Captain America: Brave New World called 'convoluted' 'dull' and 'generic' in early critic reactions

Marvel's Captain America: Brave New World held its star-studded premiere in Hollywood on Tuesday, though many of the early reactions are not positive. While full film reviews are still under wraps, the social media embargo lifted at 12 AM EST, with many critics in attendance chiming in. The film is a follow-up to the 2021 Marvel TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which cemented Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson - previously known as The Falcon - as the new Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The superhero adventure also brings back elements from 2008's The Incredible Hulk, with Harrison Ford stepping in for the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, plus Tim Blake Nelson returning as Samuel Sterns. While the film is projected to take in between $80 million and $95 million at the box office over the extended President's Day holiday weekend, many critics weren't impressed. Though there are some who praised the film, many others bashed it, with some calling it 'convoluted,' 'dull' and 'generic.'.

Marvel's Captain America: Brave New World held its star-studded premiere in Hollywood on Tuesday, though many of the early reactions are not positive. The superhero adventure also brings back elements from 2008's The Incredible Hulk, with Harrison Ford stepping in for the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross, plus Tim Blake Nelson returning as Samuel Sterns. The film follows Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, which comes just after Thaddeus Ross is elected the new President of the United States.

Sam is tasked with determining who is really behind an explosive international incident. Freelance critic Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) complained that the film, 'seems to only exist to wrap up loose ends to The Incredible Hulk and Eternals.'. 'And in doing so the plot is about as convoluted and dull as that all sounds. This should have been called Captain America: Loose Ends,' Ryan added. IndieWire's Dave Ehrlich joked, 'I've got some really good news for everyone whose two favorite Marvel movies are The Incredible Hulk and The Eternals.'.

Both The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million domestic) and Eternals ($164.8 million domestic) have the second and third lowest domestic box office grosses in the entire MCU, above only 2023's The Marvels ($84.5 million), plus Eternals was the first MCU movie to earn a 'rotten' score on Rotten Tomatoes (47%). Inverse's  Hoai-Tran Bui (@htranbui) added, 'Captain America: Brave New World looks like Marvel got that Netflix memo about characters having to say everything they do so an inattentive audience can keep up. Extreme Disney+ series energy.

Still, others seemed to enjoy the film like ReelBlend's Jake Hamilton, who admitted the film was, 'kinda awesome.'. The film follows Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, which comes just after Thaddeus Ross (right) is elected the new President of the United States. Freelance critic Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) complained that the film, ' seems to only exist to wrap up loose ends to The Incredible Hulk and Eternals.'.

'Flawed fun, to be sure — part Winter Soldier lite, part quasi-sequel to Incredible Hulk. It (mostly) looks great and, despite a script in need of polishing, felt like classic Marvel fun,' he added. That Hashtag Show's Hunter Bolding thought the film was, 'triumphant,' adding, 'The paranoid action picks up the pace in the second half, but this is really Sam Wilson’s story about handling the pressure of the mantle of Captain America. A tense Harrison Ford steals the show.'.

Still, many others like Cody from Next Best Picture bashed the superhero film, stating it had 'boring action' and 'ugly visuals' and the film was 'totally disposable,' though he admitted that 'Harrison Ford is dialed-in.'. Bleeding Cool's Kaitlyn Booth thought the movie was, 'fine,' adding, 'you can see the stitches where the rewrites/reshoots are, which leads to missed opportunities and potential. It gets the job done and doesn't overstay its welcome. The middle of the road for #Marvel is still better than most.'.

Rendy Jones said the film, 'hoodwinks the audience into thinking it's a Sam Wilson movie when in reality it's a sequel to The Incredible Hulk (2008), equipped with Bush-era styled militaristic propaganda to boot. It has the gall to play Kendrick's 'I' in the end. Hated this.'. Eric Goldman also had positive things to say, adding, 'Captain America: Brave New World is… pretty good! A strong look at Sam Wilson as his own unique Cap, an amusingly long overdue Incredible Hulk sequel and filled with some amazingly symbolic imagery for the exact time it’s opening. And I really dig Joaquin as the new Falcon.'.

Awards Radar's @JoeyMagidson said, 'Captain America: Brave New World is a total wheel-spinner, just clearing some loose ends from a few of the lesser Marvel efforts. Frankly, it should have been part of a season of television. It doesn’t stack up as a film, and I’m usually an easy mark for the MCU.'. Popcorned Planet's Andy Signore added, 'Captain America #BraveNewWorld confirms how stale the MCU has become. What starts promising: a world vying for control of Adamantium in the crashed Celestial they FINALLY acknowledge... Sadly turns into a predictable average mystery w/ sloppy CGI action & NO stand out Avenging.'.