As a cog in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe machine, Captain America: Brave New World is arguably more important than any other movie Marvel Studios will release this year. It’s the fourth overall Captain America movie, but it’s the first time Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers isn’t the one lifting the shield. Instead, it’s Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, who was bequeathed the red, white and blue shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame and wrestled with its significance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Now, Sam emerges as a fully realized Captain America, complete with his own iteration of the Falcon in Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), just in time for the election of President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Harrison Ford, after the pᴀssing of William Hurt. However, when “forgotten” Captain America Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) gets caught up in an ᴀssᴀssination attempt against the president, Sam begins investigating Ross and those around him and discovers there’s an evil mastermind bent on revenge pulling the strings.

All told, Brave New World feels a bit like it’s ripping off past Captain America movies, all while retreading much of the same thematic storylines already explored with Sam in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. One of the strengths of Captain America has always been his care for other people, and while Sam Wilson continues that throughline, he often takes a back seat to Ford’s Ross when it comes to actual character development in the movie. All of which would be fine if Brave New World was at least fun and entertaining, which it simply isn’t.

Captain America: Brave New World Is A Bleak Retread Of Past MCU Movies

It’s clear Captain America: Brave New World is trying to recapture what was so great about previous Captain America movies, adopting the spy thriller tone of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while telling a globe-trotting story like Captain America: Civil War, and a story of soldiers at war like Captain America: The First Avenger. But even in a movie where Steve Rogers discovers his best friend has been turned into a brainwashed weapon by his enemies, Marvel always managed to balance the seriousness of their storytelling with a level of fun and entertainment. Brave New World has very little to enjoy about it.

The film plods through the requisite Marvel movie beats with little flare and even less concern about whether it all serves the story of the film or its characters. There’s an action set piece early in the movie because that’s how Marvel movies start; there’s a switch from Sam’s white Captain America costume to a new, more navy blue suit for exactly zero reason other than Marvel heroes need to get new suits to sell toys. Brave New World exists to be a Captain America Marvel movie, but it’s stripped the series and the characters of everything that makes them great.

All that’s left is a Marvel movie in the strictest sense, with the standard CGI-heavy action scenes and ties to the larger MCU. Frankly, the fact that a Captain America movie has CGI-heavy action scenes should tell you all you need to know. Sam Wilson is undoubtedly a different kind of Captain America than Steve Rogers, though the MCU seems to only remember this when it comes to utilizing his wings in the film’s admittedly entertaining action sequences. Otherwise, Marvel has made Sam little more than a retread of Steve, albeit with a different cast of characters around him.

Captain America: Brave New World Has A Phenomenal Cast Who Try To Salvage The Movie

For what it’s worth, Mackie brings a great deal of charm to the role of Sam Wilson, but the character is still muted and reserved to the point of being boring, especially when compared to the bombastic personality of Mackie himself. It’s a difficult needle to thread, ensuring that Sam stays true to the character who’s been in the MCU for over a decade now, while bringing him into the spotlight and making him the lead. But rather than amplify what made Sam so loved in past appearances, Brave New World makes the new Captain America a flat character with no development.

Much of the movie’s character development is actually given to Ford’s President Ross, who is struggling with his desire to be a better person and the angry nature he had leaned on for so long. For his part, Ford is excellent, turning in a performance that brings plenty of heart to the movie. Plus, when he does inevitably turn into the Red Hulk, he plays the rampaging president very well — and the CGI on the new Hulk is extremely well done, even if the backdrop of the cherry blossoms looks like a green screen mess.

Unfortunately, Brave New World represents a lot of what’s wrong with the MCU post-Endgame, even as you can tell that Marvel is trying to learn lessons from past mistakes. The overt seriousness and bleakness saps the movie of any enjoyment we might get from watching a new Captain America movie. I am a huge Captain America fan and I found very little to like in this new film. To say that’s disappointing is an understatement. I wanted to love Captain America: Brave New World, but I was barely entertained by it.

Captain America: Brave New World is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language.