Captain America Brave New World is an apt title for the 35th entry in the MCU franchise. This film stars Anthony Mackie as the titular Captain America, after receiving the famous shield from the original Cap Steve Rogers. Brave New World feels in many ways like a different film from the series that came before it while trying to contend with the numerous plot threads this new universe has created.

For the most part, Brave New World tells a contained story. That’s refreshing for a series that has been subjected to numerous multiversal-level threats since the end of the Infinity Saga. But even though Cap tries to stay grounded, the series has way too many big ideas and grand stories to keep this film succinct and compact.

Air Force One

The biggest addition here is Harrison Ford taking over as Thaddeus Ross for the late William Hurt. Ford does a fine job with the role, providing his signature always slightly annoyed tone to the MCU. The film starts with the promise of collaboration between Ross and Anthony Mackie as the new Cap. It’s an alliance though that is quickly abandoned the minute trouble starts brewing.

Giancarlo Esposito is introduced as Sidewinder. The red herring big bad of the film who is quickly revealed to be just a pawn in a larger operation. An assassination attempt on President Harrison Ford sets off the major plot points of the film. A film that feels part political thriller, part secret agent film, and even at times, like a comic book movie.

Too Many MacGuffins

This is the main problem with Captain America Brave New World. There are too many plot points and genre shifts that keep this film from feeling grounded. It’s interesting that the MCU is deciding now, four years after The Eternals, to finally acknowledge that film’s giant ending. But Brave New World also tries to connect previous films in both the Hulk and Captain America series.

There’s a lot riding on Cap’s shoulders, and this isn’t just a problem for this film, but the MCU in general. It’s becoming increasingly harder to make a fun contained story around one hero when every flick has to be leading to something bigger. Brave New World tries to keep the story grounded. There is no cosmic-level threat for Cap to fight. No pre-ordained hero team-up waiting in the wings. But even with a realistic and interesting mystery to uncover, the film has to make several long expositionary sojourns to B plots from one of the 34 films that came before.

Mission Impossible

At its best, Captain America Brave New World plays like a standard government agent thriller. Think Mission Impossible or Jack Ryan. These parts of the movie work pretty well, but the actual mystery doesn’t get enough time to breathe. Instead of searching for clues or tracking down leads, most of the story is told through boring exposition dumps in between fight sequences.

I would have enjoyed a Captain America film that focused purely on the story it presents. But instead, the movie wants us to remember and care about characters from a 2008 movie that had Edward Norton as the Hulk. I get this is the 35th movie and is preceded by countless TV shows. But it would have been nice if the story felt more about the new Cap and less about the political struggle for adamantium.

Hulking Out

A very late film reveal that is spoiled in the trailers is the introduction of Red Hulk. Here we get the connective tissue to not just the Captain America film series, but that Hulk movie that everyone forgets. It’s a noble idea to try and bring this film back into the MCU canon after more or less abandoning it. But the reveal of Red Hulk in the trailer sort of ruins the entire plot of this movie.

Captain America Brave New World plays like a military thriller, but the mystery is less compelling when the marketing gives away the reveal. It’s one of the more bizarre marketing choices I’ve seen in quite some time. Most films I feel benefit from hiding their reveals. But this one is such a huge moment that could have been an incredible needle drop for theater audiences. Instead, Disney showed their hand so early in marketing that it feels like there was no consideration for the movie itself. Once you know the president will turn into Red Hulk, there is nothing compelling about the mystery Cap is chasing down. We know the endgame going in. And the rest of the film suffers because of it.

Brave New World

Captain America Brave New World isn’t all bad. There are some very entertaining fight sequences and the thriller aspects do work. They just would have worked better without trailer spoilers. There are some technical choices that I found strange, mainly with the sound mixing and lighting. Some of the action sequences are lit like a Netflix thriller. It’s an intentional choice I’m sure but one that kind of ruins the MCU aesthetic. The sound mix also left something to be desired, with certain action sequences missing a punchiness to the delivery.

These minor quibbles aside, Captain America Brave New World is still an MCU film. There is the same gravitas dialogue you’ve come to expect. The occasional mood-lightening joke. And even a surprise cameo or two. It’s a firmly mediocre film that would have garnered more praise from critics and fans alike if the world wasn’t suffering from MCU fatigue. This movie didn’t make me excited for the future of the MCU. And that really is my biggest gripe. Not that it didn’t make me excited, but that it sacrificed a decent action flick trying to hype up the series’ future.