| Worth seeing: | if you're a die-hard Marvel fan, who's up to date with the entire Marvel comics back-catalogue of film and TV shows - and don't require a coherent plot to run alongside the action and effects |
| Director: | Julius Onah |
| Featuring: | Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Harrison Ford, Shira Haas, Tim Blake Nelson, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Harsh Nayyar, Liv Tyler, Sebastian Stan, Takehiro Hira, William Mark McCullough |
| Length: | 118 minutes |
| Certificate: | 12A |
| Country: | US |
| Released: | 14th February 2025 |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
After Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and his sidekick, the Falcon (Danny Ramirez) retrieve a consignment of the valuable metal adamantium that was destined to be sold to a mysterious – but likely evil – buyer, they’re invited to an event at the White House, where the newly elected President Ross (Harrison Ford) is giving a presentation on the importance of America controlling this substance, which has recently been discovered on the newly emerged Celestial Island.
Keep up.
Captain America – under his civilian identity of Sam Wilson – no, not Steve Rogers, keep up – also invites his mentor, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to the White House, despite his distrust of authority, having been mistreated in prison for three decades. Before his presentation, President Ross takes Sam aside and asks him to restart the disbanded superhero gang The Avengers, but the suggestion is thrown up in the air when – as Ross is addressing the guests – Isaiah starts up and starts shooting him.
Soon, Isaiah is back in custody, the idea of reforming the Avengers is a distant memory and Captain America and the Falcon set out to find out who is pulling the strings in a plot to steal adamantium, kill the president and frame Isaiah.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
From the moment that we find out that the most valuable – and dangerous – element in the universe seems to be named after a 1980s British new wave singer, it’s hard to take this at all seriously. Most viewers will neither know – nor care – that adamantium made its first appearance in the Marvel comics a decade before any of us heard the Number One hits Stand And Deliver or Prince Charming.
This is one of many elements of the film that will resonate only with the most hardened Marvel connoisseurs, as Disney increasingly intertwines its films and TV shows to such an extent that if you don’t watch them all, the next will mean next to nothing.
While trying to encourage audiences to consume more and more of their productions, they’re in danger of forcing everyone but the most die-hard fans to consume less and less.
If you haven’t watched the right TV shows or films, you won’t know why Sam Wilson has taken over from Steve Rogers as Captain America or the back story between Thaddeus Ross and Samuel Sterns – and rather than explain it to the uninitiated, they have a tendency to rub it in a little – highlighting certain things that will make parts of the audience feel even more clever, while others will feel even more alienated.
In its own right, the narrative doesn’t always make sense – it’s hard to work out whose side Ross is even on – one minute he’s patting Sam Wilson on the back and the next, he seems to be as much of a villain as Sterns.
The action sequences are fun and the effects are impressive but that’s all to be expected form the technicians – we know they can do that, but we expect more from the story-tellers.