This is the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU. At this point, if you haven't seen Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) or Captain America: Civil War (2016), as well as Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), then I highly doubt there is anything here that one would find interesting or compelling to any significant degree. All of those aforementioned films are also a thousand-times better than this one. If you haven't seen The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), the TV series, or Eternals (2021), there might be certain characters and iconography that one might not recognize or get any explanation. It might be helpful to have watched those 2021 titles, but I don't think they're necessary viewing. Strangely though, the one film that felt like it was necessary viewing is The Incredible Hulk (2008), which was the 2nd entry in the MCU, now nearly two decades ago.
Having not seen The Incredible Hulk myself, I felt as if I were missing something. I recognized that this film was highly referencing that 2008 flick. In fact, I felt like this film was more than referencing. I felt like this entry is more of a sequel of the story line in that 2008 narrative and not a sequel to the story line that technically ended in 2021. In that regard, this film feels like an extreme step back rather than an advancement. Instead of having "Captain America" in the title, this film felt as if the "Incredible Hulk" should have been in the opening words.
Anthony Mackie (Pain & Gain and The Hurt Locker) stars as Sam Wilson, a Black man and military soldier who served in the U.S. Air Force. He had several tours overseas. He was given a wing-suit, which allows him to fly. As such, he was known as "The Falcon." He's from Louisiana and has a family of fishermen, but he lived in Washington, DC when he met Steve Rogers aka Captain America. Sam and Steve became good friends. So much so, after the events in the 2019 blockbuster, Steve retired from being a super-hero and passed his super-hero identity to Sam, which not only included the uniform but also a circular shield, made of vibranium, a super-powered metal that can protect him from anything.
The 2021 series was about Sam reckoning with having the mantle and Steve's shield. The series was also about the identity of "Captain America" representing a huge responsibility and it was about whether Sam was good enough to fill that role. There was also a slight racial aspect because the origin of Steve Rogers' super powers was the fact that he was the subject of government experiments. Historically, African American men, like those in the Tuskegee Experiment, were the subjects of government experiments and it didn't end well for those Black men. This film touches upon that historical racism, but only in subtext, deep, deep subtext. It doesn't touch upon that racism in any impactful way.
Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Star Wars: The Force Awakens) co-stars as Thaddeus Ross, a former military general who is now the President of the United States. He was just elected and one of the big things that he has to address is the existence of Celestial Island. In case you missed Eternals, Celestial Island was created in the Indian Ocean at the end of that 2021 film. Since then, the U.S. and Japan have been studying it and have established a military presence, specifically a naval presence. They've discovered that Celestial Island is rich in a new metal known as adamantium, which is more valuable and possibly stronger than vibranium. When a terrorist steals Japan's sample of adamantium, and Japan suspects the Americans were behind it, President Ross has to work to stabilize the peace between the U.S. and Japan.
Ford takes over the role inhabited by the late William Hurt in the 2008 film. Obviously, Ford is a big-time celebrity and a legend in cinema, so giving him more of a role would be a natural impulse. The filmmakers wouldn't want to waste him or his talent, but he takes over the narrative in a way that practically diminishes Sam. It's not even clear if we're supposed to look at President Ross as a villain or victim. It could be seen as nuance or as waffling. The mark of a good villain or victim is how strongly one feels for them by the end, and I ended up feeling indifferent about Ross. We're supposed to be sympathetic toward him to some degree and conflicted due to his past, but because I never saw the 2008 film and barely remember his other appearances, I could've cared less about Ross.
Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick) plays Joaquin Torres, a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force who becomes Sam's sidekick. He actually takes on Sam's previous identity of "The Falcon." He gets Sam's former wing-suit, which means he can fly as well. He's a fun guy who will say funny things and helps in the tech support, but he's not the sidekick who should've been in this film. Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice and I, Tonya) has one scene, reprising his role of Bucky Barnes aka "The Winter Soldier." He was Sam's sidekick in the 2021 series. Bucky was also a significant character for the films about Steve Rogers. This film, like the others, and like its subtitle suggests, is about men and even women who have been guinea pigs for the federal government, which altered or ruined their lives. Bucky is a prime example of that. Yet, Bucky was basically shelved from this narrative.
Carl Lumbly (Supergirl and M.A.N.T.I.S.) reprises his role from the 2021 series as Isaiah Bradley, a Black man who's a veteran of the Korean War. He's also another soldier who was a government experiment. The same thing was done to him as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. If Bucky couldn't be Sam's sidekick, then Isaiah should have been and would've been the perfect substitute, if not a better one. Yet, the narrative sidelines him as well. Isaiah's character speaks more to the themes here, but instead this film wastes him.
In terms of action, the 2014 film is still the best. Because the nature of Steve Rogers' powers, it was a lot more hand-to-hand combat, which is action that always feels more personal. There is some of that here, but the sequences in Captain America: The Winter Soldier felt more surprising, more inventive and more dangerous. The action here feels more comical and silly, so not as thrilling or engaging. The latter action leans more on the tech and visual effects that come across as less dangerous. Yet, he doesn't have as much tech as Iron Man, so it can't go as over-the-top as some Iron Man fight scenes do.
Spoiler alert! The trailers have already revealed that Sam is going to fight the Red Hulk. This is reminiscent of the fight between Iron Man and the Green Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). That 2015 scene is referred to as "Hulk vs. Hulkbuster." After that scene, it's difficult to top any kind of all out fight sequence involving a Hulk of any color. As a result, the climactic battle here is going to be lesser. That could be dramatically interesting in order to build suspense as to how Sam is going to defeat or stop the Red Hulk, but the resolution felt so lame.
Rated PG-13 for violence, action and some strong language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 58 mins.
In theaters.