I just watched CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD for the second time, as producer Kevin Feige and director Julius Onah came to my class at USC for a q&a following the screening… and you know what? I enjoyed it much more this go around.
Somehow, knowing how all the pieces fit and who was responsible for what drew me in rather than putting me off. The first time around I felt as if I had started watching a serial with Chapter 2, robbing me of important exposition.
The not-so-secret weapon this CAPTAIN AMERICA has going for it is Harrison Ford as President of the United States. We’re told that as a military commander he was cold and ruthless. That’s what caused a rift between him and his daughter (Liv Tyler). His new outlook has inspired him to champion a world peace treaty, the future of which is now jeopardized by strange goings-on controlled by a devilish criminal mastermind. His identity is kept secret until the climax of the picture, although there are clues planted throughout the narrative.
That climax is highlighted by a turn of events that I dare not spoil, even though the cat has apparently been let out of the bag. Let’s just say that in my second screening recognized the hints of what’s to come which a first-time audience might not value.
Kevin Feige, who runs Marvel Entertainment, told my class that Ford’s rep actually approached the studio instead of the other way around. He wanted to play in the Marvel universe. Director Onah recounted that being the professional he is, Ford not only welcomed direction but participated in a rare week-and-a-half rehearsal period with his costars before filming commenced.
Anthony Mackie feels right at home wielding the Captain’s protective shield and metallic wings, and is a perfect role model for his youthful sidekick, Joaquin Torres, engagingly brought to life by Danny Ramirez. The casting of Shira Haas (whose breakthrough came on the cable series Unorthodox) as the President’s security chief is offbeat but inspired, and the same is true for Giancarlo Esposito, who is thoroughly intimidating as the movie’s most visible bad guy, Sidewinder.
Five writers are credited for the story and screenplay, which is perhaps why I found the film too dense to fully decipher the first time around. Full transparency, I never read the Marvel comics so I understand that devotees are going to have their own opinons. But going from finish to start, the Big Reveal toward the end is positively insane—a jaw-dropper if there ever was one, involving the world’s best-loved movie star. Ford’s deeply committed performance gives weight and credibility to a fantastic yarn that represents Marvel at its best. Don’t believe the nay-sayers out there: Brave New World is a 21st century Tall Tale, and if it takes two viewings to take it all in, so be it.
