Captain America Brave New World: Reviews, mixed first reactions pour in; should you watch or skip?

Following a string of disappointments, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) found its groove with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Months later, Marvel Studios is about to debut its next big project with Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson and the new Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World.

Ahead of its scheduled release on February 14, the review embargo for the film lifted and a slew of reviews and first reactions poured in. While some labelled the film as the “best of the MCU since 2019,” a few others called it “okayish”. As such, Brave New World opened to mixed reviews and a 53% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics and Reviews

With its current Rotten Tomatoes score, the film is only the third "rotten" movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) alongside 2021’s Eternals and  2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

On social media sites like X (formerly Twitter), film critic Laura Sirikul noted that Captain America: Brave New World proved Sam Wilson's capability to lead a Captain America movie, praising its political thriller aspects combined with superhero elements.

#CaptainAmerica: #BraveNewWorld isn’t as bad as I feared it would be (extremely low expectations), but it’s not a good movie. Everything is over-explained, very little actually shown. This feels custom made for Disney+ and isn’t the remedy we needed for Marvel Studio films. C pic.twitter.com/WqCAdd7AlU

— Clarence Moye (@ClarenceMoye) February 12, 2025

Another critic, Scott Menzel, described the film as a game-changer for Phase 5, with Mackie soaring past his role as Falcon and Harrison Ford excelling as Thaddeus Ross and Red Hulk.

Captain America: Brave New World is a game-changer for Phase 5 of the MCU. Mackie soars past the role of Falcon cementing himself as the new Captain America. Ford puts his signature grunting and crankiness to great use as Thaddeus Ross and Red Hulk. Brave New World is like Falcon… pic.twitter.com/4YxPScKvfF

— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) February 12, 2025

On the contrary, some critics were less impressed. Popular entertainment site Nerdist's Dan Casey stated the film was disappointing due to its reliance on old MCU plot devices and the strain of its reshoots.

Captain America Brave New World: Where does it stand?

Currently standing as one of the lowest-rated MCU films ever, critics have, however, argued that the movie stands somewhere between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Eternals. Moreover, it is said to be packed with both action sequences and dialogues.

Many on X also said that the film felt like the MCU was finally heading in the right direction and that it was setting up both, the next Avengers team and the movie.

Should you watch it?

Captain America: Brave New World has so far been shown to only a handful of people who have either largely praised it or expressed some disappointment, except for some who have outright called it bad.

Keeping low expectations and bearing the fact that the movie is coming at a crucial point in the MCU and is setting up its next big phase, it should be given a chance. Based on most reviews, at the very least, this film has good visuals, new faces, and a satisfyingly angry Red Hulk.

For a die-hard Marvel fan or even someone cautious of the mixed reviews, the film's release on February 14 will provide the final verdict and a look at the direction the MCU is headed towards warrants a watch.