Review: Don't let details bog you down and 'Captain America: Brave New World' works, despite itself

A heaving reddish brute froths and seethes down a podium marked with the Presidential seal earlier tearing done the Rose Garden and leaving a swath of wreckage done the White House. As helium rips done the Washington Monument, the lone idiosyncratic lasting successful his mode is simply a winged Captain America — notably, the archetypal Black Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who received the iconic prima shield astatine the extremity of “Avengers: Endgame.” His travel was aboriginal expanded successful the Disney+ bid “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” but “Captain America: Brave New World” is his archetypal stand-alone movie.

These images of a crumbling Washington, D.C., are astir excessively apt for the existent authorities of the national successful aboriginal 2025. Among each the MCU lore and exposition (the movie is tasked with knitting unneurotic implicit 20 years of Marvel movies and TV series), it’s starkly resonant scene-making similar the supra successful which you tin consciousness manager Julius Onah warring to marque a connection astir what a Black Captain America means, some arsenic a load of work and a liberating power.

Onah, who has a penning recognition connected the movie arsenic good (along with Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson and Peter Glanz), has returned “Captain America” to its paranoid political-thriller roots, established successful “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” implicit a decennary ago. Sam has passed his aged Falcon wings connected to a caller sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), and present assists the caller U.S. president, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), with covert ops successful work of the country, contempt Ross’ questionable past.

That uneasy confederation is thrown into question erstwhile Sam’s aged person Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a erstwhile ace worker imprisoned and experimented connected for 30 years, is jailed aft being activated to onslaught President Ross. This situation is acceptable against a delicate pact accord successful which the United States is attempting to peacefully navigate the organisation of the super-strong metallic alloy adamantium, which has been discovered astatine the Celestial Island successful the Indian Ocean (for that background, see: “Eternals”).

If that sounds similar a batch of lore, it is, and unfortunately, “Brave New World” does get bogged down with a dense load of exposition. But if you support your attraction connected the larger themes and beats — the communicative of an unjustly incarcerated Black antheral and Captain America’s combat to escaped him — the connection comes done large and clear. Take it from this casual-at-best Marvel spectator who has ne'er seen a azygous 2nd of a Disney+ show: “Brave New World” is wholly legible, and adjacent enjoyable, arsenic a stand-alone movie (though it helps to cognize immoderate of the large players and wide arcs).

Perhaps “Brave New World” is adjacent much satisfying for the casual Marvel instrumentality who is less invested successful expectations for the sprawling franchise (can it adjacent beryllium called a azygous franchise astatine this point?) and tin fto details and quality reveals lavation implicit them without overmuch fine-point analysis. Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson reprising their roles from “The Incredible Hulk”? Fine. It’s much amusive to revel successful the chemistry that Mackie shares with Ramirez, a agleam spot successful the film, particularly during a “Top Gun”-inspired series during a fighter-jet struggle adjacent Celestial Island.

The information that the clear, crisp, saturated cinematography and sturdy enactment sequences seldom look similar a emblematic Marvel movie is simply a bully thing. It’s easier to bask the movie arsenic a governmental play astir deep-state caput power with a fewer superpowered individuals than it is arsenic an overly strained spot of connective insubstantial successful the MCU.

In fact, the magnitude of unit enactment connected “Brave New World” to drawstring unneurotic truthful galore antithetic properties is astir arsenic unfair arsenic the unit enactment connected Sam Wilson to wield the shield arsenic a Black man. Late successful the film, helium laments that helium ever has to beryllium connected point, due to the fact that helium represents everyone who’s warring for a spot astatine the table. It’s excessively overmuch to saddle his stand-alone movie with this overmuch exposition, and yet, Mackie and Onah carnivore it with arsenic overmuch grace arsenic they can. Don’t sweat the tiny worldly and “Captain America: Brave New World” proves itself to beryllium a decent governmental thriller with thing culturally resonant to accidental that exceeds specified comic-book particulars.

Katie Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.