A slight detour from my usual content here, so bear with me.
Today I want to talk about my initial thoughts having seen Captain America:
Brave New World last night. Marvel Studios latest entry in their Marvel
Cinematic Universe offers up a paranoid thriller with the usual customary
superhero trappings courtesy of director Julias Onah. Not satisfied to merely
deliver a reheated version of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this
film explores themes of growth and change along with challenging perceptions
both of ourselves and others.
With President Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross’ first 100
days in office coming to a close, he is desperate for his Adamantium Treaty
to be finalized so he can cement his legacy and redefine public perception and,
more personally, win back the approval of his long-absent daughter, Betty.
However, unseen forces are conspiring to ensure the whole world learns the unsettling
truth behind the President’s rise to power and tip the world into chaos
and war. The new Captain America, Sam Wilson works to uncover the
truth and free his framed friend, former solider and unjustly imprisoned Super
Soldier Isaiah Bradley. With so much at stake, can Sam prove
himself worthy of the shield and save the day with the President of United
States against him?
Julias Onah evokes political thrillers such as All
The President’s Men and Day of the Jackal in tone and the reverence
for the genre is on display right from the movie’s earliest scenes. With the
future President framed from behind bulletproof glass for his public addresses
and the use of gloom and low-lit scenes to remind the audience things are not
as positive as we would perhaps like them to be in Washington, this
movie slowly builds anticipation for the inevitable. Perhaps it was just my
V-Max screening, but the use of softer, grainier lenses which sharply focus the
camera on the frame’s central figure really lends itself to the era of Watergate
scandals and intrigue.
Anthony Mackie is Captain America. I am not
being hyperbolic; he embodies the character perfectly. While Chris Evan’s
performance as Steve Rogers was a moral man who was decisive and
unwavering in his beliefs, Mackie’s Sam Wilson is a very different man but
one equally fit for the role of Captain America. Mackie delivers
a Sam who has made peace with assuming the role but still has self-doubt.
Where he shines is implementing the character’s compassion and willingness to
consider a person’s desire to do better, to be better. This element is partly
informed by Sam’s past as a soldier and as a counsellor for veterans and
therein lies a key aspect of the film’s narrative that I am sure many will
overlook. Sam encourages Isaiah Bradley to take a chance and step out from
the trauma of his past, he inspires Joaquin Torres to be a real hero by
his actions and he manages to find common ground and empathy for Thadeus
Ross despite their own complicated past and differing opinions.
Harrison Ford has always been a fantastic actor and
his performance in this movie is no exception. He truly assumes the role of the
late William Hurt and finds the humanity and vulnerability inherent in the
lonely, elderly Thadeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross without making his temperament
any less strong. Embodying elements that were already there and delivering what
is the culmination of a 17-year character arc across multiple films is a big
ask for anyone stepping into another’s role, but Ford handles it with
ease and respectable grace. While Ford may be at ease, Ross is
most definitely not, with his on-screen political career on the line he is
evidently stressed and tense. Previous Ross appearances referred to the
character’s heart condition and the movie manages to weave this into the plot
in a satisfying way, along with significant elements from 2008’s Incredible
Hulk.
Carl Lumbly really breaks my heart as Isaiah
Bradley, you can really feel his pain when he talks about his past and his justified
distrust of the government. His plight, framed for an attempted assassination of
President Ross, acts as the central motivation for Sam to investigate
the shady plot. This was the right method to make things personal for the
character. Sam feels responsible for putting Isaiah in the situation
and if he cannot exonerate him, Isaiah will be sentenced to death or
face the rest of his life once again unfairly behind bars. Meanwhile Lumbly
does not want to pull Sam’s good name down with him, despite his own
dire situation. The dynamic between them and that of Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin
Torres are some of the most genuine and grounded relationships in the film
and it is a shame we did not get more scenes of the three of them together.
Giancarlo Esposito, a late addition to the film,
works well as the leader of the Serpent Society known as Sidewinder.
Esposito is clearly having a great time in the role but his character while
a fun element of the movie doesn’t do much more than act as an intermediary for
the real mastermind of the piece. I am glad Sidewinder was not killed
off, at least, leaving us the potential for a future return. Good to see
Giancarlo flex his action muscles, too.
I think Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns was one
of the elements of the film that received the least media attention in the lead
up to its release, neither positive nor negative. Ironically, he is one of the
best parts of this movie. A versatile and infinitely changing actor, it is a
great shame we have not seen him return before now. Fortunately, the long-dangling
plot thread of his character’s absence for 17 years pays off with his performance
which is equal parts creepy, manipulative, calculating and cold. I am delighted
audiences get to see Nelson deliver on the Incredible Hulk film’s
promise, though I am slightly unhappy we did not get as much of him as I had
hoped. Nelson was pleased with the implementation of practical make up and prosthetic
effects to achieve the character’s appearance and I feel his initial scenes, barely
lit in shadow with a chilling voice and glinting green eyes helped enhance this
effect.
As I write this I am listening to the utterly captivating
soundtrack by Laura Karpman. It is no exaggeration to say this is one of
my favourite new Marvel scores. Its deeply rooted influences in the bygone
spy and espionage thrillers, political dramas and nailbiters of the 1960’s and
70’s are delivered with pitch-perfect attention to detail. The undercurrents of
intrigue and mystery rising to a crescendo and crashing like waves as they mix
with the more action-laden bombast and soaring superhero elements. My heart was
pounding as the music suddenly ramped up and began beating out a breakneck
discordant drumming rhythm. Truly an experience to be heard in the surround
sound of cinema. I love this soundtrack.
Not satisfied with serving up more of the same in terms of
the action sequences audiences have come to expect in a Captain America
film, Julius Onah has gone for a more grounded, down and dirty approach
for the hand-to-hand combat. Not juiced up by a Super Soldier serum, Sam
Wilson uses everything at his disposal to take down his opponents, with a
more meat and potatoes fighting style whenever he finds himself without wings
or a shield. This grittier and dirtier choreography might not play quite as
flashy or impressive, but it works to make Sam feel more vulnerable and
his wins more hard-earned. The addition of his iconic wings, now made from the
sturdy and energy absorbent Vibranium, present new opportunities to deliver
never before seen manoeuvres and tricks. An action highpoint would have to be
the aerial dogfight over the newly emerged Celestial Island, with both Captain
America and the new Falcon, Joaquin desperately trying to
stop an international incident breaking out by stopping rogue United States
pilots attacking Japanese forces.
The computer-generated effects, particularly on the Red
Hulk and during the aerial combat sequences are very well integrated into
the frame. For my money, this is the best any Hulk has looked onscreen
since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Harrison Ford’s likeness is
faithfully captured in the facial expressions of his crimson counterpart
without losing the monstrous aspect of the towering figure, with the physicality
and brutality remaining intact. There are a few minor moments in other sections
of the film where it is evident the visual effects team had to work on a tight
schedule, but nothing that would take you out of the scene.
While there’s always room for improvement and a difference
of opinion is always expected and even welcomed, I feel the Captain America:
Brave New World does a very solid job making a three-course meal out of the
various ongoing narrative threads only a long running shared universe like the Marvel
Cinematic Universe can provide. Thunderbolt Ross has gone from a decisive,
driven military man of action who relentlessly pursuing Bruce Banner aka
the Hulk across continents to advance his career at the expensive of his
relationship with his daughter Betty, to a lonely man at the height of
his political career who wants nothing more than to change how the world sees
him and win back the love of his daughter. Ross once saw Banner
as a monster and now because of his actions over the decades, becomes a metaphorical,
literal and physical monster himself.
Further to this, Sam’s own history with Ross
informs and colours his perception of the President, which heightens the
tension in their scenes together. While Sam feels he must constantly
prove himself and live up to the mantle of Captain America, he is
striving to see the good in people and that is the crux of this films theme. Early on, Ross extends an olive branch
to Sam, an example of his desire to move forward and make amends for his
past actions. Likewise, Sam takes this as a sign that things can improve
between them but following the attempt on his life, Ross quickly reverts
to his old self and dismisses Sam. The real meat of this dynamic is a
scene where Thadeus Ross discloses is desire to reconnect with Betty,
recalling how they used to walk among the cherry blossoms together, which pays
off in the films climatic fight between Sam and the Red Hulk. If
I had to criticise an element of this final battle, it’s how quickly the tension
is resolved, though I feel it’s earned by the previous groundwork the movie has
laid between them, with Sam appealing to Ross’ sincere desire to
do better.
Overall, Captain America: Brave New World is not going to
win over any haters, many of whom have risen in recent times to decry nearly every
Marvel movie the latest failure if it is not utter perfection. But this just
might restore the hope of some Marvel movie fans who still want to hold on to
hope, myself included. I may revisit my opinions on movie after further viewings
but for now, it is a highly competent film that demonstrates the strengths of Marvel
Studios. If you are looking for it to outdo such lauded entries as Captain
America: The Winter Soldier, the high benchmark for the Studio, you’ll
come away disappointed, but if you go in with an open mind and willingness to
give it a chance, it might just surprise you.
Until I find another movie that features a red President trashing
the White House, I remain
frogoat