It’s clear Disney+ has diluted the filmmaking quality of Marvel’s theatrical releases, manifesting in a shockingly lackluster Captain America: Brave New World. Anthony Mackie does a serviceable job shouldering the moral burden of the shield and it’s good to (finally!) have the gaping narrative whole of the ocean Celestial addressed after Eternals. Harrison Ford as Red Hulk is kind of fun (albeit unintentionally silly) and a couple action sequences are decent.
But glaringly across the board, the above and below-the-line elements of this film are simply bad. VFX? OK in one scene, then painful green screen the next. Hand-to-hand combat? Slow and clunky. The score? Random genre mashup. You can tell five screenwriters were involved in rewrites/reshoots given the plot illogic and lazy humor. Levity is supposed to be an MCU strength, but here it felt so contrived and forced. And don’t get me started on the villain.
All in all, the production of this film is not worthy of the big screen. They should have dropped it on Disney+ or invested more money and resources into making it better for the theatrical experience. This is an autopilot production.
With the Infinity Saga, Marvel proved they can deliver elite action, stunning CGI, cohesive storytelling, and emotional impact. WHERE HAS THAT GONE?
Brave New World is supposed to set up the next era for The Avengers, but it does so in underwhelming, disappointing, and confusing fashion.
