By Matthew Moorcroft

Unsure

• Directed by Julius Onah
• Starring Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Giancarlo Esposito, Harrison Ford
• PG-13

It really feels like Captain America: Brave New World has come out like at least like five times already. The long gestating project, subject to numerous reshoots, a writers and actors strike, and story changes in the midst of an ever-evolving political landscape, feels like a movie that was always on the verge of releasing. And now that it’s here, it really does feel like in a way, it’s about to released again at some point.

Brave New World is, at least, a movie. A barely functioning one at points, but a movie nevertheless. This is faint praise for sure, though this is still somehow more then can be said for Marvel’s truly more dismal outings (and especially moreso then some of the other superhero outings of recent memory like Black Adam or The Flash) and at least makes the impression Brave New World was a genuine attempt. But that faint praise only goes so far, and Brave New World immediately starts falling apart at the seams once you think about for longer then a second.

Walking a thin tightrope in wanting to be it’s own movie while also desperately aping the aesthetic and general tone of the seemingly ever unreachable heights of The Winter Soldier and Civil War, Brave New World ties together a bunch of desperate parts of the MCU together in an attempt to find some cohesion within the chaos. The centerpiece, however, turns out not to be Sam Wilson – played by the always likable and charismatic Anthony Mackie – but the newly recast Thunderbolt Ross, whose presidency is immediately marred with questions about his temper and an assassination attempt in the midst of a major trade deal that could have ramifications. As setups go, it’s not a terrible one, and while it’s analogues are clear enough to make some connection it’s very clear this was written before the current administration – and because of that, it’s murky politics, while definitely an issue, can be mostly excused. It’s usage of Israeli propaganda less so, especially when said character is mostly disposable and feels like an afterthought. Her presence actively sours the experience of several scenes in the movie, and frankly could have been easily replaced with other characters – which is equally as damning to the script itself, which fails to justify the presence of much of the supporting cast outside of Ramirez.

The flick really finds it’s electricity when it’s Ford and Mackie trading verbal blows. Ford in particular feels like he’s found some level of interest in the actual script here in spite of everything, and his committed performance – Red Hulk and all – shows that. While the connections to The Incredible Hulk throughout make this a bizarre affair for those here for the Cap, Ford definitely sells it at least and even an otherwise underused Tim Blake Nelson feels like he’s having a good time here. Even so, it’s not nearly enough to stop the story of this thing mostly feeling like a bunch of boxes being checked – and the actual villain plan being so inconsequential to the actual ideas at present here that the fact it’s here overcomplicates an otherwise simple story at heart.

And once the movie actually does start to get going, with two solid action sequences in the back half of the film, it ends as soon as you really start to get invested, and that’s I think the real shame of Brave New World. There are fleetingly great moments here and there, occasionally great and inspired cinematography decisions, and solid enough chorography in it’s best moments to save it from a complete disaster. Hell, the fact the movie isn’t a disaster is something to surprised at itself.

But ultimately, it really should be better then it actually is. Instead of being another Winter Soldier or Guardians Vol. 2, it’s closer to another Dark World or Iron Man 2 – a film so concerned with table setting and lore-welding it forgets the real reasons we watch these things. It’s a film with nothing on it’s mind and even less under the hood, even if it’s occasionally enjoyable in the moment. As stinging disappointment; Sam Wilson deserves better then this.