With its first few Captain America films, Marvel Studios sold audiences on the idea that its superhero movies could be more than live-action cartoons. By borrowing from other genres, they could become gritty, character-focused thrillers like The Winter Soldier or splashy crossover events like Civil War. And the tonal shifts between each feature made it feel like the first Avenger was evolving in tandem with the larger MCUâs ongoing story.
That evolution came to a climax with Avengers: Endgame, which sent Chris Evansâ Steve Rogers off into the sunset to stunning box-office effect. The movie also set the stage for Anthony Mackieâs Sam Wilson to take up the Captain America mantle like in Marvelâs comics. But narratively, it left the MCU in an awkward, Avengers-less state that Marvel has struggled to pull the franchise out of.Â
Marvel clearly wants director Julius Onahâs Captain America: Brave New World to be a palate cleanser â one that remembers and builds on the events of Marvelâs other recent features. The film does a serviceable job of establishing a new status quo, but it struggles to articulate how this Captain America is different from his predecessor. And whi …
