Movie review
February 12, 2025 · 119 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Captain America: Brave New World follows Sam Wilson as the new Captain America after he meets with newly elected President Thaddeus Ross and gets pulled into an international conspiracy involving stolen classified materials, mind control, and a plot that turns Ross into the raging Red Hulk. The story mixes superhero action with geopolitical tension, personal redemption, and ties to prior MCU events like training with the super-soldier Isaiah Bradley. Visible identity themes surface through Bradley’s backstory of U.S. government experiments on Black soldiers and Wilson’s emphasis on empathy and relationships as his strengths in a role once held by Steve Rogers.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Captain America: Brave New World.
Woke representation / casting
Black actor Anthony Mackie leads as Sam Wilson/Captain America with Latino, Black, and Israeli actors in key supporting roles; casting aligns with modern U.S. and international settings without forced mismatches to the story world.
Woke political dialogue
Plot-driven conspiracy and mind-control elements involve political maneuvering and government accountability, but lack extended activist speeches or explicit modern ideological framing.
Identity-driven story themes
Isaiah Bradley’s arc foregrounds historical U.S. experiments on Black soldiers and their long-term effects, while Wilson’s journey stresses empathy over physical power as a Black successor to Steve Rogers; these threads are noticeable yet secondary to the thriller plot.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Highlights government betrayal through Bradley’s imprisonment and experiments, plus presidential exploitation and rage; presented as historical plot context and personal redemption rather than broad modern activist attacks on institutions or norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Isaiah Bradley retains his comics backstory of racialized experimentation and imprisonment with minor MCU adjustments; no major canon rewrites or real-historical figure alterations beyond standard adaptation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Clear conservative and right-leaning criticism targeted Mackie’s “not represent America” comments as anti-patriotic or woke, alongside broader accusations of DEI-driven casting for the Black Captain America and Marvel’s overall direction.
Creator track record context
Julius Onah’s prior work on racial identity and privilege, Malcolm Spellman’s emphasis on Black experiences, Nate Moore’s diversity advocacy, and Kevin Feige’s representation focus create a cumulative progressive creative pattern.
Production
