Captain American: A Brave New Start?

Photo Credit: “Captain America: Brave New World” Movie Poster from Marvel Studios

Alina Ramey, Staff Writer to The Powderhorn

When you think of “The Avengers,” a few characters immediately come to mind. For some, it's Iron Man or the Hulk. However, the first Avenger was Captain America, played by Chris Evans. Recently, on February 14, Marvel released a new Captain America movie, “Captain America: A Brave New World,” starring Anthony Mackie. The question still remains: will this movie live up to the legacy of the first, or will it just be another corporate cash grab?

First, let’s compare “Captain America: Brave New World,” the 2025 film, to “Captain America: The First Avenger,” the original Captain America movie released in 2011. A notable difference is that the original set the scene for many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies. From my perspective, the newest movie doesn’t compare to the original in terms of plot, characters, or setting. 

In order to better understand their differences, it's important to know some background context. Towards the end of the original, Steve Rogers, gives the title of “Captain America” to Falcon, Sam Wilson, and retires as Captain America himself. “Captain America: Brave New World” delves into Sam Wilson’s journey to becoming the new Captain America and discovering that he needs to be his own version of Captain America. However, the plot is confusing and muddled at times, giving up opportunities for insightful dialogue to insert an action scene instead. 

The plot of the recent movie was scattered and followed a loose structure. Oftentimes, there was a small lead up and then an action scene, which became repetitive and predictable. The story is not only about Sam Wilson learning to be the new Captain America, but also finding a replacement Falcon. They join forces to fight together to prevent wars and death. Following all of this, one of Captain America’s friends was brainwashed into attacking the President of the United States, which brings the movie into its main, but diluted conflict.

I believe that the movie would’ve been better if they either leaned into it not having a fantastic plot or if they made the plot clearer. Overall, it simply didn’t have the same effect on me as the original had achieved. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s just not as fantastic as the first. A 6/10.