Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has just flown into theaters with the latest Marvel Studios film, Captain America: Brave New World. However, the film appears to have not really stuck the landing. The latest installment in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe ties into numerous previous installments in the franchise, serving as a follow-up not just to the Captain America series, but to The Incredible Hulk, Eternals, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier tv show. The film juggles a lot of storylines, which may have contributed to why it hasn’t been welcomed with open arms by fans or critics.
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In fact, Brave New World has the unique “distinction” of being the lowest-rated film in the MCU with a B- grade on CinemaScore. While this may be a grade that most people would be happy with if they say, received it on a difficult high school exam, it’s pretty bad for a movie in the superhero genre and is straight-up disastrous for a new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
It’s no secret that Marvel Studios has been going through a bit of a slump post-Avengers: Endgame. While not every film or TV show they’ve released since then has been derided by audiences, there has been a noticeable lack of quality control over the last few years. Recent films like Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Marvels garnered a B rating on CinemaScore, marking the previous “lowest rated” movies in the entire MCU. Sitting just above those titles however are Thor, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder, all of which earned a B+.
Critics are generally tougher on comic book movies; they’re generally not as familiar with the extensive lore behind the many characters and storylines onscreen, so they might not appreciate the more “nerdy” elements of these kinds of movies. But because many audiences have at least some familiarity with the source material, they’re more likely to get a kick out of a superhero movie that’s faithful to the comics, even if the film itself is far from high cinema.
However, the muted response to Brave New World from fans proves that they won’t just accept anything Marvel Studios puts out, no matter how many times it references the source material. A deeply messy plot and unclear character motivations are more than enough to put off even the most hardcore Marvel movie fan.
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Brave New World performed a little better at the opening weekend box office, so it’s hard to put all of the blame on superhero fatigue as to why the film failed to strike a chord with the masses. Still, the persistent rumors of the many reshoots, the delayed release date, and the fact that the film doesn’t push the overarching multiverse saga forward prove that Marvel Studios seriously needs to course correct, and soon.
Last year’s Deadpool and Wolverine was a crowd-pleasing hit, and there seems to be plenty of excitement surrounding the upcoming film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, so hopefully this proves that the studio has some imagination left in them.
Do you think Captain America: Brave New World‘s CinemaScore is deserved?
