Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan.
There once was a time when seeing a Black American as the lead in a hundred-million-dollar film studio production was a pipe dream. However, over the years, that has slowly started to change. This is the second time around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first being with the late great Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, and now Anthony Mackie as Captain America. This recent upgrade in The Avengers is important to me as a critic and a genuine fan of the material. I feel I must say that to inform you of any bias in reading this review. This is a Black American (Anthony Mackie) playing a Black American superhero that directly ties to my lineage. So, to say this is important to me is an understatement. I still won’t allow this notion to negatively affect my assessment of this film, even though this is the genre I favor the most.
Being the 35th MCU film, it had huge expectations from fans across the world. Marvel Studios usually passes with flying colors when it comes to casting, acting, costume designs, and the overall tone of its films. That did not change here, with that being the first positive. The talent across the board delivers what’s necessary as far as their characters’ presence. The story is a different issue that will be addressed later. To begin, Anthony Mackie as the titular character, Captain America, steals the show as he should. His role held great importance in the film, and his character felt like the man in charge. There has been debate online for years over whether Anthony Mackie can lead a film, instead of just supporting. This title proves he can, for sure, do both, and can undeniably be a leading man in small and large film productions. In short, there’s no question that he can lead The Avengers. Other secondary characters in the film also show up and show out, too. Carl Lumbly & Danny Ramirez return as Isaiah Bradley and Joauin Torress. Their roles were highlighted as well, especially with Isaiah Bradley. It would be a treasure to see a Disney+ series exploring more of his origin story. Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder was an interesting twist of the character, and the only downside here is that his character should’ve had more screentime. And there’s no shock that every scene Harrison Ford played as President Thaddeus Ross was golden. This man should’ve been cast in the MCU years ago. RIP to William Hurt, who passed away and had Ford cast in his stead.
So when you have great characters participating in the action, it of course creates a more fulfilling experience, and that’s unquestionably the case here. The action in this film was next-level fun and excitement! Marvel continues to surprise us with creative ways of using kicks, punches, and powers on the big screen. There are zero negatives when it comes to the action in this film. Understandably, there were many fans online curious about how Captain America would fare in a fight with the Red Hulk, and the film doesn’t disappoint. It was only one of the best portions of the film by far. As a fan, I can’t wait to see more, if possible, down the line in the MCU. The aerial battles shot with the IMAX ratio were the perfect reason to visit the theater. It was a beautiful display of action, CGI, and adventure. The action will have you gasping during certain moments from all the creativity Sam Wilson (Captain America) uses with his Vibranium shield, wings, and trustee sidekick named Red Wings as well. They made the perfect team, proving they’re just as strong or stronger than many others in the Avengers.
I’ll say now that this film resides in the top 20 of the MCU films. Seeing I have a personal connection with the source material than other MCU titles, I would love for it to rank higher, but I have to be honest. The film does have its shortfalls. Reshoots and script changes are a necessary process in most large productions for success, but in this case, the many changes in the production created a ton of problems. First, being with the script. Even though I understood the plot from top to bottom, audience members who did not watch the Disney+ show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier or the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk may be a bit lost. While it’s an easy task for some to follow, other audience members shouldn’t have to do homework to understand a film. Having a 15-year-old film as a prerequisite is not the best approach to win over new fans. The subplot with Isaiah Bradley is phenomenal, but again, if you haven’t seen the Disney+ show, it may not hold much significance. Even the entire plot involving Samuel Sterns’ (Tim Blake Nelson) character, The Leader, should’ve never been introduced in the film. Other characters such as Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), or Batroc The Leaper (Georges St-Pierre) could’ve been further explored from past connecting story lines, but they were ignored for some reason. Samuel Sterns’ overall plan was a waste as well. Even if you’re not a comic expert on all of his powers and abilities, you’d be disappointed with his plot for revenge, given all the time he had.
The editing wasn’t the best either. Again, reshoots are normal, but it was blatantly obvious I this film. Nothing was smooth or seamless about it. You could easily tell that certain characters weren’t in the same room as the other talent they were supposedly communicating with. It didn’t work.
There were numerous amount of connecting threads that this film needed to accomplish or pull off to reach its full potential, but it couldn’t connect them all, unfortunately. This is still an enjoyable film, by far, with high rewatchability, and that can be from the action alone. The action is superb, and the majority of the characters are fantastic! There’s great chemistry between them, and the tone is more serious, rather than having a ton of jokes, which sometimes ruin the mood during certain scenes in a Marvel movie. If only this production had launched while CEO Bob Iger was still around, but it was around when Bob Chapek was in charge, who I feel is a large part of why this film wasn’t a great as it could’ve been.
Video Review:
Spoilers Review Part 1:
Spoilers Review Part 2:
Fresh Out Of The Theater Reaction:
Official Teaser:
Official Trailer:
First Look Featurette:
Official Clip ‘Rebuild The Avengers’:
Nellis Air Force Base:
Special Look Featurette:
