Movie Picks: Captain America: Brave New World, All Shall Be Well

Captain America: Brave New World (PG13)

118 minutes, now showing ★★★☆☆

Someone is causing chaos around the world, and rookie President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) needs Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to track down the culprits. Suspicion falls on persons close to Sam, and even the President himself, who might not be the even-handed and dispassionate leader he claims to be.

Fans and Marvel studio executives alike have high hopes for 2025’s first superhero blockbuster, not least because they wonder if Mackie can fill the shoes of the former holder of the title, Chris Evans. Mackie does fine as the new Cap; the problem is the writing.

Billed as a political thriller, it opens with a special forces raid that exposes mercenary/scientist Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) as the villain – but is he the puppetmaster or another puppet?

The energy soon dissipates across story threads that director Julius Onah (science-fiction horror work The Cloverfield Paradox, 2018) cannot bring together into a coherent whole. To be fair, his job is hard. There are threads from the Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021) that need addressing, as well as material from Eternals (2021) and other shows.

It is possible to follow the plot without knowing the lore, as characters deliver exposition at helpful intervals. Much less smart is the plan to build suspense around the villain’s identity. When the big reveal comes, the “so what?”, or at least a “huh?” feeling is palpable.

So much screen time is invested in the characters of Ford and Mackie – and in cameos by others in the Marvel universe – that when the baddie’s mask drops, it becomes vital for him to unleash a torrent of exposition for viewers to understand or even care about his goals.

What saves the project is Mackie’s charm. As Sam, the man who declines the super-soldier serum and instead gets his powers from a Wakandan power suit, he makes for a vulnerable hero – a fighter who might get hurt raises the stakes in any situation.

Also interesting is the way the film tackles questions of duty, patriotism and race. In Sam’s mind, being a superhero in modern America is a morally complicated job, especially when he considers the country’s racial history. That questioning gives the film the weight it badly needs.

All Shall Be Well (R21)

93 minutes, limited screenings as The Projector

Of the films in the Valentine’s range, the newest is the Hong Kong drama All Shall Be Well from writer-director Ray Yeung. He was behind the well-received drama Suk Suk (2019), about two married men who, late in life, discover feelings for each other.

Like his previous film, Yeung’s new work also explores the implications of same-sex relationships in Chinese society.

Angie (Patra Au) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin) have shared Pat’s flat for more than 40 years. Everyone around them accepts them as the two sweet “grandmas” who live together.

After Pat dies, her wealth is up for grabs. Soon, the relatives whom Angie believed had viewed them as a real couple do an about-face. Unless Angie learns how to be independent, her future looks bleak.

In a review, entertainment publication Variety says that in Yeung’s film, “the rationale behind each cruelty is delicately evoked, and domestic instability, Hong Kong’s cut-throat property market and its paltry social support systems become the real villains”.

This 2024 film is screened as part of the indie cinema’s Accidentally In Love: Valentine’s At The Projector programme. From Feb 14 to 16, the cinema will complement its Valentine’s schedule with deals on champagne, and there will be live jazz in the foyer at its Cineleisure location on Feb 14.

Where: The Projector at Cineleisure, Level 5, 8 Grange Road MRT: Somerset When: Feb 15 and 21 Admission: $16 on weekends, $14 concession for students, full-time national servicemen and seniors Info: str.sg/i5tNB

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.