Anthony Mackie deserves a spell in the Marvel spotlight. The fan-favorite actor has portrayed Sam Wilson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for over a decade but, a co-starring role in Falcon and the Winter Soldier (FATWS) on Disney Plus aside, he's played second fiddle to other A-listers in the multi-billion-dollar-spinning franchise.

That's no longer the case. Captain America: Brave New World, the penultimate Marvel Phase 5 film, puts Mackie in the leading man role he's more than merited. It's a pity, then, that his first big-screen outing as the titular hero isn't as brave or new as its subtitle implies.

On a wing and a prayer

Three years have passed since Sam Wilson (Mackie) decisively adopted the Captain America mantle in FATWS' final episode. Since then, Steve Rogers' successor has worked in unison with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who's also replaced Wilson as the MCU's Falcon, and the US military to carry out covert operations for the US government. Cap 2.0 and his wingman's latest assignment sees them successfully retrieve a mysterious package that Seth Voelker/Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) and his criminal enterprise, aka The Serpent Society, were attempting to sell to an unknown individual in Mexico.

The recovery of said package leads to Wilson and Torres, plus Wilson's associate – not to mention super-soldier and one-time wrongly imprisoned individual – Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) receiving an invitation to the White House from Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross (Harrison Ford). There, Ross, who was partly responsible for breaking up the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War and is now President of the United States, confidentially asks Wilson to help Ross reform Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Additionally, the package that Wilson and Torres retrieved contained a sample of adamantium, aka the near-indestructible metal that famously coats X-Men icon Wolverine's skeleton. The corpse of Tiamut, the giant Celestial whose emergence from Earth's core was halted by the Eternals in their self-titled 2021 movie, is covered in the stuff – and the world's superpowers have all laid claim to its vast resources.

To prevent a major geopolitical situation, Ross, who claims to be a changed man after his installation as America's Commander-in-Chief, has invited numerous world leaders to Washington to sign a treaty that'll allow all parties to benefit from the discovery of adamantium. Unfortunately, things go awry when an unusual song begins playing over the sound system – one that causes a suddenly brainwashed Bradley to try and assassinate Ross.

The fallout is significant. Bradley is sent back to prison, Ross retracts his offer to work alongside Wilson because of his friendship with Bradley, and Wilson and Torres go rogue to track down the real threat. Oh, and the treaty goes unsigned – cue the world's biggest nations racing to lay claim to Tiamut Island and adamantium as a new arms race quickly threatens to spiral out of control.

It's here that the first signs of Captain America 4's unoriginality surface. When I spoke to director Julius Onah and producer Nate Moore ahead of the movie's release, they were at pains to stress that Brave New World isn't simply a rehash of previous Captain America films like The Winter Soldier. Yet, whether it's Cap defying his superiors once more, Bradley's brainwashing being comparable to Bucky Barnes', and the political thriller vibes that this movie and The Winter Soldier display, it's hard to argue against the similarities. In that sense, Brave New World feels like it's simply replaying The Winter Soldier's greatest hits, albeit with different personnel.

The decision to keep Wilson and Ross apart for large stretches of Captain America 4's story is also irksome. Yes, keeping their encounters to a minimum makes them all the more suspenseful when the duo verbally and physically lock horns. With this being the movie's central conflict, though, I would've liked to see more tense showdowns between the pair, especially as Mackie and Ford's on-screen chemistry is as captivating as the hard-hitting punches and venomous barbs they throw at each other.

It's an even greater shame when you realize that Mackie and Ford are on top form. Ford brings buckets of charm, real menace, and emotional gravitas to the role held by William Hurt until the latter's death in March 2022. Indeed, Ford's ticking time-bomb-like display as a man, father, and leader slowly spiraling out of control is engrossing to watch. That's not a slight on Hurt's multi-movie performance as Ross, either – it's just that Ford is, well, afforded more screen time in Brave New World than Hurt was since his own MCU debut in 2008's The Incredible Hulk.

But this is Mackie's stage – and he absolutely delivers. It's incredibly fun to see Mackie's Wilson reveling in the role of Captain America, and displaying confidence and skill as Rogers' successor. Sure, his new Vibranium-infused super-suit helps to give him the edge in fights – his new costumes and various gadgets allow for some creatively entertaining set-pieces throughout – but, even without them, Wilson (and, by proxy, Mackie) is a far more assured presence who commands the screen with aplomb.

That isn't to say Wilson is the complete package. Unlike Rogers, Bucky, and Bradley, he's not a super-soldier – he's an ordinary man who bleeds and can be hurt physically and emotionally. The latter vulnerability is on full show in Captain America 4, too, with Wilson proving that he's still grappling with the weight of responsibility of being the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan, and Rogers' legacy. Unsurprisingly, Mackie lights up the screen during such moments with typically moving performances.

Shielded from originality

Mackie and Ford aren't the only ones who deliver acting masterclasses. Lumbly gives a powerhouse performance that elevates each disappointingly brief scene he's in, and the endearing friendship he shares with Wilson is also enriched by these moments – it's just a bummer that this dynamic, and the generational trauma oozing out of these melodramatic moments, isn't explored further.

The same is true of Wilson and Torres' brothers-in-arms relationship. There's a pleasing evolution to their banter-and-respect-filled friendship from FATWS, but it's a dynamic that occasionally takes a backseat when the movie could have leaned into it more. Wilson's interactions with Ross' security advisor Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) and US Secret Service agent Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquemore) don't get much play, either.

Captain America: Brave New World's biggest problems, though, center around its surprising lack of MCU interconnectivity and innovation. Sure, where the former is concerned, its clear ties and references to The Incredible Hulk and Eternals are satisfying. I and many other MCU fans have long waited for narrative pay-off from two of the lowest-ranked films – on any best Marvel movies list – to be addressed, so I'm glad they are here. However, there are other Marvel projects, such as the universally panned Secret Invasion TV series, whose events are key to setting up Brave New World but which have bizarrely been swept under the rug. Last May, Marvel said fans no longer needed to watch its Disney Plus shows to understand what happens in its movies. In theory it's a smart move but, in practice, for a studio that prides itself on its shared universe where characters and storylines overlap and interweave with one another, it's a particularly big oversight for this flick, in my view.

Then there's the aforementioned lack of imagination. As a character study and overall narrative, Captain America 4 is too safe and predictable for my liking. Moore and Onah told me that Marvel's goal is to always make the best movie possible, but there's no sense of that being the case here. I've seen the story before in The Winter Soldier and FATWS. I've already watched a man in a suit of armor (aka Iron Man) try to deal with a gamma-irradiated, seemingly unstoppable monster (i.e., Bruce Banner's Hulk) in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. And, while its sub-two-hour runtime means Brave New World doesn't outstay its welcome, I've witnessed first-hand the problems that Marvel movies have when they move at a break-neck pace. Structurally, Cap 4 is as an uneven MCU film as I've watched for a while.

My verdict

After Marvel released exciting new trailers for Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts in November 2024, I suggested that they would help Marvel Phase 5 to go out with a bang rather than a whimper. Four months before the Multiverse Saga's latest phase ends, though, I may be proven wrong, because Brave New World isn't as great as it could have been.

I want to stress that it's not a completely bad movie. There are elements that are enjoyable, and its cast, particularly Mackie, Ford, and Lumbly, anchor it with outstanding performances. As a standalone adventure that's supposed to herald a brave new world for the MCU, though, it's not nearly as narratively or creatively fulfilling as I'd hoped. Thunderbolts needs to deliver, otherwise I'll have plenty of egg on my face in May.

Captain America: Brave New World launches in theaters worldwide on Friday, February 14.