Captain America: Brave New World is the fourth Captain America movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As are all Captain America movies, this was an action movie.
Its reported production budget was $180 million, yet there are some people who have close ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe who say they had to do reshoots that drove up its production budget to somewhere near $350-$380 million (yikes!). That doesn’t even include its reported $100 million advertising budget. That puts total costs potentially up somewhere near $450-$480 million. Hollywood really has to learn how to make great movies at a much lower cost, or it will go defunct. As of this writing, Captain America: Brave New World has an international gross of $409,605,904. So, it’s unlikely it will make money during its theatrical run, but at least it’s going to be somewhat close.
At the very end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers who is the civilian identity of Captain America played by Chris Evans goes back in time to return all the Infinity Stones to the same time and place the Avengers took them. He’s supposed to come back to the present, but he doesn’t.
After a few moments, the camera pans over to an old guy sitting on a park bench.
It turns out that Steve Rogers stayed back in his own time and married the love of his life, Peggy Carter. Then he lived his life on his own terms. His two good friends James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes and Sam Wilson “The Falcon” go and talk to him. He explains all this then he has to make a decision as to who will be the next Captain America. He ultimately ends up giving his shield to Sam Wilson “The Falcon,” signifying that Steve Rogers is choosing him to be the next Captain America.
Chris Evans explained why he left the Avengers:
“I could just make furniture for nobody and be happy. I don’t want to waste too much time in this industry, but that doesn’t really feel . . . That doesn’t sound correct. I don’t want to occupy too much space in an industry that I’ve already poured 20 years into . . . Sometimes reading a script is the last thing I want to do.”
He starred in seven enormous movies over the course of a decade, so it’s not surprising he was ready for a break.
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics, a corporate predecessor to Marvel.
The character quickly emerged as Timely’s most popular and commercially successful wartime creation upon his original publication, though the popularity of superheroes declined in the post-war period and Captain America Comics was discontinued in 1950.
The character saw a short-lived revival in 1953 before returning to comics in 1964 and has since remained in continuous publication.
Captain America’s creation as an explicitly anti-Nazi figure was a deliberately political undertaking: Simon and Kirby were stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supporters of U.S. intervention in World War II, with Simon conceiving of the character specifically in response to the American non-interventionism movement.
Having appeared in more than ten thousand stories in more than five thousand media formats, Captain America is one of the most popular and recognized Marvel Comics characters, and has been described as an icon of American popular culture.
Some of the plot in Captain America: Brave New World ties into the plot of The Incredible Hulk that came out in 2008. It’s not generally a good idea to reference so heavily a movie that was made almost 20 years ago because the vast majority of the audience isn’t going to understand what’s happening.
Since I want you to have a head start, here are some of the main takeaways from that movie that tie into Captain America: Brave New World.
In The Incredible Hulk, Betty, who is the daughter of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, is the girlfriend and colleague of Bruce Banner, who ends up becoming The Hulk.
Ross is trying to create a super soldier, but his experiment fails and Banner ends up getting so much gamma radiation that he transforms into the Hulk whenever he gets angry. The Hulk destroys the lab and surrounding area, and injures the General, Betty, and others outside. Banner becomes a fugitive from the U.S. military and Ross, who wants to weaponize the Hulk.
Five years later, Ross tracks down Banner to Brazil and sends Emil Blonsky with a special forces team to apprehend Banner. Banner ends up defeating Emil Blonsky’s team, but Blonsky is spared alive and ends up agreeing to be injected with a serum similar to what Banner took. That serum gives Blonsky enhanced speed, strength, and agility.
After another battle with the Hulk in which Blonsky wins, Blonsky ends up asking Dr. Samuel Sterns, who is the antagonist in Captain America: Brave New World to inject him with some of the Hulk’s blood. Sterns does it and Blonsky turns into the Abomination, a monstrous creature with size and strength surpassing that of the Hulk. He attacks Sterns, who gets some of Banner’s blood in a cut on his forehead and begins mutating as well which explains his appearance and abilities in Captain America: Brave New World.
The Abomination rampages through Harlem and realizing that the Hulk is the only one who can stop the Abomination, Banner convinces Ross to release him.
They fight and destroy much of Harlem. The Hulk eventually wins, lets Ross arrest the Abomination, and flees New York.
The fact that Ross keeps hunting her former boyfriend explains why his daughter Betty is so upset with him. It also explains how Dr. Samuel Sterns obtained his unique abilities.
Captain America: Brave New World also has a strong connection to the 2021 Marvel movie Eternals. That movie really struggled and introduced a strange concept of beings who are known as Celestials. They are enormous beings who have God-like powers and are implanted in planets like earth and harvest its energy to grow, then when they are born, they rip the planet apart.
In Captain America: Brave New World, the thing called “Celestial Island” is clearly a Celestial. You can easily make out its head and some fingers.
Marvel is pushing the idea of Celestials very hard and there’s no doubt there’s a showdown coming between the new Avengers and the Celestials at some point in the future.
Anthony Mackie has been in every single Captain America movie except for the very first one. He’s also been in most of the Avengers movies.
Anthony Mackie’s acting in this movie was terrific. He really felt like a genuine action hero. He was determined when he needed to be, fun and upbeat at other times, and caring. He really brought his character to life and every movie needs the lead to put on an excellent performance. He only had a few minor misses, but most people probably wouldn’t have noticed them.
Interesting Note:
Anthony explained that sometimes while filming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they had to cut in the middle of scenes because Sebastian Stan’s wig kept sliding and falling down. Mackie loved to make fun of him for it, too, but Sebastian would get back at him by making fun of his calves. Ah, the joy of friendship.
Anthony and Chris Evans were hanging out and watching football together when Chris showed him the Avengers: Endgame script and told Anthony that he’d be the next Captain America. I bet he was stunned.
Since 2006, Anthony has been building houses in New Orleans when he’s not filming movies. He works on three or four houses a year and has built about 28 total.
During a press tour stop in Beijing, Anthony made Sebastian Stan come on a night out by taking his phone and wallet so he couldn’t get into his hotel room.
Before he became an actor, Anthony wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He went to engineering school at Mobil Oil and studied thermodynamic fluid propulsion.
Anthony LOVES The Golden Girls. He likes marathoning the show after long days of shooting and even once met — and fangirled over — Betty White.
He said during the encounter, Betty touched his face and said, “Oh, you make me wish I was 40 years younger.”
Anthony and his cousin used to run their own music label called Take Four Records, where they put out local rap called “bounce music.”
Finally, Anthony once tried to sneak into a party at Prince’s house.
Prince was having a party at his LA home, which was a gated house in a gated community. Anthony got into his friend Sanaa Lathan’s trunk and tried to sneak in, but security caught him. After what we’ve learned was going down at P Diddy parties, maybe this was for the better.
Now that Anthony Mackie is out from behind the shadow of Chris Evans, it was fun to see that he is a top-notch actor who is very deserving to be the lead of a major action movie.
Anthony Mackie Performance Grade:
9.3 A Excellent
Harrison Ford played former US General now US President Thaddeus Ross. Harrison has starred in many movies for many decades so we expected a strong performance from him and he did a good job.
Harrison’s character is a very angry man who has a tough time controlling himself. He definitely gave off the presidential vibe while always speaking from a position of authority.
Harrison was a solid pick for this character and brought star power to the show.
Interesting Note:
Ford’s heroic exploits aren’t reserved solely for the screen, as the actor has saved multiple people in real life, including at least two with his helicopter. According to ABC News, he rescued a boy scout in Wyoming back in 2001 after the 13-year-old got lost near Yellowstone National Park. A year before that, he rescued a hiker near Table Mountain in Wyoming, according to ET.
He’d had a couple of roles before he was cast to play Han in Star Wars, including in George Lucas’ 1973 retro comedy American Graffiti. However, acting wasn’t his main source of income at the time. During a 2014 Reddit AMA, Ford explained how his “principal job at the time” was that of a carpenter, which allowed him to be more selective with the roles he took then.
One of the running gags in the Indiana Jones franchise is the adventurer’s fear of snakes, but the same can’t be said for Ford. In another comment in his 2014 Reddit AMA, the actor admitted that he actually likes snakes, adding that he once helped collect snakes and build an environment for them while he was a boy scout nature camp counselor.
During a Q&A session, the actor revealed that he is most often asked to say “Get off my plane” from Air Force One.
There were some moments where his acting was a little shaky, but overall, Harrison delivered a good performance.
Harrison Ford Performance Grade:
7.6 B Good
Danny Ramirez played the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres. Danny’s character really lightened the mood of the movie which was needed because both Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford have serious characters.
Danny was fun and cheerful, while learning to become an action hero. It really felt like Danny could be a friend you could just hang out with.
Danny Ramirez had a minor role in Top Gun: Maverick, but he brought a lot to the screen with a more significant role in Captain America: Brave New World.
In this movie, Danny missed a few minor things, but overall, he gave a very good performance. I only expect him to get better and better as he gets more opportunities.
Danny Ramirez Performance Grade:
8.9 A- Very Good
Tim Blake Nelson played the physically deformed yet unnaturally intelligent antagonist, Dr. Samuel Sterns. Tim did a really good job of brining a sense of purpose, dread, and mystery to his character.
However, I would’ve liked to see him add a lot more variety to his lines. Most of his character was pretty one note. I would’ve loved to see him start yelling and fuming once or twice, then acting fun and charismatic at times. That would have given his character tremendous depth. Obviously, the writers have a lot to do with that as well.
He didn’t play the strongest or most creative villain you’ll ever see, but he did a good job of playing a villain with superhuman intelligence.
Tim Blake Nelson Performance Grade:
7.1 B Good
Shira Haas played the role of an Israeli in charge of the President’s security by the name of Ruth Bat-Seraph, who is an ex-widow (ie. like Scarlett Johansson’s character in the Avengers movies). Shira did a very good job of playing a tough, business only leader of presidential security. She was strong and determined which is what the Director was obviously going for.
Interesting Note:
The 29-year-old actor portrays the character of Sabra, the alter ego of Ruth Bat-Seraph, a trained Mossad agent in the original Marvel comics. The studio, however, caved in to anti-Israel protests sparked by the Gaza war, and turned the character into a former Black Widow, a Soviet-Russian spy program.
Shira and her parents are all sabras, meaning native-born Israelis. These are compared to the cactus fruit sabra, (“tzabar” in Hebrew), which is prickly on the outside yet soft on the inside, as Israelis are reputed to be. This is also the reason why Marvel’s character was named “Sabra” in the original comics, because she’s a native-born Israeli.
After outcry from Jewish groups following the changes made by the studio to Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World, producers recently clarified the character played by Shira Haas in the film is still Israeli. According to producer Nate Moore, the Black Widow spy program is supposed to be international, and not exclusively Soviet.
Shira is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors from Eastern Europe. During World War II, one of her grandfathers was interned at Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp.
At age two, Shira was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and recovered two years later after a series of severe treatments.
The Tel Aviv native said about her struggles with the illness, “It’s definitely part of me — I mean, I don’t remember my life before it. It’s not like it happened to me when I was older or more mature, so I could think of the before and after … it was really kind of like my starting point in life, so it’s hard to say what would have happened if not—lucky for us, we don’t need to.”
She continued, “I think that it definitely shaped me into who I am. It’s part of me. I think it made me more mature for my age, I was even like this as a child — 8-years-old going on 40. At least that’s what my parents are saying … I’m almost grateful that it happened, because I’m sure that I would be a different person without it — therefore also a different actress.”
The cancer and treatments stunted her growth, which is one of the reasons behind her petite appearance. In fact, the actress is barely 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.
To be honest, when I first watched Captain America: Brave New World I was very confused about the casting of Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph. She is obviously a very small woman and there’s a scene where she’s beating up a lot of men who are trained soldiers in hand-to-hand combat which as we’ve learned with the whole average men in women’s sports thing is completely unrealistic. I know it’s something movies have done for decades, but it really makes the movie feel fake when that happens, particularly when the woman is tiny. I’m sure a strong woman like Ronda Rousey could take a lot of guys in 1-on-1 hand-to-hand combat, but she couldn’t take on 5 well trained soldiers all at once. Movies have got to stop doing this. It would’ve been much better if they had Shira shooting the men with a gun or taser rather than trying to take them in hand-to-hand combat.
So, simply for the fact that she’s a tiny woman, I was pretty confused as to why they casted her for this role. But after reading up about her and learning that she is in fact an Israeli native, that she is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, that her grandfather was in Auschwitz, and that she had to overcome kidney cancer at age 2 which would make her a much more serious person than most people, I’m starting to understand why they casted Shira for this role.
Shira’s character is pretty one note in this movie and she made you feel that she’s all business and not much fun.
Shira Haas Performance Grade:
7.2 B Good
Carl Lumbly played a former Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, who’d been captured and tested on by the US government for decades. As I was watching the movie, I was very impressed at how good of an actor Carl Lumbly is. He’s been in quite a few movies over the past four or five decades and his experience really showed.
Carl was fun and friendly, upset, confused, sorrowfully in tears but in as manly a way as possible, jovial, and intense. He really gave a full range of emotions that made his character feel very real.
Carl’s an enjoyable actor to watch.
Carl Lumbly Performance Grade:
9.4 A Excellent
Overall, the acting in this movie was quite good. Anthony Mackie gave a terrific performance and the rest of the cast followed. Every actor/actress in this movie did a good job and helped the movie feel real.
Overall Acting Grade:
8.3 B+ Very Good
The plot of Captain America: Brave New World was one of its strengths. The first time I saw the movie it had me on my toes trying to figure out what was happening while revealing a little bit at a time. Plus, the film moved at a very good pace and never felt slow.
Overall, this is one of the best plots we’ve seen in a Marvel movie.
Plot Grade:
8.1 B+ Very Good
The level of dialogue in this movie is the only major problem in the entire film. There were no really fun and great dialogue scenes throughout the movie. Most of the dialogue scenes were very short. There was a little comedy, but not much. Every time they had a longer dialogue scene it was always a sentimental one which doesn’t have the same effect if there is not much comedy.
The writers should’ve taken another 3-6 months and come up with much better dialogue scenes and fun and interesting conversations and it would’ve taken this movie to a much higher level.
With dialogue that was only average at best, this movie really fell flat.
Dialogue Grade:
4.1 C- Slightly Below Average
Overall, the writing in this movie is a mixed bag. They paired a very good plot with zero memorable dialogue. Hollywood writers still have a lot to learn about how to write a great movie. Hopefully they’ll take the dialogue scenes several levels higher in the next Captain America movie.
Overall Writing Grade:
5.5 C+ Slightly Above Average
The first several action scenes in this movie were decent, but the problem was there was a lot of punching and kicking which gets boring after more than 10-15 seconds.
However, the last two action scenes in Captain America: Brave New World were phenomenal. The second to last action scene was very exciting and entertaining as Captain America and The Falcon were flying all over the place trying to deal with rogue pilots firing missiles.
Then the last action scene was everything the culminating action scene should be as Captain America fought against the Hulk. Buildings and monuments were destroyed as things were exploding and blowing up.
I had a great time watching those final two action scenes and major action film Producers should take note of both of those scenes and incorporate those concepts in their action scenes.
Action Scenes Grade:
7.8 B Good
The music in this movie was really lacking. They should’ve taken more time and come up with much better music or fired the Music Composer and hired a better one. During the action scenes, the music was often terrible. When you’re watching an action scene, you should be hearing music that gets your blood pumping, and that wasn’t even close to the case in this movie.
I guess the real problem with that is there are really only two Film Music Composers who consistently make incredible music: Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe. Those two are head and shoulders and stomach way above all the rest of the film music composers in the world.
Music Grade:
4.5 C- Slightly Below Average
There’s not a whole lot to say about the cinematography in this film. They didn’t come up with any really fun or interesting shots. All the shots were the standard of what you would expect with a blockbuster action movie.
Cinematography Grade:
6.5 B- Above Average
Julius Onah was the Director for this movie and he did a pretty good job. The acting is strong and the cinematography was to the level you would expect a blockbuster to be.
My only real criticism would be that he didn’t seem to bring anything extra to the movie from the cinematography point of view, but that’s not going to make or break a movie.
I also think he could’ve gotten more out of Tim Blake Nelson to get his character to be angry and screaming at times, then playful at times, etc. In other words, if he had gotten Tim Blake Nelson to be less one note, the movie would’ve played better.
Overall, it seems like Julius Onah is a pretty good film director.
Director Grade:
7.3 B Good
There are no sex scenes in this movie, but there are some cuss words.
Overall, Captain America: Brave New World is a mixed bag. Anthony Mackie gave a great performance while the rest of the cast did a good job.
The acting in this movie is strong and the plot is entertaining. Plus, there are some top-notch action scenes. But the dialogue isn’t entertaining and the music really needed some help.
Captain America: Brave New World Overall Grade:
6.2 B- Above Average
If action movies aren’t your thing or if you really need good dialogue, this movie isn’t for you.
For everyone else:
Adrian Harris is a writer, author, and business owner. He hopes to soon open his own movie studio and become a movie producer, director, and actor. Read Adrian’s Bio.
Adrian Harris is a writer, author, and business owner. He hopes to soon open his own movie studio and become a movie producer, director, and actor. Read Adrian’s Bio.
*Comedy Short Story
Adrian parked the car in the driveway as he and his beautiful wife, Hannah, arrived at home. As they got out of the car, Hannah looked at the blooming flowers in their garden then at their two-story house, “It’s good to be home.”
*Romantic Comedy/Action Short Story
Veronica, a tall and beautiful high-school senior, curled her long blonde hair as her two best friends, Stephanie and Jennifer put on makeup in her second-story bedroom in Newark, New Jersey while getting ready for Prom.
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