Sam Wilson struggles under the weight of his predecessor
I can’t watch Captain America: The First Avenger with tearing up and getting goosebumps. Yes, what is often considered one of the least successful movies of the early MCU rouses an emotional state within me that the loftiest of Best Picture winners could only dream of achieving.
Yes: I’m sure some of it is nostalgia—I saw the movie with my parents and sister on a rare trip to the United States. What better movie to see in the ‘movie theatre’ than Captain America, of course!
I was a teenager in 2011, and unaware of the movie’s connection to another Marvel property that I loved at the time: Iron Man. Let’s just say when Cap awakens in the 21st century at the end of the movie and Nick Fury pops up, it was a transcendent experience.
What I’m saying is that Captain America means a lot to me, as he does to many people. I was apprehensive about Steve Rogers bequeathing the shield to his buddy Sam Wilson at the end of Endgame, but only because I didn’t connect with Sam on the same emotional level as Steve. Not yet, anyway, I hoped.
Alas, since Endgame, Marvel Studios has been floundering. There have been a few successes that I have thoroughly enjoyed—Shang-Chi, Loki, Guardians 3, a smattering more—but lately, Marvel seem to have lost focus of what has made their movies appealing in the first place: their characters.
I could—and have done—write essays about what makes Marvel superheroes so gravitational for audiences, but I’ll cut to the chase: I have never connected emotionally to Sam Wilson because he lacks a compelling backstory, which in turn leads to a lack of a strong motivation for his actions.
One of the first things we see in The First Avenger is Steve Rogers getting beaten up by a bully in an alley. The first thing we see in Iron Man is Tony Stark’s weapons being used against him. Peter Quill’s mother dies of cancer; Peter Parker’s uncle dies in a robbery; T’Challa’s father dies in a terrorist attack on foreign soil—you get the idea.
All of these things motivate the hero in question to act—to become who they are today. But Sam Wilson is a blank slate that even six episodes of a television miniseries couldn’t permanently etch upon. This was my biggest concern going into Brave New World. Could Sam Wilson come into his own? Could he become more than just Steve Rogers’ friend?
Because if Marvel couldn’t centre this movie around the emotional arc of its main character, there would be trouble.
Captain America: The Thirty-Fifth Avenger
Following an assassination attempt on President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie)—who has now adopted the mantle of Captain America—strives to uncover the truth behind the attempt, vindicate a friend, and put a stop to a looming war before it can begin. But behind the scenes, President Ross is struggling to maintain control of a delicate political situation that threatens to upend the entire United States of America…
I have a lot of problems with Brave New World, but first, let me focus on the positives. Mackie is a great actor who brings more personality to Sam Wilson than his character deserves. He’s easy-going in a way that Steve Roger was not, and anybody would have a hard time disliking him.
Similarly, Harrison Ford is great here. Behind the scenes, he gives the impression of being a grump who couldn’t give a toss about the MCU, but he brings some real, tangible dynamics to the role of President Ross. Apart from being recast, Ross is much changed from his previous MCU appearances, having become a man genuinely looking to do good despite his war-waging past.
Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, reprising his role from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, also makes quite an impact here. I wish his character had been pushed further, though. His mere existence challenges Sam Wilson as Captain America at a moral level; something that could’ve been taken to the next level here but wasn’t. Still, Lumbly is a powerful presence, and I was glad to see him incorporated into the story.
There are also some great action scenes here. Cap’s combination of shield and wings makes for some really fun choreography and fighting styles, and even though none of the fight scenes ever came close to hitting the peak of the highway fight in Winter Soldier, I really did enjoy them.
You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m President
Giancarlo Esposito similarly steals some scenes as Sidewinder, the leader of a special-ops team known as the Serpent Society. Unfortunately, the movie stops caring about him about halfway through and we never see the character again. This is just one of the many, many structural issues that Brave New World suffers from.
There’s a character called Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) who is a former Black Widow whose contribution to the film is negligible despite her being included in so many scenes. Same with Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Sam Wilson’s Falcon sidekick who—while a genial and upbeat presence in the movie—provides very little dramatic or thematic interest.
It’s no secret that Brave New World underwent some serious reshoots, and it’s hard not to notice them. This movie is fractured. It’s not that any of the scenes are downright bad, it’s just that when put together, they equal less than the sum of their parts.
One of my biggest problems with the film is how it presents the Red Hulk, who is present in every aspect of the movie’s marketing. Going into the movie, I assumed that the bulk of the movie would be a conflict between Captain America and a raging, homicidal President. It was to my complete dismay that Red Hulk doesn’t show up until there’s only twenty minutes of the movie left.
It really cheapens the impact this character has because everyone watching the movie knows what’s coming. The bulk of the movie is, instead, a mystery plot with Cap that just doesn’t feel personal enough.
I Can Do This* All Day (*Ramble About Captain America)
This is the movie’s most egregious issue; it wasn’t personal. Look, I like Anthony Mackie and I like Sam Wilson… as a supporting character. In the spotlight, though, he really lacks a solid identity—a problem which pervades the entire movie. Quality aside, most Marvel movies have their own distinct personality. You know what kind of movie you’re getting with a Guardians of the Galaxy (space opera) or a Shang-Chi (martial arts) or, hell, even a Deadpool (crude, over-the-top action/comedy).
But Brave New World is totally flavourless. Some of this comes down to filmmaking style, sure, but I think it’s also a character problem. Previous Captain America movies have either been war epics or some kind of thriller. In many ways, I can see how director Julius Onah tried to follow in the Russo Brothers’ footsteps by doing a mystery/thriller-type-thing, but the attempt is so half-assed.
There is no tension in this movie. Somehow, despite being a Captain America without super-serum, Sam Wilson never feels like he’s in real danger. There’s no ‘elevator scene’. There’re no stakes or fallout from the decisions he makes. The mystery of ‘Who is behind all this?’ is revealed to us with no build-up and—vague spoilers—it’s someone with absolutely zero personal ties to Sam.
Nothing about the story revealed anything interesting about Sam, either. He’s there to stop bad guys with his—admittedly cool—shield and wings. You might think, ‘Well, isn’t that what Steve Rogers did, too?’ And, yes, Steve stopped the bad guys, but he did it at great personal cost—throwing away his chances at love, betraying his government, destroying his friendships—all in the name of doing what is right.
Sam is never similarly challenged, and all of the above culminates in an experience that feels completely throwaway. This was a chance to cement Sam as a hero by showing us the cost of such actions, but instead the films feels scared to show us him failing or hurting emotionally.
Sometimes I wonder if my hopes for these movies are too high. Did I really expect to be moved to tears by Captain America: Brave New World? No, I guess I didn’t. But I was ready and willing to be. Despite everything, I still believe in the potential of Sam Wilson. I’m positive that the right story can crack him—can turn him into a character as beloved as Steve Rogers.
Alas, Brave New World isn’t it.
Thanks for reading my Captain America: Brave New World review. If you liked it, consider checking out my wishlist or buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien or below.
Comments