Searching for a word to best describeCaptain America: Brave New World, the one that keeps coming to mind isinconsistent.Some of the hand-to-hand fighting is way above average for a Marvel film; some of the green screen backgrounds and visual effects are about as clunky as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever produced. Sometimes characters from elsewhere in the MCU pop up in unexpected places, and the film makes no attempt to explain who they are or what they are doing; at other times the dialogue is so expository and blunt it feels like theverbal equivalent of getting pummeled in the face by a Red Hulk. For every goodmoment, theres a bad one. Or two.Pretty much all of the good momentsfeatureAnthony Mackie as Marvels new Captain America. Following the events ofAvengers: EndgameandThe Falcon & the Winter Soldier, Mackies paratrooper turned social worker turned superhero Sam Wilson has been promoted to captain (of America), which puts him into conflict with another longtime Marvel charactersporting a new job title. Thunderbolt Ross,previously known as the obsessive general who hunted the Hulk, is now the MCUs President of the United States (and played by Harrison Ford, replacing the late William Hurt in the role).CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLDMarvelloading...READ MORE: What One Man Learned Reading Every Marvel Comic Ever MadeAs Marvel fans know, Ross and Captain America have clashed in the past. (As Marvel fansalso know, the comic-book version of Ross has a nasty habit of occasionally turning into a rampaging monster.) AsPresident, Ross wants Sams help topreserve an all-important international treaty over the rights to the Celestial that emerged from beneath the Indian Ocean inEternalsand apparently contains priceless minerals.Brave New World.)No sooner has Ross recruited Captain America thanthe President is attacked in the White House no less under circumstances that suggest a massive conspiracy. Its up to Sam and his partner, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who has adopted Sams old costumed alter ego as the Falcon, to find the mastermind behind the assassination attempt beforehe can destabilize the treaty and possibly the entire world.That setup (which is credited to five different writers) sends the heroesCaptain America:The Winter Soldierin its vague mimicry of 70sparanoid thrillers, butBrave New Worlds insistence on avoiding anypossible hot-button political issue or real-worldresonance meanits mystery and ultimate villain cant have any satirical bite whatsoever. That villain is largely a dramatic bust,and boasts powers that are seemingly limitless, which means he is often impossible to stop until, of course, the script demands they become impossibly easy to stop.MarvelMarvelloading...Some of my frustrations with Brave New Worlds murky plotwere mitigated by the fact that I liked watching Anthony Mackietry to fly and punch his way through it. Hemakes a very good Captain America: Charming, charismatic, strong, yet empathetic. (The film makessmartuse of Sams background as atrauma counselor.) Hes witty when he needs to be and convincingly stoic at other points. He carries himself like a hero.Sam does not get much of a character arc or a goal beyond exonerating an imprisoned friend, but there is a small but valuable subplot about the fact that unlikeChris Evans Captain America, Anthony Mackies doesnot have super powers. Hes got Caps shield and an impressive jetpack and wings, but strip those things away from him and hes a vulnerable, flesh-and-blood human being. In Brave New World he gets stabbed, shot, and pummeled. He always gets back up. Although he doesnt use Steve Rogers old I could do this all day catchphrase, he shares his spirit of quiet determination.Withoutspecial powers, Sammostlyfights his enemies the old fashioned way; there are some sequences that involve him cutting cars in half with his high-tech wings or zooming away from fighter jets, but most of the action andallbest action involves hand-to-hand fights with solid choreography and elaborate MMA-style throws and takedowns. I suspect some audience members may question whether a dude with a shield and metal wings could go toe-to-toe with a Red Hulk, butIll take a more human hero in my Marvel movie one whoisCAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLDMarvelloading...Fords transformation into the Red Hulk is good for a few chuckles hereallygoes for it, which isfun to watch and the obligatory teases of future Marvel adventures are as promising as theyve been in several years. They alsoallude to movies I would rather have watched thanBrave New World, which is surely the weakestCaptain Americato date, even if its Captain Americashows a lot of promise. Like I said: Inconsistent.Additional Thoughts:-Speaking of the Red Hulk,with his role, along withappearances from Tim Blake Nelson and Liv Tyler,Brave New Worldoften feels more like a sequel toThe Incredible Hulk than toCaptain America: Civil War, or even The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.new world?RATING: 5/10Get our free mobile appEvery Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to BestIt started with Iron Man and its continued and expanded ever since. Its the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 34 movies and counting. But whats the best and the worst? We ranked them all.