Captain America: Brave New World (movie review)

Marvel is tired. Its been tired for a while now and audiences are tired right along with it; tired of the lackluster films the company continues to half-heartedly pump out.

What piqued my interest with this latest release is its focus on Captain America, a character who embodies our American culture and values. The original trilogy, staring Chris Evans in the titular role, was released during Marvel’s golden age. These films featured a traditional version of the character who was willing to sacrifice everything to do what's right. He was an underdog who used his powers for good and was unflinching in his values. As our country changes in its culture and values, Captain America morphs to reflect those changes.

In this latest installment we are introduced to Sam Wilson (previously the Falcon) as he takes on the mantle of Captain America.

Sam makes for a fun side character but falls incredibly flat as a main character. His bland personality accompanied by a painfully-written script, saw me struggling to care about him or the plot. We learn nothing about who Sam Wilson is. The writers seem lost as to what to do with him, repeating some of the conversations he had in the Falcon and Winter Solider TV show.

In fact, the whole movie comes away feeling like a really long TV episode. The plot is disjointed and clunky. Where there should be tension we are left with nothing but easily-resolved conflicts. Sam has no character arc. He ends the movie where he started: comfortable enough being Captain America while also having some doubts. He doesn’t grow or change, and we are left wondering why we should care.

The rest of the film is speckled with poor CGI, action sequences that bare little weight, an awkward cameo, laughable dialogue, and a Harrison Ford who is serviceable but just as tired as the Marvel franchise.

What is most problematic is the film’s idea of what this latest version of Captain American should be. He still wants to do the right thing but he is also confused. He’s lost, he feels that he always has to be “on point” because if he’s not he’ll never be good enough. There's no confidence in his abilities. And while he wasn’t by any means anti-America, he certainly wasn’t pro-America either.

As a Catholic, I’ve always felt drawn to the traditional version of Captain America. He is a great example of what virtuous heroism looks like. While there is value in having broken and imperfect heroes (just as we are broken and imperfect but can still try to do what’s right), there is also value in having heroes who are already practically perfect. We admire their virtue and are inspired to sacrifice as they do. Hopefully as Sam Wilson grows into his role as Captain America he can learn to value virtues and patriotism over pessimism.