While it's certainly not the Marvel mess that "Eternals" and "The Marvels" were, CAPTAIN AMERICA BRAVE NEW WORLD pales in comparison to the first two Cap films.
You can't fault Anthony Mackie, delivering all the right moments as Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers handpicked successor.
Determined, unflappable and patriotic, Sam is surprised when the newly elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford in full grump mode) pulls him aside and tells him that he'd like to reassemble The Avengers.
I found myself lost during much of the over complicated story, but began to realize that I should have watched 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" to prep for this current test.
In that film, Ross (played by the late William Hurt) was a general battling with Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), who was in love with then General Ross's daughter, Betty, played by Liv Tyler. There, I helped you catch up if you aren't a diehard Marvel fanboy.
Our main villain Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) is also back from that film, with his brain growing outside his skull like those silly robed creatures in the original "Star Trek" series. But I digress...
Another plot point revolves around the massive new island in the middle of the ocean, dropped there at the end of "Eternals". If you're starting to get confused, or like me, losing interest, I would agree.
The good news is that this latest film is right at two hours long and has the good sense to insert a large scale action sequence whenever the plot begins to bore.
It's also a giant plus that Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) has a major role as Sidewinder, an assassin that always seems to be two steps ahead of Sam and his rather vanilla sidekick Joaquin/Falcon played by Daniel Ramirez, who was given so much more to do in "Top Gun: Maverick".
Carl Lumbly (The Fall of the House of Usher) is terrific as Isaiah Bradley, an original enhanced Captain America who was ignored and tortured by his own country. He's one of the first victims of a brainwashing plot that finds him trying to assassinate President Ross.
Less successful is Shira Haas (Broken Mirrors) in the role of Ross's head of security Ruth Bat-Seraph. After watching Magnum PI's sidekick Juliet (the diminutive Perdita Weeks) beat the crap out of bad guys three times her size for five seasons, I'm all out of suspending disbelief. Eye rolling ensues during the fights but she's admittedly badass as a political adversary.
The action culminates in a terrific set piece in the middle of the ocean, with political friends and foes in a jet fighter and missile standoff while Captain America and Falcon soar through the sky. It's beautifully staged and not without humor, which always helps these films.
Similarly, the first bust out of the red hulk generates at least one good one-liner.
Harrison Ford gives it his all as Ross. He's pretty damn good and feels more believable in the role than Hurt ever did. Poor Ford, between this and "Air Force One" he has a tough time being President of the United States on film!
I also enjoyed the old school feel of the music score by Laura Karpman (American Fiction, What If..?). It opens the film feeling like a 70's thriller and pounds home the action with style.
Overall, the film just feels...okay. 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a revelation. It was a "Three Days of the Condor" like political thriller that elevated the Marvel film to another level. Great writing, intriguing plot.
11 years later, BRAND NEW WORLD doesn't feel new at all. It plays like a rehash of a lot of moments we've seen before and a sequel to the Hulk nearly two decades later than no one is asking for.
It would be great to see Marvel hire established and proven action directors like Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro) to helm a Marvel film.
Instead, we get Directors that seem ill fitted to the spirit of the material and the genre as a whole. Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, Luce) seems a bit over his head. Beyond the ocean battle and some interesting on screen titles around location changes, he doesn't bring any unique style to the action.
Chloe Zhai helmed "Eternals" right after the tiny budget, tiny story of "Nomadland" hit theaters. Huh? Did she even want that job?
After a decent if unspectacular $80 million opening weekend. this third Cap America film seems doomed to a 65%+ dropoff in box office and interest, just like "The Marvels", "Eternals" and "Ant-Man Quantumania".
Last year's mega-blockbuster "Deadpool V Wolverine" showed that there's still a massive audience for enjoyable, funny, well executed Marvel material.
Sadly, CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAND NEW WORLD falls short of that mark. With only a handful or soaring moments, this 35th film in the Marvel universe sputters to a safe, middle-of-the-road B-.
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