to fill Steve’s shoes. Instead? It’s a reminder that neither the characters nor Marvel itself know what they’re doing anymore.
Because let’s be clear: This isn’t Sam Wilson’s movie.
Nope. Captain America—you know, the guy whose name is IN THE TITLE—gets completely sidelined in favor of:
Harrison Ford’s grumpy, mustache-less President Ross, who seems like he wants to leave this movie as badly as the audience does.
Now, I love Tim Blake Nelson. He is a character actor with infinite characters just waiting to be unleashed. He can do anything. But here? He’s just there, his giant exposed brain reduced to some of the dullest villain dialogue ever written. Seventeen years of build-up. Seventeen years of waiting. And his entire plan amounts to "Do math at the heroes".
Joaquin Torres, our new Falcon, who—let’s be honest—looks like a guy cosplaying as a guy who cosplays as the Falcon. Meanwhile, the new Falcon, is so forgettable and visually uninteresting that you could replace him with a random guy from the extras department and nothing would change. He doesn’t have the presence or charm of Sam Wilson’s original Falcon, and his suit? Looks like it was designed using leftover pieces from a Spirit Halloween clearance sale.The literal Hulk subplot that has nothing to do with Captain America.
Seriously, the biggest red flag here? The Hulk storyline is the actual focus of this movie.
- This is not Captain America 4.
- This is not The Winter Soldier 2.
- This is a backdoor sequel to a 17-year-old movie Marvel has refused to acknowledge until now.Where is Captain America in all of this? Watching from the sidelines.
Captain America is a Side Character in His Own Movie
The biggest failure of this movie isn’t just its deception—it’s that Sam Wilson is treated like an afterthought.
Instead of exploring what it means for Sam to carry the shield, he is thrown into someone else’s movie. His role in the film is reduced to reacting to everything happening around him. We don’t get a compelling arc. We don’t get a defining moment that solidifies him as Captain America. We get an entire subplot about Thaddeus Ross, his political ambitions, and his inevitable transformation into a giant red rage monster.
By the end of the movie, it’s unclear what the hell Sam’s role in all of this even was. He didn’t lead the Avengers. He didn’t make a major decision that affected the world. Hell, he didn’t even get the best fight scene—because that honor goes to Ross in full Red Hulk mode, punching his way through the final battle like a late-game DLC character in a Marvel vs. Capcom game.
Why This Movie Feels Like a Corporate Obligation
Marvel is notorious for micromanaging their directors. But Brave New World takes it to a whole new level. Directed by Julius Onah, whose most notable credit before this was The Cloverfield Paradox (yikes), the film has zero personality behind the camera. Gone is the sharp espionage style of The Winter Soldier. Gone is the political weight of Civil War. Instead, the entire movie is shot and paced like a high-budget Disney+ episode—no tension, no build-up, no striking visuals.
This film doesn’t feel like it was directed—it feels like it was assembled.
Everything about it reeks of corporate box-checking.
- Does it set up future MCU storylines? ✅
- Does it introduce new characters for future projects? ✅
- Does it resolve lingering plot threads that nobody remembers? ✅
- Does it give Captain America an actual storyline? ❌
- It’s Marvel at its worst—prioritizing setup over storytelling, Easter eggs over emotion, and big CGI finales over character arcs.
The Thunderbolt Ross Mustache Mystery
And finally, let’s talk about the biggest mystery in the film: Where is Thunderbolt Ross’s mustache?
For decades, Ross has been depicted as a mustachioed menace—a man whose very essence is tied to his grizzled, military-styled facial hair. And yet, here we are, in a Captain America movie that already doesn’t feel like a Captain America movie, with Harrison Ford playing Ross without his signature ‘stache.
Honestly, the most engaging part of Brave New World isn’t its political storyline, its action sequences, or its character development. It’s the haunting absence of that damn mustache.
Captain America: Brave New World is not an outright disaster—but it is a blatant deception.
It sells itself as a Captain America sequel while being nothing of the sort. It pretends to be about Sam Wilson while shoving him into the background. It markets itself as a politically charged thriller, yet descends into a CGI slugfest that belongs in a different movie entirely.
The direction is bland. The action is forgettable. The villain is underwhelming. And worst of all? Marvel has completely lost the ability to tell self-contained stories.
This isn’t a Captain America movie.
This isn’t even an Avengers movie.
It’s a hastily repackaged, studio-mandated wrap-up of a storyline nobody asked for, with a side of Disney+ leftovers.
Final Verdict: A Captain America Movie That Isn’t a Captain America Movie.
Marvel has some explaining to do.