‘Captain America: Brave New World’ movie review: Harrison Ford thunders to the rescue Latest Entertainment News

A still from ‘Captain America: Brave New World’
| Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

We are in the midst of a Harrison Ford tsunami, with the 82-year-old superstar winning plaudits and a fresh batch of fans for his portrayal of the gruff psychotherapist with Parkinson’s in the series, Shrinking, and his final outing as archaeologist-adventurer in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Taking over from William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, Ford weighs in with his star power and grinning gravitas to rescue the film from the timid morass it finds itself in.

The fourth movie in the Captain America franchise and the 35th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) take on Captain America’s (Chris Evans) mantle and shield following the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016). There is an arms race brewing for the new super metal adamantium (even more powerful than the Wakandans’ vibranium) following the emergence of Celestial Island in the Indian Ocean.

General Ross, a hardliner against meta humans, is elected the President of the United States. He appears to have changed, trying for a rapprochement with his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler) as well as broker a peace among nations. The peace seems all set to shatter when the adamantium belonging to the Japanese is about to be stolen by the Serpent Society led by Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito).

Ross asks Wilson and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) to stop the gang and retrieve the adamantium, which they do in a kinetic burst of CGI. To thank them for a job well done, Ross invites Wilson and Torres to the White House where he is addressing foreign delegates for the peace treaty. Wilson invites his friend and mentor, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a Korean War veteran and super soldier, who was not treated particularly well by the government.

Things fall apart when a song is sung and some soldiers turn against the President. In a race against time, Wilson must find and stop Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), the sinister force playing all the pieces on the board, even as America and Japan are pushed to the brink of war.

Anyone looking for real-life parallels or subliminal political commentary be warned; they will be looking in vain as Captain America: Brave New World is neither brave nor new when it comes to the real world. Anthony Mackie is given a poorly written, one-dimensional hero character, which he tries his best to flesh out. Humour, which used to be a big part of the MCU, is noticeably lacking. The CGI has a slapdash, unimaginative quality to it.

It is only Ford as Ross, who makes Captain America: Brave New World worth watching. With his growly, quavery voice as well as twinkly, teary eyes, he ensures that we invest in the proceedings. The final battle where the Red Hulk lays waste the White House and surrounding areas is jolly good fun and manages to pull the film slightly above obscurity. The grim fate of the entertainment juggernaut that is the MCU conclusively proves Newton’s law of gravity — what goes up, must come down.

Captain America: Brave New World is currently running in theatres