Unfortunately, a movie such as Captain America: Brave New World must bear the weight of the post-Endgame curse where everybody is under the belief that every film that came after Avengers: Endgame (2019) must match the same hype and excitement and be on the same level as that epic film. Despite the numerous negative critiques the film has received since its release on February 14, 2025, the movie is exceptional and deserves a spot in the top five MCU movies after Endgame.
Most of the negative reviews on this certain movie usually consist of “Sam Wilson isn’t my Captain America” which is ironic since his predecessor, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), was the one who had passed the torch down to Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie. If it had gone the other direction and given to Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, then there would be no discourse over the matter. To put it bluntly, the movie didn’t come off as well to many people simply because they don’t want to admit that they don’t like seeing a person of color, a black man, carrying the stars and stripes of a nation that is meant to stand for freedom and unity, in fiction at least.
For starters, Anthony Mackie, a Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran actor, finally moved up from being a sidekick character to being an actual lead in a film he could call his own. Since his debut in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Mackie has played the role of Sam Wilson, who has been publicly known as the Falcon. But once Endgame premiered, Steve Rogers passed the torch of the Captain America legacy down to Wilson due to his compassion, empathy, leadership, bravery, and many other qualities that make him a perfect fit to wield the Vibranium Shield.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie’s shared film with Sebastian Stan, we see Wilson struggle with being able to accept his becoming the new Captain America until the finale of the show. In his new film, Wilson is shown to have fully accepted his role as the new nation hero and is publicly known as Captain America. We don’t get to see that full character arc but we do get a slight look at it in the movie, where he begins to wonder if he had made the right choice in accepting the shield or not. The movie did a great job setting his character up for the next two Avengers movie installments.
Another character that goes through extreme developments in the movie is none other than President Thaddeus Ross, played by the iconic Harrison Ford. Ford does an amazing job in exemplifying the pressures of Ross’ presidency despite the issues he’s caused in the past in various MCU films such as Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and a few others.
One thing about the character development he goes through is the irony of it; simply because he wants to bring the Avengers back under government control, despite being one of the major factors that split them up previously in Captain America: Civil War.
The movie is directed by Julius Onah, known for his work on The Cloverfield Paradox and Luce, and he brings a feel similar to Captain America: The Winter Soldier as it balances both the political aspects of corrupt governments and international affairs with the superhero elements where the hero must choose between abiding by government authority or protecting the people of the land.
Another thing was that a few of the action scenes lacked the proper feel that the Captain America trilogy held. Besides the aviation combat scenes during the climax of the film and the final fight, most of the fight sequences had slow pacing and just felt sluggish.
All in all, the movie was spectacular and personally felt better than Captain America: First Avenger. Although it didn’t match the wavelength of bigger movies such as Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, and a few others, to call it the worst movie in the MCU is unreasonable and unacceptable.
