On Screen or On Stream? Captain America: Brave New World

It’s hard when you have big shoes to fill, but it’s harder when those are super soldier combat boots. Sam Wilson is no Steve Rogers. President Ross said it, and we all know it. However, Sam’s ascent to the title (if I may call it that) is one that can only be inspiring. While we may question how a normal skilled soldier can battle such an OP beast as the Red Hulk, it’s not his first rodeo. He was just like Hawkeye—an Avenger without superpowers but with superior skills.

The film makes you feel like you’re watching a grounded political action movie, only with a bit of sci-fi tossed in, especially on the villain side of things. The Leader and Red Hulk’s conflict, however, seems to shift focus from Captain America to the Hulk franchise. This makes it a shared sequel for both Norton’s *Hulk* and the Disney+ series *Captain America and the Winter Soldier*.

I’m standing by what I said in the Marvel Philippines promo video. It is heart-wrenching, but only if the viewer understands how pressure feels for Sam Wilson and how repentance feels for President Ross. Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford played their roles really well here, and that made me feel how their characters struggled with their present and past, respectively. One downside I have to be honest about is how I felt underwhelmed by The Leader. He didn’t feel as sinister or totally in control as Zemo or other plotting villains. So he has a plan to turn the president into a Hulk, which he always hated, and then what? Drive him back into the arms of his daughter who has always been empathetic about gamma ray-poisoned beasts of rage—that’s the plan?

I know there are deeper themes, but it just felt like there could have been a smarter way to avenge oneself for someone as intelligent as The Leader. One more thing that felt like an afterthought more than a plot device is the introduction of the Serpent Society. Giancarlo Esposito is such a talented character actor that I am left wishing for a more complicated arc for him.

For my final verdict: On screen or on stream? Should you wait to watch it on streaming platforms? No. Watch it on screen. Although the hyper bokeh’d green screen, especially at the end of the movie, feels out of place in IMAX, just the action sequence with the brainwashed pilots over the celestial island is enough to warrant paying for a movie ticket. It still has that Marvel movie charm that makes viewers hoot and gasp and marvel (pun intended) at the sheer bravery of the heroes when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.