New Captain America, Is Marvel Going Downhill?

Written by Emily Gaudet

Ever since Marvel began producing TV shows on Disney+, exploring the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-”Avengers: Endgame,” there has been a lot of talk about the fall of the MCU from greatness. Sure, watching “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” in theaters was an experience like no other, but that doesn’t mean Marvel has peaked, does it?

As a retired Marvel superfan, I walked into the theater to see “Captain America: Brave New World” with lackluster expectations. The movie had been out for a week or two already and I had been warned that its plot would be confusing if I hadn’t seen “The Incredible Hulk” (2008). Though I had seen “The Incredible Hulk” before, I surely didn’t remember much. It’s one of the lowest rated Marvel movies of all time (sorry,”Antman and The Wasp: Quantumania”). As it turns out, “Captain America: Brave New World” has “The Incredible Hulk” beat as the third lowest rated MCU film. After watching it, I can see why. My main gripe with the movie was the lack of screen time that Red Hulk received. In every ad for “Captain America: Brave New World,” he was featured as the main event of the movie. In watching the film, it felt like he had only received about ten minutes of screentime and then it was over. I didn’t even realize I was watching the climax of the film because it felt so boring. It was completely underwhelming. Additionally, the main villain didn’t seem threatening in the least. To me, Samuel Sterns was more of an overpowered dork than anything else.

While “Captain America: Brave New World” was able to introduce new characters and even bring back some old ones, the film did not meet expectations and caused an increase in the uproar of criticisms about the new wave of Marvel films. “Captain America: Brave New World” was not up to par but I have high hopes for “Thunderbolts,” the next Marvel film that hits theaters May 2!

Featured Photograph owned by Marvel Studios