Can you believe it’s taken five whole years for Anthony Mackie‘s Sam Wilson to take up the Captain America mantle on the big screen? 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier mini-series gave fans a taste of Sam wielding the famous star shield, and whilst that was a great introduction to the new star-spangled man with a plan, the character (and the actor) were really meant to be seen on the silver screen.

Captain America: Brave New World attempts to spin a yarn worthy of the character, albeit with mixed results. At the outset, the film finds Sam still fresh in his new role as Cap, as he investigates a conspiracy to assassinate the new US President ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross (Harrison Ford). This ultimately leads him to discover a shocking secret that turns everything on its head and threatens to plunge the world into a new world war. On paper, it’s a perfect Captain America adventure. In execution though, it’s not quite up to the standard of previous efforts like The Winter Soldier or Civil War.

As a film in its own right, Brave New World that very much rests on its laurels, remixing whole plot threads and character beats from previous Captain America films with dangling plot threads from other MCU efforts (notably 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and 2021’s Eternals). The film treads a fine line between compelling story and box-ticking fan-service, but too often stumbles over said-line in favour of the latter. Whole scenes are dedicated to pure exposition that simply serves to recap previous movies, which results in too much time wasting as the writers play catch-up instead of advancing the story. It’s also incredibly overstuffed and lacks a consistent identity, which is perhaps not the best way to showcase your franchise’s new leading man.

Perhaps the biggest sin of the film is how surprisingly low-key it feels, despite the looming threat of war throughout. The main villain is interesting on paper, but upon reveal, their motivation and diabolical plan amounts to very little in terms of stakes (and the less we say about the visual downgrade from comic-to-live action, the better). The action scenes are short and sparse too, and whilst the aerial dogfight over the Indian Ocean livens up proceedings, even then it doesn’t quite excite in the same way previous MCU film’s action sequences have. It also doesn’t help that the film’s big climax has been the focal point of the marketing for months now (and thus spoiled), as the film seems to be under the impression that this is a big surprise reveal. The end result is a dramatically flat final slugfest that ends way too quickly.

Not at fault in any shape or form are the cast, who are all excellent despite the material. Anthony Mackie is a charismatic leading man who continues to make Sam such a compelling character, whilst Harrison Ford imbues the character of Ross with a world-weary gravitas and vulnerability that is incredibly endearing, despite the character’s antagonistic nature. Co-star Danny Ramirez proves a bonafide foil for Sam as Joaquin Torres (A.K.A the new Falcon), a loveable rookie character who is impossible not to root for, whilst the superb Carl Lumbly imbues the entire film with much of its heart and soul as Sam’s mentor figure Isaiah Bradley.

The film also looks great on the IMAX screen, with over 30-minutes of footage available in IMAX’s exclusive Expanded Aspect Ratio (EAR), which gives fans up to 26% more picture than non-IMAX cinemas. The unprecedented detail and clarity, combined with the superb sound mix, creates a truly immersive experience, especially in the thrilling action sequences in the film’s third act.

All in all, Captain America: Brave New World is muddled but makes for a perfectly respectable watch, even if at times it does a disservice to its superb cast through underwhelming plot twists and uninspired action. What’s especially apparent throughout is Anthony Mackie effortless leading man quality, even when working with such lacking material, which gives us fans hope for the future of the character moving forward.

Captain America: Brave New World is out now in cinemas and IMAX