Are we making fun of Trump or not? It seems President Ross (Harrison Ford) certainly has Trump’s terrible temper, and he seems a bit block-headed and easy to manipulate to boot … but the very fact that President Ross is willing to listen to anybody besides President Ross, a megalomaniac, or a dictator, and hasn’t the ability to lie or boast with each sentence uttered makes him a very poor Trump. And why should he be, really? Captain America: Brave New World was filmed when it looked a lot like Trump wouldn’t be President in 2025. God, I miss that time. Miss it so much.
Captain America is no longer a WWII super soldier; Captain America is now Sam Wilson (nee “Falcon”), a black guy who flies around a bunch. Don’t worry; he also knows how to use the shield. This comes in handy when Cap’n (Anthony Mackie) and the new Falcon (Danny Ramirez) are sent by the President to Mexico to do some stuff that could quite easily have been done by normal soldiers.
Where the plot comes to a frothing broil is when a bunch of Manchurian Candidate sleepers among White House staff and guests all zombify at once and try to assassinate the President. Is it that easy to manipulate minds? Normally, I’d say “no,” but after last November? Sure, this is the most believable plot of all time: once normal people now under mind-control behave against their better interests? I’ve just describes modern America. The problem is that in the movies, all it takes is a snap of the finger to inspire a hypnotic, self-detrimental state; in reality, it takes months of Fox News.
Luckily, Captain America is there to break up the plot against the Prez … but is the Prez being manipulated,
too? Uh oh. Of course, one of Sam’s best buds was in on the assassination plot, leading to the unintentionally hilarious: “Look at the optics of Captain America investigating a friend.” HAHAHAHAHA. We are so post-irony in modern America. It can be argued that not a single move that either Trump or Musk makes with regard to government isn’t either hypocritical or a huge conflict of interest. Apparently, America no longer cares about optics; heck, that’s how we got President Trump in the first place.
There is a relatable theme here about Captain America going head-to-head with the President. I wish it were not relatable, but it 100% is. I can’t name the last Republican President who acted more out of public interest than self-interest. That’s barely an opinion. And the answer is Eisenhower, maybe? Captain America is required to put America first, thankfully. Quite the dynamic, huh? Remember when Presidents on film were all “good?” Those days have passed. The title “Captain America: Brave New World” suggests the Aldous Huxley novel; I’m not seeing much of that in this film. What I am seeing is yet another Marvel adventure. Is it good? Well, it’s more good than bad, but I’ll not praise it beyond that point.
There once was an Avenger named Sam
Who imagined his promotion a sham
For he had to replace
Good’s epitomal face
And if you think such is easy, then DAMN!
Rated PG-13, 118 Minutes
Director: Julius Onah
Writer: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson
Genre: Our screwed future
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who prefer Anthony Mackie to Chris Evans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: If you’ve already had enough of Marvel, this won’t help
