Captain America: Brave New World called 'a blast' and 'average' in mixed first reactions

Captain America: Brave New World will soon be arriving in cinemas, and some lucky critics have already had the chance to watch the movie and share their initial thoughts.

A lot is riding on the superhero movie as it opens up Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is Anthony Mackie's first film in the role of Captain America. The story follows his character Sam Wilson as he is thrust into the middle of an international incident and must uncover the global conspiracy for the president of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).

While all eyes are on this new Cap the first reactions to the movie are mixed at best, with some viewers loving the next chapter in the MCU and others remarking that it has too many flaws to be enjoyable. Many of these critics shared their early thoughts on the film on social media.

After seeing the first 30 minutes of the film Washington Post entertainment reporter Herb Scribner wrote on X: “Absolute blast. All-in on the story. It just checked so many boxes for me. Felt like an MCU movie where other projects actually matter again. Lots of cohesion.”

Feeling similarly, The Mary Sue assistant editor Rachel Leishman wrote: "Captain America: Brave New World brings an exciting idea for the future of the MCU under Sam Wilson as leader. A pretty solid Cap meets Hulk film but where it shines is in Anthony Mackie and Danny Ramirez's performances. Harrison Ford is having so much fun and I had fun with him."

But not everyone was as taken with the story, film critic Cris Parker wrote on X that the film "didn’t quite hit the emotional or narrative highs I was hoping for. Loved Mackie as Cap and I appreciated the more serious tone but it did feel slightly empty."

While critic Emmanuelle Noisette wrote: "Captain America: Brave New World was grounded, entertaining, and to the point. Solid action & mild surprises. Red Hulk [was great]. Felt like it pulled A LOT of political punches. Hard to tell whether the marketing showed too much or if the movie didn’t have much else to offer. It was average."

What was clear was that most writers were delighted by Mackie's performance most of all, with writer Chris Gallardo saying the film "proves Anthony Mackie has RIGHTFULLY EARNED the role of Captain America. He puts it all in as Sam Wilson and his chemistry with Danny Ramirez is great! Harrison Ford as President Ross/Red Hulk is charming and the action really rocks when it happens."

For Gizmodo's Germain Lussier the film had its good and bad points: "Kinda disappointed with #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld. There are some good action moments and Mackie is a charismatic Cap but it’s all over the place thematically, overly complicated and ultimately a little pointless. It just never had anything to suck me in. A bummer."

While Comic Book editorial director Ben Kendrick also said: "Captain America: Brave New World is a lot of things: some good, some okay. It’s exciting, offers a worthwhile message in a divisive time, is a return to form for the mainline MCU after a string of disappointments, and is one of the first to progress the MCU story itself post-Endgame."

Captain America: Brave New World premieres in cinemas on Friday, 14 February.