Considering the fact that the Captain America films have produced two of the best MCU films in Winter Soldier and Civil War, it is a shame that we are now left with this thoroughly mediocre and lazy fourth instalment.
Firstly, this film requires you to recall the events of a movie that came out in 2008. If you don't remember the events of this film, don't worry, as Brave New World is chock full of clunky exposition. It also requires you to remember the events of a show that came out in 2021. Without remembering some of these details, certain plot points just lose all their impact and don't carry much weight. Maybe my memory isn't what it used to be, and maybe I should have rewatched The Incredible Hulk and Falcon and the Winter Soldier before watching this, but who has the time for that.
Even ignoring these links to previous MCU instalments, the whole plot still feels incredibly messy and all over the place. There is a random collection of new characters all of whom get zero character development. Even Sam Wilson, Cap himself, gets no real development or journey in this film. It's an incredibly bland portrayal of the character, which is a shame given the great journey Steve Rodgers had. Anthony Mackie and Sam Wilson deserves more from his solo projects. Once you muddle through the clumsy link back the Eternals, and the overarching plot that links to The Incredible Hulk, you are still left trying to grapple with other bizarre aspects of the film. Why was a character seemingly central to the story like Sidewinder only added in reshoots? They can spin as much yarn as they like about the reshoots not being material to the film, but they clearly weren't happy with what they had in the can when they finished principal photography and it shows. The plot also felt very fragmented and choppy. Somehow it managed to feel convoluted yet mindlessly simple at the same time. Quite the achievement.
Now I will put my positive hat on briefly as there are some good points to this film. Despite being given very little to work with, Anthony Mackie puts in a good performance as Cap. It's clear that he could nail this role if the writing wasn't so poor, so I hope this improves for future outings. His chemistry with the new Falcon is pretty solid and there's some promise there. I do also think the final action scene is suitably chaotic, even if it does fizzle out, and the action throughout is all decent enough if nothing remarkable.
Ultimately though I really do think that Marvel has just hit a brick wall. With each film that passes, it becomes more and more apparent that Endgame was the obvious end point. The franchise should have taken a hiatus then kicked off again with a whole new cast and a whole new set of stories. It's a shame as Mackie has been let down by a poor film and poor overall franchise direction, but for Marvel diehards this film will be watchable enough.
