After meeting with the newly elected president, Thadius Ross, Sam Wilson finds himself a pawn in someone else’s game, putting everything he loves and has worked for in peril. He must uncover secrets that have been buried for decades, and discover the real mastermind pulling the invisible strings, hidden safely from the chaos being caused.

“Captain America: Brave New World (2025)” is one of the newest Marvel Studios movies, and is the fourth installment in the Captain America film series, which is directed by Julius Onah. New characters meet returning ones, in this continuation of the series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)”, and thrilling conflicts arise.

The film starts with a new introduction, not using the traditional Marvel fanfare that was expected. The new intro in the film has sparked controversy throughout the internet, but many believe that it shows a new stage of the franchise going forward. So far, the film seems to be on its way to being a box office success despite what many critics have been saying.

The traditional Marvel intro has been used for years, where comic book pages flip through and present all the characters from different movies and shows in the MCU. But for the first time, Marvel has started a movie with a much simpler intro, which many think to be foreshadowing that the movie would be more central, moving away from the exploration of the other worlds and universes.

The movie then opens with a scene where Wilson’s Captain America (played by Anthony Mackie) is sent to prevent the sale of classified items stolen by the Sidewinder (played by Giancarlo Esposito). Captain America is able to recover the items with the help of Joaquin Torres (played by Danny Ramirez), but Sidewinder would make his escape without the crucial artifact.

Sam Wilson continues Steve Rogers legacy after he passed on the title of Captain America, but struggles with the fact that he’s the only Captain America without the enhancing serum in his blood. While Sam takes on being Captain America, he is hesitant to put Torres, who took on his mantle of Falcon, into dangerous situations.

Together they visit the once famous but now forgotten Isaiah Bradley (played by Carl Lumbly), a super soldier who was once imprisoned and experimented on by the government for thirty years. The great soldier’s dislike of Wilson working for Ross, and his deep hatred towards the government, proves to be a reoccurring issue throughout the film’s duration.

With Ross being the new president, and having both Wilson and Torres working for him, he holds much power. Despite this, tensions rise and conflicts spark, which could cause a new war, and the deaths of many. The mastermind behind everything proves to be a force to be reckoned with and a formidable antagonist.

I enjoyed this film a lot and loved seeing Anthony Mackie’s Captain America take on a larger and more important role compared to other MCU films. His character showed how he took on the responsibility of being a hero, as well as the emotion and care that makes him such a great one. All of the acting was amazing, and everyone delivered strong and heartfelt performances. 

Danny Ramirez brought an amazing dynamic to the film and his scenes were incredible to watch. He clearly showed off the Falcon’s experience, but also the fact that he’s still young and bites off more than he can chew at times. As well as this, he added humor to the film and made his scenes very entertaining.

Harrison Ford started playing Thadius Ross and took over the role with ease, bringing a very compelling story and a lot of emotion to the character. Ford was able to stay respectful of the character’s legacy and brought more gravity to the character’s life and past. Ross was portrayed amazingly and even made it hard to decide whether I disliked him that much.

The addition of a new character, Ruth Bat-Seraph (played by Shira Haas), seems to have sparked some controversy. She is president Thadius Ross’s head of security and a former Black Widow. The assassin’s interactions with both Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson has some fans seeing her as the MCU’s way of replacing Natasha Romanoff, who died to save the world.

Many people across the internet loved the appearances and cameos of characters like Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan). The few minutes the character had in the film had fans on the edge of their seats, loving the hints about the character’s future.

The movie ended with action and a great resolution. It wrapped up some loose ends and ended cleanly, but still left future events up for speculation, bringing an air of suspense and left me eager for more. Even moments such as the post-credit scene had me excited for more of the characters and actors who starred in the film.

The film’s choreography was great, making all the fight scenes intense and interesting. The action was well executed and the high-stakes environment made the fight seem more realistic rather than being all CGI. 

Despite all of this, the rushed pace of the film has set critics on a rampage. However, lots of this can be blamed on the multiple reshoots and problems that occurred throughout the film’s making. Characters like Sidewinder were added last second, and though they did great, it caused him to be quickly sidelined. But so far in the box office, it’s been a success and has exceeded all expectations.

Overall the film was a lot more grounded than some of the past Marvel films have been and didn’t go into the multiverse much, which I enjoyed. It did a really good job of humanizing the characters and making them more relatable. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, and I’d rate it 4/5 stars.