Captain America: Brave New World

Ever since the 'comic book movie' came into being, we have seen many different franchises. Some franchises are connected with others, but at the end of the day, the number of franchises mostly created by Marvel Studios and DC Comics are everywhere. I'm not even sure which 'Captain America' film this is, but Marvel's "Captain America: Brave New World" is an interesting film even though it comprises a plethora of writers. 

Anthony Mackie returns as the high-flying hero Sam Wilson, who's officially taken up the mantle of Captain America. After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam and work buddy, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) finds themselves in the middle of an international incident. They must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red. Will they catch the foe responsible for bringing the world into a global war before time runs out?

Others to round out the cast are Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns, Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, Xosha Roquemore as Leila Taylor, Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph, Takehiro Hira as Prime Minister Ozaki, Harsh Nayyar as Prime Minister Kapur and William Mark McCullough as Comm. Dennis Dunphy.

This was directed with grit and intensity by Julius Onah ("The Girl Is in Trouble" '15, "The Cloverfield Paradox" '18, "Luce" '19) plus shorts and a music video. This filmmaker's approach to staging and pacing was effective as it was cohesive. He doesn't have a ton of experience behind the camera with feature films, but what he has is compelling and keeps us on the edge of our seats. It was effectively written by Malcolm Spellman, Peter Glanz, Julius Onah and Matthew Orton, based on the screen story by Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson and Rob Edwards, which is based on "Captain America" created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Even though the direction was cohesive in its delivery, the writing wasn't as connected as it could've been. None of these writers have a plethora of feature film experience which is probably why it was a bit disjointed in some areas. It certainly was better than I suspected it would be, especially bringing in a surprise character that I didn't see coming. Was it a wash? No; it was put together better that one would think considering there were four writers which is typically a no no in the script writing world. The visual effects predominantly designed by Digital Domain were seamless, but that should be no surprise. 

If you're into 'comic book films', and more to the point, the 'Captain America' franchise, wait through all the end credits since Captain America does return. I know, what a shock. If you like the film really big, it is presented in an IMAX format as well. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                      Rated: PG-13                                        118mins.