Captain America: Brave New World (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
Review Date: May 21, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Julius Onah

Release Date(s)

2025 (May 13, 2025)

Studio(s)

Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Film/Program Grade: B-
Video Grade: A-
Audio Grade: A-
Extras Grade: B-

Review

Captain America: Brave New World is a difficult film to discuss without dipping into spoiler territory, so if you want to watch it as “cold” as possible, skip the film review here and jump straight to the audio/video assessment. Otherwise, abandon hope all ye who wish to remain spoiler-free.

There have been many post-mortems regarding what’s gone “wrong” with the Marvel Cinematic Universe—a few of them even blaming the increasing levels of diversity. Yet while there’s truth in some of these analyses and pure fiction in others, there’s no denying that Marvel has struggled to find its footing in the post-Endgame world. Yet it’s not the diversity of the characters that’s the issue but rather the diverse nature of the multiversic, multimedia storytelling, with too many stories, too many characters, and too much different media for all but the most ardent of fans to track. The idea of intertwined cinematic and streaming universes was interesting in theory, but in practice it’s been all too much for most people to take. So, some reworking was in order, and while it may not be obvious at first glance, Captain America: Brave New World was the first major step in that process. While it may seem a bit messy, narratively speaking, it was a necessary way of ripping off the Band-aid in order to make room for more focused films like Thunderbolts*.

Taken as a whole, Brave New World is a clearing house of different threads and loose ends from the entire MCU, going all the way back to their neglected 2008 installment The Incredible Hulk. That film has always been the bastard stepchild of the franchise due to the recasting of Bruce Banner, so some of its character beats and Easter eggs ended up being dropped, but they’ve finally been picked up again here. While Tim Roth’s Abomination did make eventual reappearances in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, The Incredible Hulk had the single biggest undeveloped Easter Egg in the entire MCU: Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) being exposed to Bruce Banner’s radiation-infused blood. That set up his transformation into the Leader, but it was never mentioned again until now.

That’s not the only lost thread from The Incredible Hulk in Brave New World, either. While Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) continued to appear in later films, his strained relationship with his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler) was largely ignored. In Brave New World, Ross (Harrison Ford, replacing the late Hurt) has just been elected president of the United States of America, but he’s still dealing with political backlash over his Hulk-hunting days and personal backlash due to his rift with Betty. That strain has taken its toll on him, something that an unseen adversary has been taking advantage of in order to increase the pressure on Ross.

Those tensions rise to the geopolitical level with the discovery of a new element in the ruins of the stillborn Celestial Tiamut from Eternals: adamantium. That’s a change from its comic book origins, but in narrative terms, it kills two birds with one stone. Adamantium has long been missing from the MCU thanks to Fox’s ownership of the X-Men license, but now that mergers & acquisitions has taken care of that little problem, it was high time to introduce it into the MCU. This also raises the personal stakes for Ross since the element becomes a geopolitical hot potato that’s easy for an unscrupulous supervillain to exploit. Actually, the revisionist backstory for the creation of Adamantium kills three birds, since it also lays to rest one of the strangest hanging chads in the MCU: the complete disregard for colossal remains of Tiamut in the Indian Ocean. The fact that Tiamut has been ignored in the films that followed Eternals was such a glaring omission that it’s even become meme fodder. So, another loose thread tied up.

Yet that’s still not the only loose end that Brave New World resolves. While The Falcon and the Winter Solder had dealt with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) laying down the mantle of the Falcon and finally picking up the Captain America shield that Steve Rogers had handed down to him, it also introduced Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbley), one of the discarded, framed, disgraced, and maltreated original recipients of the Super Soldier Serum. Plus, it introduced Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who was destined to take over the mantle of the Falcon from Sam. Both of them are given more space to shine in Brave New World than they had in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and their character arcs are resolved in satisfying fashion.

All that, plus it manages to introduce several key new characters, both major and minor, like secret service agent Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquemore) and Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), the leader of the Serpent Society. Most significantly (and most controversially), it also introduces Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), aka Sabra. Given the fact that the comic book Sabra is not just an Israeli but an ex-Mossad agent, the announcement that she was in the film generated minor outrage from supporters of both sides of the current conflict in the Middle East. Sabra is the kind of character like the Ancient One or the Mandarin that’s bound to offend someone today no matter how Marvel handles them. Yet in this case, they really managed to thread the needle. Instead of being ex-Mossad, Ruth Bat-Seraph is now an ex-Widow, which makes perfect sense in the context of the MCU. There’s also no mention whatsoever of her being Sabra (although she does have her costume visible under her wardrobe at one point). Even better, Shira Haas kicks major ass. Seriously. Her outsized persona far exceeds her diminutive stature, and it will be interesting to see how she’s used in future installments of the MCU.

And then, there’s the Red Hulk. Granted, there are no surprises in Brave New World for anyone familiar with the comic book origins of the character, but it’s still a shame that the Disney/Marvel marketing department decided to spoil his presence in the film. That’s especially true since the film establishes the introduction of Red Hulk as being part of Ross’ character arc, with his whole world (both political and personal) collapsing around him, which forces his bottled rage to come to the surface. Harrison Ford is surprisingly good as Ross—as hard as this may be to believe, he actually comes off less wooden than William Hurt did in the role. Ford has been sleepwalking through most of his performances for the last couple of decades, so it’s nice to see him put a little effort into things for a change. And while there’s plenty of room for debate about the quality of the CGI in Brave New World, it’s far too easy to take the evolution of the Hulk VFX for granted. Red Hulk is the best version to date, and just like the way that Mark Ruffalo’s appearance and personality traits were incorporated into his version of the Incredible Hulk, the digital Red Hulk looks and acts like an extension of the real Harrison Ford. It’s not the Uncanny Valley, just uncanny.

Now, do all of those disparate elements come together onto a fully coherent whole? No, but to be fair, that doesn’t seem to have been the intent for Brave New World. Instead, it’s a clearinghouse, a way of tying up loose ends and righting the MCU ship. It was always going to be something of a smorgasbord, and the coterie of credited screenwriters including Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Peter Glanz, and director Julius Onah bears testimony to that fact. Brave New World also had an extended post-production process and was reshaped significantly during reshoots, but while much has been made of that fact, it’s worth remembering that reshoots are a normal part of this kind of production—in fact, they’re planned for and scheduled up front. They’re not necessarily a sign of trouble.

In this case, many of the changes resulted from Onah trying to incorporate the elements that Marvel wanted him to use while staying true to his own intentions for the film. Onah wanted a grounded tone akin to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier while returning to the paranoia thriller angle of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. During post-production, it became evident that the more fantastical elements simply didn’t work in the milieu that Onah had created. So, the Leader’s appearance was altered significantly from his comic book version, and the rest of the Serpent Society ended up excised, with all of them being replaced by Esposito working solo as Sidewinder (and his version of the character became more grounded as well). Should all of that have been settled during pre-production? Perhaps, but filmmaking isn’t a linear process, it’s an interactive one, and sometimes it’s challenging to foresee how everything will come together until it’s been shot and edited.

Regardless, while the results of all this back-and-forth may still seem a bit messy, fortunately the throughline of Thaddeus Ross and Sam Wilson’s character arcs are enough to hold everything together—barely, but just enough. William Hurt was a wonderful actor, but his version of Ross was a bit of a nonentity, and the fact that Harrison Ford finally remembered how to utilize his own charisma makes all the difference in the world. Anthony Mackie has always been an underrated linchpin of the MCU, with or without Steve Rogers as his counterpart, and he deserves much better than the reaction that certain members of the fan community have had to him taking over the mantle of Captain America. And while it’s not necessarily obvious at first glance, Captain America: Brave New World sets up the foundations for his new version of the Avengers, although they’re not going to be the New Avengers—as the ending of Thunderbolts* made clear, there’s going to be more than one new sheriff in town. It’s been a long, strange trip to get to this point, but it offers some interesting possibilities for the future of the MCU.

Cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau captured Captain America: Brave New World digitally at 4.5K resolution (in ARRIRAW format) using Arri Alexa LF cameras with Panavision C-series anamorphic lenses, while IMAX sequences were captured using Ultra Panatar II lenses instead. Post-production work was completed as a 4K Digital Intermediate, framed with the variable aspect ratios of 2.39:1 for the former and 1.90:1 for the latter. Per Disney’s usual policy, only the 2.39:1 framing is included on UHD and Blu-ray—the variable aspect ratio version is available exclusively streaming on Disney+. Fortunately, like other recent Disney releases, High Dynamic Range available in both Dolby Vision and HDR10, so Dolby Vision isn’t exclusive to Disney+ anymore. It’s been a baby step, but a welcome one nonetheless.

Morgenthau and Julius Onah told American Cinematographer that while it’s inevitable that MCU properties will be captured digitally, they wanted to make Brave New World look like it was shot on film. So, they consulted with one of the best in the business in that regard: cinematographer Steve Yedlin. They ended up using one of his custom LUTs (Look Up Tables) and modified it to suit their purposes, adding “(their) our own grain, gate weave, halation and other artifacts to replicate the texture of film as closely as possible.” The intention was to replicate the look of VISION3 500T 5219 color negative film, which is a fine-grained stock with further dye-layer enhancements to reduce the visible grain in shadows. Onah also wanted “to make the Red Hulk’s appearance feel like an intrusion into the story,” so aside from the reds in Captain America’s costume and shield, and other unavoidable ones like traffic lights and stop signs, they tried to keep the color red out of the film’s palette as much as possible until the Red Hulk makes his grand entrance. Yet it does appear as a foreshadowing element, like the red-striped tie that a certain character wears at the beginning or the red lighting that appears in a few key locations. (It’s also no accident that cherry blossoms form a key visual and narrative element for that character.)

All of that background is necessary in order to properly assess the look of Captain America: Brave New World on UHD. It’s not going to be sharpest and most detailed 4K presentation on the format, but that’s by design. The anamorphic lenses add some softness to the edges of the frame, and Morgenthau favored backlighting and side lighting, which gives much of the film a soft, hazy look. He also filtered things heavily in order to enhance that look (although it’s not clear if that was done in-camera or in post). As a result, the contrast range tends to be variable, with the backlit shots having the exact kind of limited contrast that film would produce under the same circumstances, while direct lighting provides stronger contrast and deeper blacks. The added grain layer is very fine and somewhat soft, so it seems like the intention was to reproduce the look of grain on a 35mm film print rather than the sharper grain available on the original negative. It’s not necessarily as convincing as the work that Eliot Rockett and Company 3 did for Ti West’s MaXXXine, which is arguably the gold standard for making digital look like film, but it’s still quite good.

Primary audio is offered in English Dolby Atmos. It’s a dynamic and punchy mix, with none of the compromises that have plagued earlier MCU releases. The bass response is deep, with an appropriate amount of rumble during the abundant explosions, crashes, and Hulk-stomps. It’s immersive, too, with subtle ambient effects during quieter moments, as well as an abundance of bullets, broken glass, and other detritus flying in all directions around the viewer whenever the action kicks in. The overheads don’t get the heaviest workout here, but they’re always active in one form or another. The rhythmically percussive score by Laura Karpman also provides energy to keep the film moving at all times, even when the narrative falters. Taken as a whole, it’s not necessarily demo material, but it’s still quite effective.

Additional audio options include English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, and Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus. Subtitle options include English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Disney’s 4K Ultra HD release of Captain America: Brave New World is a two-disc set that includes a Blu-ray with a 1080p copy of the film, as well as a Digital Code on a paper insert tucked inside the case. As usual, it’s branded as a Cinematic Universe Edition, and as usual, I’ll make my standard snarky comment about the fact that the impossibility of there being a non-Cinematic Universe edition. (Seriously, that’s the most redundant and pointless branding possible.) Anyway, it also includes a slipcover that duplicates the artwork on the insert. Aside from the commentary track, all of the extras are on the Blu-ray only, and they’re all in HD:

DISC ONE: UHD

Audio Commentary by Julius Onah and Kramer Morgenthau

DISC TWO: BD

Audio Commentary by Julius Onah and Kramer Morgenthau
Assuming the Mantle (11:08)
Old Scores, New Scars (9:46)
Gag Reel (2:12)
Deleted Scenes:
- A Heartfelt Thanks (1:30)
- The Mission (1:49)
- Stick Around (1:12)

Onah and Morgenthau discuss the cinematic look and texture of Captain America: Brave New World at length, including many technical details about the cameras, lenses, and LUTs that they used. They point out the mixed symmetrical and asymmetrical framing, and provide other practical information like what was shot on location vs. what was shot on a set. (They do mention how much that they enjoyed opening up the frame to 1.90:1 for the action sequences, so it’s a real shame that the variable aspect ratio version wasn’t included here.) They also discuss their inspiration and many of the subtle references to other films throughout Brave New World. There are a few lengthy gaps in the commentary, many of which take place at suspicious moments like Sidewinder’s first appearance—maybe they just had nothing to say at that point, but it’s possible that they discussed the reshoots and someone at Disney decided that the usual disclaimer that “the opinions expressed in the commentary don’t represent those of the studio” wasn’t good enough in this case. Regardless, it’s still an interesting track for those who like to lean into the technical angle of motion picture production.

The next two extras are pretty typical EPK fluff, featuring interviews with Kevin Feige, Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Harrison Ford, Julius Onah, costumer Allison Freer, property master Russell Bobbitt, and producers Nate Moore & Kyana F. Davidson. Assuming the Mantle concentrates on Sam Wilson’s experience as the Falcon, his transition into being Captain America, and handing the reins of being the Falcon over to Joaquin Torres. Old Scores, New Scars focuses on the story of Captain America: Brave New World and how it ties back to the previously undeveloped Easter Egg from The Incredible Hulk, as well as introducing new characters like Sidewinder. While there’s nothing particularly earth-shattering in either of them, there are a few interesting moments like Bobbitt describing the process of crafting the spun aluminum shields. (And hey, Ford makes an actual appearance, so he even put a little effort into the extras.)

The Gag Reel is as unfunny as most gag reels are these days, but it does provide glimpses of Ford cutting loose on the set—seriously, he actually seems to have enjoyed making this film (will wonders never cease?) Finally, there are three different deleted scenes, none of which feel particularly essential, but there’s a nice character beat between Ross and Leila Taylor, as well as an interesting one between Ross and Isaiah Bradley.

Unfortunately, there’s no Assembled episode here like Disney has been including with their Disney+ physical media releases (and at least as of this writing, there’s nothing available on Disney+, either). Yet like The Marvels, no quantity of bonus content could ever change any minds that have already been made up about Captain America: Brave New World. The die has been set in that regard. Yet if you’re willing to approach it with as open a mind as possible, there’s plenty to enjoy here, especially in terms of how it ties up loose ends while establishing new anchors for the MCU going forward. And there’s no better way to experience it than on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, which has the definite edge over streaming. It’s still not quite demo material, but it’s faithful to the attention of the filmmakers, and sometimes that’s enough.

-Stephen Bjork

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