Captain America: Brave New World premiered on February 11 as the fourth film in the Captain America franchise and the fifth in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story follows Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson taking on the role of Captain America.
After being elected president, Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford, invites Sam and his fellow soldiers, Isaiah Bradley and Joaquin Torres, to the White House. While there, Ross privately asks Sam to restart the Avengers. Then, as Ross announces the discovery of the rare metal Adamantium to world leaders, he is shot at by Isaiah Bradley.
During Ross’s presentation, he proposed a treaty, later named the “Ozaki-Ross Accords,” that would prevent the international arms race from possessing Adamantium. An abundance of the metal was discovered in the Indian Ocean on Celestial Island, introduced in the 2021 Marvel film Eternals. Isaiah’s incarceration creates resentment between Ross and Sam, who insists that Isaiah wasn’t aware of his actions. The rest of the film focuses on Sam and Joaquin, who set out to find the true person behind the assassination attempt.
Suppose Marvel fans were hoping for another iconic Captain America movie. In that case, Brave New World will perhaps rank lower in the series, though it introduced a new character, bringing Samuel Stern back from The Incredible Hulk in 2008, and exhibiting exceptional performances from Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, who replaced William Hurt after his passing in 2022. As a sequel to Captain America: Civil War and following the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the movie certainly embraces itself as more of a political thriller rather than a light superhero film. However, the great portrayals of Sam Wilson and antagonists Thaddeus Ross and Samuel Stern make the movie worth watching.