Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World premiered on Feb. 14, after much built-up anticipation from MCU fans. After an extremely disappointing run of movies including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, which have Rotten Tomato scores of 46% and 47% respectively, fans were eager to see Marvel get back to their old ways with a thrilling, grounded Captain America movie that would be able to recreate the major success Marvel found in its previous two iterations.

While it might be easiest to say that Brave New World was a complete disaster or a definite must-watch, I found the movie to be, for the most part, average.

In case you haven’t seen the movie, Captain America: Brave New World takes place two years after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, during an international political conflict over the newly discovered deposit of adamantium located within Celestial Island. Sam Wilson, also known as Captain America, and his trusted partner, Joaquin Torres, find themselves clashing with President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who is entangled in a conspiracy masterminded by Samuel Sterns. After it is revealed that Sterns is working to destroy President Ross’s reputation by transforming him into the Red Hulk, Wilson must fight to stop the Red Hulk and put an end to Sterns’s evil plans.

For starters, the story had some potential. I liked how the political side surrounding the adamantium treaty was worked into the story, similar to how the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. was used in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The detective work fans found so interesting in The Winter Soldier was also implemented briefly while Wilson and Torres are looking for The Leader, but this only lasted for a couple of scenes at most. The action in the movie was well made and I liked how new fight choreography was introduced using the Falcon’s wings.

On the negative side, I thought much the writing throughout the movie was cringy and uncomfortable. At times, it seemed like Wilson was giving an emotional speech in every scene, and his personality got old by the end of the movie. In my opinion, what made Wilson so likable in previous movies was how much more relatable he was than other characters. After all, before meeting Steve Rogers, Wilson was just a former Air Force pararescue specialist who was working as a counselor for other veterans with PTSD. I can understand that the writers were trying to have Wilson step into the Captain America role, but their attempts to turn Wilson into a replica of Steve Rogers felt forced.

Throughout the movie, I also noticed multiple moments where sequences of events seemed far-fetched. For example, I was struggling to understand how Wilson’s first thought when Isaiah Bradley attempted to murder the president was mind control, and the script did little to fill the gaps in the moment.

My favorite part of this movie was undoubtedly the Red Hulk, which brought precisely what I was looking for: an uncontrollable, destructive, rage monster. After Marvel completely ruined the Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, it was nice to see the spine-chilling violence of the Hulk return with the Red Hulk. In the little time that we saw the Red Hulk in his transformed state, my only real complaint was just that: how little we saw of him. Despite the fact that this movie felt more like the sequel to the 2008 Incredible Hulk, the Red Hulk is only introduced in the final moments of the movie.

As far as acting goes, I thought most of the cast put in strong performances. I would especially highlight Carly Lumbly, who returned as Bradley in the movie and provided the strongest emotional aspect of the story for me. Harrison Ford also did well to fill the shoes of William Hurt as President Ross after Hurt’s passing in 2022 and Ford has shown he still has his notable Han Solo swagger at the age of 82. I thought Anthony Mackie was solid enough as Captain America in this movie, especially in scenes with Danny Ramirez. The pair’s chemistry was evident and they worked well together as the crime-fighting duo of the movie. I would like to see Ramirez return to the MCU in future projects.

I have complaints about the new characters introduced in this movie, the biggest of which is Sabra, played by Shira Haas. Her character felt like an exhausting attempt to bring back Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow. I thought Haas’ acting was dry and boring, and the character as a whole added virtually nothing to the movie apart from distracting viewers during fight scenes when they stop to wonder how a 5 ‘2 woman can wipe the floor with squads of trained guards.

All in all, with some silver linings and plenty of forgettable moments, Captain America: Brave New World did little to convince Marvel fans that the MCU has returned to its heyday. I would recommend that Marvel fans watch the movie, but I doubt I will be going back to rewatch the film too soon.