Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to a close in just a few months. After a less-than-stellar start to Phase 5, Deadpool and Wolverine swooped in and gave us an extraordinary movie to enjoy, which seemed to signify that the MCU is back on the rise. Captain America: Brave New World continues this trend, and it feels like we’re back to getting consistently great movies again. Please don’t let social media fool you; this new movie is an excellent film, and I’m excited to see Sam Wilson’s Captain America continue in the MCU, whatever he may be doing.

While Brave New World is touted as a Captain America film, it’s much more in line with a spiritual sequel to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. This entire film is due to the events of that movie. While one or two plot threads from The Incredible Hulk were resolved in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, none of those seem to matter in the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead, Marvel decided to make good on the tease of a villain at the end of The Incredible Hulk and have Captain America deal with the fallout instead of a true Hulk sequel. This, by no means, has any bearing on whether Captain America: Brave New World is a good movie, but it’s not something that I’ll agree it was best to go this route.

By the movie’s start, Sam Wilson has been Captain America for 2-3 years and is doing a fantastic job from what can be seen by the audience. It’s worth noting Sam Wilson’s Captain America’s durability is nothing to laugh at. He hasn’t taken any serum to enhance his sense or abilities, yet he takes specific attacks like they’re nothing. He even gets stabbed multiple times in one fight and manages to come out on top with the weapons still in his body. Sam makes his run at Captain America unique by combining his shield with the wings he used while going under the Falcon moniker. This allows him to fight as he’s used to and pull off some sick moves that would be impossible without using those wings.

The story is a simple one. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has been elected president of the United States of America. In his first 100 days, he aims to have a peace treaty signed between multiple nations to govern the mining and disbursement of the adamantium formed on the island from the body of Tiamut the Communicator in Eternals. However, in the background, Ross’s efforts are being sabotaged, and war is on the horizon for control of the adamantium. Meanwhile, Ross is poisoned and turns into the Red Hulk as he struggles to control his temper. Through all this, Captain America must uncover who’s behind the attacks and why, all while attempting to keep peace between the nations.

Simple as the story may be, it works. It’s a great story and does a great job of showing how different this Captain America is versus the Captain America we’re used to, i.e., Steve Rogers. Where Steve had the serum to enhance his abilities, Sam doesn’t and relies on his intellect more than anything. It shows, too, as Sam catches on to many things before a lot of other “resourceful” staff and agency members. Even when he seems outmatched, he finds a way to turn the battle in his favor, such as when Sidewinder ambushes him, and especially when fighting the Red Hulk.

Captain America: Brave New World did many things right, one of which is the casting. Most people can agree that Anthony Mackie does an outstanding job as Captain America. Those who don’t never give a straight, factual answer as to why he’s not good in the role, so there is not much credence there. But this movie does a great job of showing how Sam handles the mantle of being Captain America. He doesn’t have any super soldier serum, but his intellect is at its peak, and he always shows why he deserves the mantle of Captain America. Taking over the late William Hurt’s role as Thaddeus Ross, Harrison Ford debuted in his first-ever MCU film and did a phenomenal job. The tension was always there, and he commanded respect every time he was shown. Seeing him do some of Hulk’s signature moves, such as the thunderclap, was some of the most hype moments I’ve experienced. I know this isn’t the end of the Red Hulk, and I’m hoping it’ll be with the Hulk in a proper sequel next time.

Giancarlo Esposito played Sidewinder, leader of SERPENT – the MCU’s take on the Serpent Society. Giancarlo was perhaps my favorite role in the entire movie. His aura was legendary, and I’m most excited to see his character return in the future. Shira Haas plays the character of Ruth Bat-Seraph. This character in the comics is an Israeli superheroine named Sabra. Sabra was initially written into the movie, but due to the conflict of the Israel-Hamas war, the appearance of Sabra was scrapped, and Ruth was rewritten to be a former Black Widow. Her character was okay; it had nothing to do with the actress, but the character seemed bland except for a few well-timed lines. There was a time in the movie when you could see her wearing a costume similar to her comic counterpart, but it was covered with a jacket. I thought that was a pretty cool easter egg.

Danny Ramirez returns as Joaquin Torres, last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This time, Joaquin steps up and takes over as the Falcon. Some found his character annoying, but I didn’t mind his character. He’s an outspoken, cocky kid, but he still knows when to show respect. He makes mistakes like all heroes and learns a lesson the hard way, but what he gains, in turn, makes up for all the pain endured. Also returning from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley – the first black super soldier. Isaiah becomes a pawn in Stern’s vendetta against Ross, and it’s painful to see. For those who don’t know, Isaiah was wrongfully imprisoned and experimented on for 30 years by the U.S. government. Watching him go through it all over again was heartbreaking and a subtle reminder of the injustice that’s alive in America, even in 2025.

Tim Blake Nelson returns as Dr. Samuel Stern from The Incredible Hulk. At the end of that film, Dr. Stern accidentally cross-contaminated Bruce’s gamma blood with his own, giving him superhuman intelligence. In the comics, he calls himself The Leader; however, throughout Captain America: Brave New World, he never refers to himself as anyone other than Samuel Sterns, so who knows if that will come about in the future? Dr. Sterns was the mastermind behind the sabotage of Ross’s treaty, having a vendetta against Ross due to his imprisonment for many years, among other things. Tim Blake Nelson did a good job in the role. He was extremely creepy on many occasions, which worked in the atmosphere of this political thriller. My big issue, which has nothing to do with the actor, is his appearance in the film. He looks absolutely disgusting, and it was tough to look at him during his scenes. Instead of an oversized head, usually very round or enlarged but smooth and shiny, the MCU version has a mutated brain, and Sterns is green with a mutated left eye. I get wanting to ground some elements in realism, but I feel like deciding to do that when there’s a red hulk in the movie cancels out the realism. Again, this is nothing against the actor, but it was not even close to being executed correctly and left a bad taste in my mouth.

While that was a very low point in the movie, there were much higher highs throughout the duration. I enjoyed most of the fight scenes. They weren’t on the same level as the previous Captain America films, like Winter Soldier or Civil War. The ground fights can sometimes come off as clunky, but this is just a regular man with professional military training, not a super soldier like Steve was. The air fights are stellar and are easily in the top scenes for post-Avengers: Endgame movies. Ground or air, there are enough fights to satisfy any Captain America fan.

I truly enjoyed this film. The political thriller tone was consistent throughout the movie, the action was constant, and the story was much more enjoyable than I expected. No, it’s not on the same level as Captain America: Winter Soldier, and that’s okay. The film isn’t meant to invoke feelings of nostalgia for the glory days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Brave New World serves to not only assist in moving the overarching story of the MCU forward towards the threat of the multiverse but also provide the gateway for mutants, namely the X-Men, being introduced to the MCU. It does what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well. I knew the movie would be a good one from the moment I saw the first trailer, and to be right about it feels gratifying.

There will be a lot of people on the internet and social media who will say that Captain America: Brave New World is not a good movie. But they’re wrong. If you go into the film and watch it for what it is instead of longing for the “good old days,” I promise you’ll enjoy it. You may not enjoy it as much as some of the older movies, and again, that’s fine. But that doesn’t make it a bad movie for one second. Decide for yourself whether you think the film is good or bad. It’s a great one in my eyes, and I’m ready to see Sam lead the Avengers as Captain America when they go up against the threat of Dr. Doom in Avengers: Doomsday next year. You better believe I expect him to be just as great as he was in Brave New World. Improvement is always the goal, and the momentum is too great for him to slow down.