What makes a good movie? This is the question that plagues every good critic and it is what makes the entertainment industry so subjective. To us, a good movie has a point—whether that point is about its plot, theme, cinematography, acting or another aspect entirely is irrelevant so long as it has at least one. This will be the basis for our evaluation of the movie “Captain America: Brave New World” and any reviews going forward. No spoilers.
This movie was released on Feb. 14 and currently holds a rating of 6.1/10 on IMDB and 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. As the first Marvel movie of 2025, audiences were looking to this film to set expectations and standards for the franchise for the year. Unfortunately, the movie fell flat.
The movie follows Sam Wilson, the recently appointed Captain America, as he navigates an international incident and his relationship with the president while attempting to keep the citizens safe. However, the plot felt like it was going nowhere and ended up being one big set-up movie. The main villain also ended up being very anticlimactic, a random stereotypical character that had a sad backstory and wanted to get revenge. For non-Marvel fans especially, the movie would have appeared dull and superfluous, with the trailer giving away practically everything you need to know about the film.
The writers had the potential to create a very powerful message considering the state of our world today and the integration of politics into the movie. However, it ended up being a mishmash of cliches and incomplete thoughts that only make the viewer more confused. They went with a storyline that has already been explored multiple times with this character and others in the same universe: Sam tries to live up to his new title and grapples with the preconceived notions the public has of him as the Falcon.
The visual effects were decent and the fight choreography was interesting, although we don’t have much experience in this particular area, so do take this with a grain of salt. The cinematography could have used some more work; the frame switched so much that we got whiplash. We would have appreciated it if they filmed from one angle for at least 10 seconds.
The casting in this movie was seemingly well done. Giancarlo Esposito is one of our fan favorites, yet somehow, the execution and chemistry felt off. Whether the actors didn’t mesh with the script, one another, the directing, etc., is unclear. What is clear is that their performance did not feel as natural as it should have been.
While it’s not the worst movie ever, it certainly isn’t the most enjoyable either. If you really want to watch it, we’d recommend saving your money and waiting until it comes out on streaming services because it simply isn’t worth the time. With all of this taken into consideration, we rate the movie a 5/10.
