Captain America: Brave New World finally lands in cinemas this Friday following various release date delays, and it has landed seriously mixed first reactions which remains rare for Marvel movies.
The new MCU outing marks Anthony Mackie's first solo movie as Captain America after Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw him officially take up the shield.
It sees him caught in the middle of an international incident involving the newly-elected US President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford). Before it's too late, Sam must uncover the deadly plot and the true mastermind of it all.
Following its world premiere last night in the US, those lucky few to have already seen Captain America: Brave New World have taken to social media to share their first reactions.
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"Captain America: Brave New World is the most meh MCU film to date. Both feels too small in scope and tries to do far too much world-building," said Nerdist's Lee Travis, with The Wrap's William Bibbiani calling it "pretty darn bad".
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"Looks like Marvel got that Netflix memo about characters having to say everything they do so an inattentive audience can keep up. Extreme Disney+ series energy," said Inverse's Hoai-Tran Bui.
Critic Mike Ryan felt that the movie "seems to only exist to wrap up loose ends to The Incredible Hulk and Eternals", adding: "In doing so the plot is about as convoluted and dull as that all sounds. This should have been called Captain America: Loose Ends."
Other first reactions called Captain America: Brave New World "a huge disappointment", "average" and "ultimately a little pointless", but it wasn't all bad news for the MCU movie with some positive responses.
"It does what it should and is entertaining blockbuster action. Anthony Mackie kicks ass as Captain America. Loved it," wrote Variety's Jazz Tangcay, with Fandango's Erik Davis adding that it's "a more ground-level MCU film that's heavy on action and full of political intrigue".
Related: Anthony Mackie responds to Chris Evans' MCU return
Ahead of its release, it was confirmed that Captain America: Brave New World is one of the shortest-ever MCU movies, clocking in at 118 minutes or just shy of two hours' long, if you prefer.
While Chris Evans won't be seen in the new movie, there has been conflicting reports about whether we'll see him as Cap alongside Anthony Mackie in Avengers: Doomsday.
"I talked to Chris a few weeks ago and it wasn't on the table then. At least, he didn't tell me it was on the table, because I asked him," Mackie explained last month in response to the rumours from December 2024.
"I was like, 'You know, they said they're bringing everyone back for the movie. Are you coming back?' He goes, 'Oh, you know, I'm happily retired'."
Captain America: Brave New World is released in cinemas on February 14.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
