President Hulk: How Timely

The black Captain America’s first cinematic outing sees him going to toe-to-toe with a deep state conspiracy that culminates in him fighting a corrupt US President…who has devolved into a raging, feral hulk…if that doesn’t speak volumes, I don’t know what does. That said, the movie doesn’t really reinvent the wheel in terms of storytelling. It’s fairly straightforward and doesn’t really seem interested in the more challenging ideas that are possible with this setup. The adversarial racial politics of a black man becoming Captain America, which were front and center in Falcon & The Winter Soldier, are mostly pushed to the side. Instead, they aim to emphasize the Everyman/Underdog struggles of an ordinary man thrust into the life of a supersoldier…without having any powers of his own. That in and of itself does make for some compelling character work with the Sam Wilson character as he grapples with the burden of Captain America’s legacy and his own limitations as a human in a world of Gods & Monsters. Anthony Mackie does a commendable job of exemplifying these attributes with a swaggering charm and a wide spectrum of emotional depth, making for what will hopefully be the start of a new era of Captain America. 

The film mostly, if sometimes clumsily, achieves the Herculean and thankless role of tying up loose ends from number of seemingly forgotten MCU plot threads….Threads including the collateral damage from the events of The Incredible Hulk, The Sokovia Accords from Captain America: Civil War and even Tiamut’s Emergence in Eternals. It even introduces some new story elements to the ever-expanding supermythology of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. An arms race over the discovery of a new cosmic supermetal prompts intense geopolitics between the Nations of the world (and even cleverly ties into the themes of western imperialism from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). At the center of it all is a former warmongering General in the role of US President: Tenured Hulk villain Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Which brings me to what I think is the true strength of this film: Harrison Ford as President Ross/The Red Hulk. They took a rather one-note villain who’s appeared a few times (originally played by the late William Hurt), and delivered an ALMOST sympathetic portrait of a broken man seeking redemption. The sins of his past come back to haunt him, ultimately transforming him into the very thing he once hated most: The Hulk. The karmic justice on display as he mutates into a hulking rage monster and literally tears down The White House is palpable and thrilling, and it’s all anchored in an amazing performance by Harrison Ford. His legendary combo of gruff intensity and dry wit make for a wonderful new addition to the pantheon of great Marvel villains. I think I can safely rank him up there with the likes of Thanos, Green Goblin, Loki and The Mandarin (the Wenwu version of course). The final scene with him is heartwarming as he finally reconciles with his estranged daughter, prompting a touching cameo by Liv Tyler. His finale also brims with thematic irony as he is stripped of his presidential rank and allows himself to be locked away in the very super-prison he once tried to force upon the original Captain America. It’s a shame such a fantastic story arc couldn’t have included the Bruce Banner character, since much of Ross’ sins involved his Captain Ahab-esque hunt for The Hulk…but alas. 

Tim Blake Nelson is gruesome and creepy as the walking reminder of Ross’ war crimes coming back for retribution…if a little overshadowed by the sheer gravity of Harrison Ford’s performance. Carl Lumbly is great as the tragic forgotten supersoldier: The Original Black Captain America who got disavowed and wrongfully imprisoned by the US government. He once again finds himself at the mercy of the Deep State, prompting the new Captain America to take action in defense of his friend. Even Giancarlo Esposito pops up on occasion to be sufficiently menacing as terrorist-for-hire Sidewinder, making for a good b plot villain with a pretty interesting dynamic with the hero (even if he is pretty underused). I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more of in the future as a recurring nemesis for the new Captain America. 

So while Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t quite live up to the grandeur and weight of that subtitle, or quite try to achieve the sociopolitical heft of predecessors like Winter Soldier or Civil War…it offers a more intimate, thrilling and reasonably epic tale of intrigue, legacy and redemption, all anchored in the fantastic performance of its leads.