Captain America: Brave New World
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: February 14, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 56 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
25
Negative:
17
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 12, 2025
Granted, the pleasures offered in “Captain America: Brave New World” are neither grand nor groundbreaking, but they’re consistent and earned. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonFeb 12, 2025
Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t have such lofty ambitions — its makers probably just thought it was a cool title — but it is surprisingly engaging, primarily because of the people in ‘t. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerFeb 12, 2025
If this sounds a bit complicated, heavy on exposition, and jumbled, well, that’s because it is. It’s never a great sign when a screenplay has five credited writers, as Brave New World does...Still, Brave New World works significantly better than plenty of other Marvel films. Read full review
75
The Daily BeastNick SchagerFeb 12, 2025
[Ford’s] presence—along with a winning turn from Anthony Mackie as the patriotic title character—makes this adventure a sturdy return to franchise form. Read full review
75
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerFeb 12, 2025
Brave New World drags in places, losing momentum thanks to the plot’s inability to build up any real suspense over what’s going on... However, much of the action features nice clean direction, and while the humor is sparse, supporting cast members Danny Ramirez and Shira Haas get some fun moments. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithFeb 13, 2025
If “Brave New World” isn’t an event film, at least it’s competently executed, without resorting to played-out gimmickry such as skipping across the multiverse. And it gives the audience plenty of analogues for real-world problems. Read full review
70
LooperDominic GriffinFeb 12, 2025
If nothing else, it's a true feat that a movie with this many writers and this tangled an editing process ultimately wound up as solid as it did. Yeah, a lot of the action set pieces are inconsistent and choppy. Much of the CG work is reliably cheap-looking and rushed. But in the end, they pulled together what could have been an embarrassing disaster into something entertaining and, at times anyway, inspired.  Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 12, 2025
It’s superhero meatloaf and potatoes served with just enough competence and dash not to feel like reheated leftovers. Read full review
67
Original-CinJim SlotekFeb 13, 2025
As a turn-your-brain-off, tech-heavy action movie, Captain America: Brave New World succeeds well enough. As a Marvel movie that connects with other Marvel movies in any meaningful way, or charts a new direction (other than that vague suggestion of a “New Avengers”), it’s little more than a space-filler. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFeb 12, 2025
Even for its flaws, Captain America: Brave New World feels like the series may be finding its soul again. Read full review
65
PolygonTasha RobinsonFeb 12, 2025
As a Captain America movie, Brave New World is batting strongly below average. The filmmakers try to dodge the political commentary that’s always marked the MCU’s Captain America movies, and focus on personal stakes instead, but those plotlines don’t land with any force or focus. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottFeb 18, 2025
Still, built as it is around big, dazzling action sequences and a terrific cast — which in addition to the charismatic Mackie includes Harrison Ford and Tim Blake Nelson — “Brave New World” still manages to scratch the “Avengers” itch. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittFeb 13, 2025
The fact that Mackie puts the thing on his own mighty shoulders (with some help from talented castmates) and keeps it watchable is a minor miracle. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesDominic BaezFeb 12, 2025
In the end, Captain America: Brave New World is enjoyable enough for what it is: a proper introduction of Sam as Captain America. Unfortunately, it’s a rather bumpy flight along the way. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshFeb 14, 2025
Don’t sweat the small stuff (or even the Marvel brand) and Captain America: Brave New World proves itself to be a decent political thriller with something culturally resonant to say that exceeds mere comic book particulars. Read full review
60
Total FilmBradley RussellFeb 12, 2025
Anthony Mackie's Captain America earns his Stars and Stripes in this uneven, un-MCU thriller. Sam Wilson and an always-excellent Harrison Ford drag Brave New World into unfamiliar narrative territory before it eventually succumbs to familiar Marvel failings. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraFeb 12, 2025
Pacy and punchy, this is a promising first official outing for the new Captain America, even if some awkward and inconsistent moments hold it back from greatness. Read full review
55
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeFeb 12, 2025
The MCU train is back up and running, but this latest entry sees it jerking in fits and starts as it leaves the station. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 18, 2025
Captain America: Brave New World, the fourth title to co-opt the “Captain America” name and the first to star Anthony Mackie in the role, is another example of how badly unmoored the MCU has become in an era of unfamiliar heroes and stalled storylines. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 12, 2025
The movie wouldn’t feel human at all, really, if not for the convincing emotion bond established between Mackie and Carl Lumbly as Isaiah. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushMatt SingerFeb 12, 2025
Like I said: Inconsistent. Read full review
50
IGNTom JorgensenFeb 12, 2025
Captain America: Brave New World feels neither brave, nor all that new. Read full review
50
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiFeb 12, 2025
Rather than adding something fresh and new to give us a reason to reinvest in this universe, the end result is as by-the-numbers as it gets. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 12, 2025
It’s surprising how much you miss the star power of the original Avengers bunch. Or maybe it’s not surprising. Whatever the case, watching this movie too often feels like you suspect there’s a better party going on next door, but you can’t get in. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJake ColeFeb 12, 2025
As the film explodes into numerous subplots that rapidly move far apart from one another, it necessitates constant leaps between characters and locations that only further disrupt the narrative flow of the proceedings. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerFeb 12, 2025
Brave New World doesn’t even seem sure about what it’s selling—just that it has to get a movie-shaped something-or-other to market. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 12, 2025
It’s fitting enough that “Brave New World” is a film about (and malformed by) the pressures of restoring a diminished brand. It’s even more fitting that it’s also a film about the futility of trying to embody an ideal that the world has outgrown. Sam Wilson might find a way to step out of Steve Rogers’ shadow, but there’s still no indication that the MCU ever will. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeFeb 19, 2025
It’s a humourless drag of a picture, overreliant on clunky exposition and naive geopolitical posturing. Plus it’s ugly, with a greasy murkiness that looks as though the lens was smeared with lard. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredChristian BoneFeb 14, 2025
A committed Anthony Mackie and a game Harrison Ford deserve better than this sadly superficial excuse for a 'Captain America' film whose troubled production is written all over its face. Read full review
40
NMEJames MottramFeb 13, 2025
A few fights enliven proceedings, including one on a road lined with cherry blossom trees. But this is largely dull and disappointing. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 12, 2025
A thrill-free thriller. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 12, 2025
Unfortunately, the film often feels as unremarkable as its protagonists, evincing little of the impressive spectacle or snarky wit of Marvel’s best installments. Read full review
40
Time OutPhil de SemlyenFeb 12, 2025
‘Please don’t be boring,’ Nelson’s villain beseeches Wilson in a clutch moment. Who wants to tell him? Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 12, 2025
Brave it might be, but there’s nothing all that “new” about the world revealed in this latest tired and uninspired dollop of content from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read full review
40
The IndependentAdam WhiteFeb 12, 2025
The latest Marvel blockbuster – starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford – has drawn backlash from all political corners. But a film this bland and flavourless doesn’t warrant such handwringing. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckFeb 12, 2025
Unfortunately, Captain America: Brave New World proves a lackluster Marvel entry that feels as if its complicated storyline has been painstakingly worked out without a shred of inspiration. Read full review
40
ColliderAidan KelleyFeb 12, 2025
Suffice it to say, Captain America: Brave New World is not the 2025 start that Marvel fans may be hoping for, with more pressure now being put on Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. If anything, the film has more in common with Sony's disastrous attempts to make its own Marvel movies than it does with the prior entries that turned the MCU into what it is today. Read full review
40
Rolling StoneDavid FearFeb 12, 2025
It’s as if someone had gently ladled a teaspoon of artificial political-thriller flavor over a substandard Marvel movie, being oh-so-careful as to not upset corporate overlords or the status quo. A better title might have been Captain America: Business as Usual. Read full review
40
Screen RantMolly FreemanFeb 12, 2025
Captain America: Brave New World lacks the entertainment of an MCU movie, despite compelling performances from Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford. Read full review
38
Paste MagazineRory DohertyFeb 13, 2025
Directed by Julius Onah, Brave New World is as visually lifeless as the most lifeless MCU thrillers, marred by needless overcutting, flimsy digital backdrops and stilted composition; thematically, it says nothing confidently and even less coherently. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonFeb 12, 2025
While Lumbly brings a refreshing amount of Black anger and cynicism to his performance, Mackie is stuck in a kumbaya mode designed to not offend white viewers. It may be a brave new world, but it’s the same old story. Read full review
38
ObserverDylan RothFeb 12, 2025
Not particularly good or bad, it is “another Marvel movie” — certainly not the cure to what’s been ailing the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Endgame. Read full review
37
Washington PostTy BurrFeb 12, 2025
If you’ve been committed to the MCU over all these years and iterations, you may find the new movie an acceptable entry in a never-ending saga. I say it’s spinach, and I say the hell with it. Read full review
30
Film ThreatAlan NgFeb 14, 2025
The problem with Brave New World falls squarely on the writing and the story. Read full review
30
The Irish TimesBrandon YuFeb 13, 2025
With its cheap action and garish visuals, it’s then that we enter yet another genre altogether: action-figure commercial. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBrandon YuFeb 12, 2025
The writing is stiff and the ensemble is mostly charmless, while the visuals are slapdash. Read full review
30
Vanity FairRichard LawsonFeb 12, 2025
Brave New World is a bunch of characters wandering around in search of meaning, the Marvel machine creaking loudly as it tries to whip up some grand mythos around these B-tier figures. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 12, 2025
The notion of the self-doubting hero is nothing new. Still, it might have been interesting to pursue, had it been handled here with anything resembling wit, or intelligence, or depth. Read full review
30
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiFeb 12, 2025
There’s nothing brave about this movie. There’s nothing new either. And sure, it technically takes place in the world, but one out of three is bad. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 14, 2025
There isn’t a laugh or light moment in this unwieldy beast of a movie. As a political allegory, it doesn’t play. As Marvel action pic, it’s sorely lacking. At least they spared no expense in the cherry blossoms dept. Read full review
25
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiFeb 12, 2025
If you thought Marvel Studios was committed to getting back on track by making fewer movies of higher quality, wait till you see Captain America: Brave New World...The situation over there is so dire, they’ve brought back a plotline from “Eternals.” “Eternals”! Read full review
25
The Associated PressMark KennedyFeb 12, 2025
Director Julius Onah does well with the action but fumbles the quieter moments and supervises editing that’s the opposite of crisp, not helped by script writers who ape military language — “Negative, the package is the priority” — and grandiose sentiment — “The country is lost.” Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsFeb 12, 2025
This movie is anything but brave. It is the most feckless, spineless blockbuster of the last decade. Read full review
20
The AtlanticDavid SimsFeb 14, 2025
Any subversive edges have been sanded off this script, which is credited to five people. It doesn’t explore the racial underpinnings of Wilson’s budding relationship with the government, despite its mistreatment of the prior Black Captain America, nor does it reckon with the president’s desire to use him as a patriotic prop. Read full review
20
The TimesKevin MaherFeb 12, 2025
It’s so inane and confused, in fact, that it suggests there are no storytelling iterations left for the Marvel Cinematic Universe other than, perhaps, a wounded retreat into the overloaded one-joke irony of the Deadpool flicks. Read full review
9
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 13, 2025
This is a movie of pussyfooting and sidestepping, unconcerned with race, history, heroism or really any idea at all beyond “Hulk smash.” Read full review
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