Sam Wilson’s War
DIRECTED BY JULIUS ONAH/2025
It was six years ago, in one of the several closing codas of Avengers: Endgame, that Steve Rogers handed off his trusty shield to Sam Wilson, thereby promoting him to the rank of Captain America. The wait between that moment and for Wilson to finally headline his own film as the MCU’s new star-spangled shield-slinger has been longer than the span of time it took Marvel Studios to release all three Steve Rogers-led Cap films.
While Marvel slowing its roll as of late has been warranted and even appreciated, this is but one aspect of the all-new Captain America: Brave New World that demonstrates the studio having dragged its feet. Sure, Wilson (as played by Anthony Mackie) co-starred in the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, wherein he spent nearly the entire six-episode run agonizing over whether the burden of the uniform was truly for him. In that tense post-Trump/George Floyd moment, taking that much time for Sam’s arc felt particularly apt. But advancing to The Big Screen is a whole other thing, literally next level. Not only does Wilson’s new Cap get the unfortunate timing of hitting theaters just as Trump heads back to the White House, but his film is also saddled with batting clean-up for the dangling threads of the MCU’s least popular projects.
Remember in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk when Col. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) sicced the Army on the title character (Edward Norton, in his one and only outing playing Bruce Banner)? Or, in that same movie when the mysterious Mr. Blue, whom Banner communicates with about possibly curing his ailment, is revealed to be a scientist name Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who ends up the victim of some failed, whacked-out experiment? The Stern plot line was left right there… until now.
How about the ending of 2021’s Eternals, wherein an enormous ancient Celestial wound up dead and frozen in mid-emergence from the North Pole? I figured that Kevin Fiege was just gonna quietly let that one go. But no- here it is as the central plot point of Brave New World’s version of contentious geo-politics. (“Hey!! What if something like that really happened? How would the different countries angle to get at whatever new resources it has to offer?” Uhhhh… shrug?)
Or what about the character Joaquin Torres, who apparently adopted the role of Falcon during the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show? I watched that series back then, but had virtually no memory whatsoever of this character. The same was true of most of the other critics at my screening of the new film. Brave New World starts right in with Wilson (whose own Falcon wings have undergone a Wakandan tech upgrade to compensate for his lack of enhancing super soldier serum) and Torres (Danny Ramirez) working together and cutting up like old pals during the opening action sequence. Frankly, the promise of Ramirez advancing to a new incarnation of the Avengers lands as a challenge to all parties involved, as his lack of screen presence is troublingly glaring.
As for Mackie, he’s fared better in his decade-plus of playing Sam Wilson. Just as others on screen keep reminding him that he is not Steve Rogers, we can’t help but be reminded that Mackie is no Chris Evans. I’d say that in this film, he’s got about 60% of the charisma and magnetism that one needs to carry one of these movies. Mackie, though, remains absolutely worth rooting for, as one suspects that the rumored behind-the-scenes tumult in making Brave New World took its toll.
On top of everything else, Brave New World has seen fit to be the first MCU film to address the U.S. presidency. What timing. Previous screen prez Harrison Ford steps into the part of “Thunderbolt” Ross, replacing the late William Hurt. (Will the average moviegoer even realize that it’s the same character? Will they even remember Hurt’s version of the character??) Ross, the newly elected POTUS and clean shaven because of it, mopes through most of the film stressing about an international Celestial Island treaty that must be signed, and his estranged daughter Betty (last seen or even mentioned in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, played by Liv Tyler), whom he apparently drove away thanks to his own anger issues and policy wonking.
Ford is in Brave New World a lot more than I expected, as his character harbors a secret: he’s the all-new Red Hulk! Ross is secretly popping special pills to keep this under control, but as anyone who’s seen a trailer, ad, poster, or any marketing whatsoever for this movie knows, it’s only a matter of time before Ross smash!!!! When the red behemoth finally does emerge, there’s no discernible difference between his rampaging ways and those of Bruce Banner. (Actually, Banner’s had his Hulk persona under control for many years now. Perhaps a presidential phone call would’ve been in order?)
So, yeah… Brave New World hinges on a U.S. President with anger control problems whose outsized red-hued self bursts from the White House in an uncontrollable manner. Many, I’m sure, will be quick to point out that this is the MCU’s first documentary. The truth of it is, however, that beyond some very unmistakable real-world allegorical meme-able moments (For example: Red Hulk weaponizes a flagpole with an American flag on it to cause yet more pointless destruction to the White House itself! Oh, the poetry!), an anti-MAGA screed this is not. As self-absorbed as he is, Ross has far too much of a conscience (and a proud military career) to ever be any kind of 1:1 Trump analog.
Brave New World makes a point of rooting itself in some sort of bygone reality where “respect for the office” of President, regardless of the occupying party, still exists. Without it, moments that are crucial to the plot wouldn’t be possible, particularly a key incident involving the intriguing character of Isaiah Bradley, “the forgotten Captain America” (Carl Lumbly) at the White House. This sadly outdated ideal also plays into why Sam Wilson is okay with being Cap at all. Maybe ten years ago, it all would have been considerably more palatable. Nowadays, it just seems embarrassingly antiquated. Even more tone deaf and cringy is a scene when Sam stands by and watches as police officers aggressively subdue Bradley.
Suffice to say, anyone determined to view Brave New World as agreeable political commentary will come away frustrated. It’s far too ham-fisted to land any such resonant punches one way or the other. (In a related story, the studio caved to changing the film’s title from “New World Order”, as that phrase had been taken by 8-Chan MAGA dorks for whatever conspiratorial crap they’re obsessing over. With it apparently went a whole subplot). But the fact is that this latest MCU endeavor dances so close to contemporary politics only to please no one isn’t its biggest problem. Its biggest problem is its contrived jigsaw-puzzle assembly of characters and situations new and old as well as storylines originally intended and those frantically reshot with newer material. Y’know, standard operating procedure for Marvel. Aesthetically, Brave New World is even more dull than your average MCU offering. But at just under two hours, it might be the first of the studio’s subpar films that at least doesn’t overstay.
All that considered, it’s begrudgingly to the credit of director Julius Onah and the Mighty Marvel Machine that this movie isn’t a far bigger mess. On that note, it must also be said that it doesn’t entirely live up its tacked-on title. It’s Captain America, but it isn’t in any way brave or new.