Captain America: Brave New World

image for Captain America: Brave New World

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Not suitable under 15; parental guidance to 16 (violence, coarse language, themes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Captain America: Brave New World
  • a review of Captain America: Brave New World completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 18 February 2025.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 15 Not suitable due to violence, coarse language and themes.
Children aged 15–16 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, coarse language scenes and themes.
Children aged 17 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Captain America: Brave New World
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Action violence and coarse language
Length: 118 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Newly elected President of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), sends the new Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Falcon/Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) on a mission to recover a stolen package. As Torres is still new to the role, Wilson takes him to train with Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a forgotten Captain America who, until recently, was wrongly imprisoned. While training, they receive an invite to a White House summit. The summit is for the ratification of a treaty for shared control of an island in the Indian Ocean containing the newly discovered element Adamantium. However, while President Ross is delivering a speech on the treaty, Isaiah attempts to shoot the President. Later, Wilson discovers that Isaiah was being mind-controlled and he sets off on a mission to find the mastermind of the attack.

This mission takes him to Camp Echo One, a US military base where he meets Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a superhuman genius. Sterns informs Wilson, he was imprisoned and used by President Ross to help him win the election and to develop the heart medicine that’s keeping him alive. Sterns then sends mind-controlled guards to attack Wilson and escapes. Wilson fights the guards off and discovers that, as revenge, Sterns plans to ruin Ross’ image and destroy international relations. He almost succeeds in starting a war between the US and Japan, however, Wilson intervenes just in time. In a press conference following the incident, President Ross becomes angered by the questions being asked by the press. It turns out, the pills developed by Sterns contained gamma radiation and, combined with his anger, Ross transforms into the Red Hulk. Wilson steps up to fight the Red Hulk, with destruction and death on the line if he cannot win.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

War; Terrorism; Murder; Crime; Death of a Parent; Family Breakdown.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is a lot of violence in this movie, including:

  • Wilson (Captain America) fights some mercenaries who are shooting at him with guns. He fights them using shockwave blasts, punches, kicks, and his shield.
  • A mercenary is slashed in the face with a knife.
  • Wilson breaks down a door with explosives before engaging in a close-quarters fistfight with the mercenaries, where he smashes a cinder block into one’s head.
  • Wilson fights a mercenary, one-on-one, where he is stabbed with a knife and a hatchet before he breaks the agent’s arm.
  • Multiple world leaders are shot at in an assassination attempt. Many people are thrown through the air by Isaiah.
  • Wilson’s truck is shot at by a mercenary, who then blows it up with explosives. A fight ensues with the mercenary shooting at Wilson while he finds cover. Wilson hits him with a throwing knife before jumping and kicking him in the chest.
  • A prison guard shoots and kills the presidential assassins before killing himself.
  • Sterns shoots an army general and his wife off-screen.
  • Wilson fights mind-controlled guards at Camp Echo One, who tase and choke him. Wilson throws his shield, knocking multiple guards over.
  • Mind-controlled US air force pilots begin shooting at the Japanese ships and planes that are approaching the island in the Indian Ocean. Wilson and Torres step in to save the pilots and prevent further conflict, dodging bullets and detonating missiles before they can hit the battleships.
  • Torres gets caught in the blast of a missile while detonating it and loses control over his wings, sending him crashing into the ocean.
  • Sterns uses soundwaves to stop a soldier’s heart.
  • Ross slams his fist on a stone table and cracks it.
  • Ross and Wilson get into a heated argument over the treatment of Sterns, with loud and aggressive shouting.
  • Ross gives in to his anger at a press conference and transforms into the Red Hulk, growing significantly in size and muscle. He is shot at by security personnel and, in his rage, he deals major damage to the White House and other buildings.
  • Wilson steps in to fight the Red Hulk. Hulk throws Wilson through a building as they battle. Additionally, the Red Hulk throws an American flagpole at a helicopter, sending it crashing down. Later, the Red Hulk rips Wilson’s wings off and tries to crush his head through his helmet. Wilson stabs the Red Hulk with his wing, which sets off a giant explosion, burying both Wilson and the Red Hulk in rubble.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Samuel Sterns’ appearance, with green skin and a deformed skull from his oversized brain, is likely to scare younger audiences.
  • Thaddeus Ross is likely to scare younger audiences with his intimidating appearance and angry outbursts.
  • With a large and muscular frame, angry facial expressions and thunderous roars, the Red Hulk is likely to frighten young viewers. The transformation from Ross to Red Hulk may also be disturbing, as his hands, feet and other body parts deform and expand.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Ross’ rocky relationship with his daughter could be unsettling for children with troubled family dynamics.
  • The gravestone of Ross’ late wife is shown. This may upset some children, particularly those who have dealt with the death of a loved one.
  • Isaiah is held in a prison after the attempted assassination of the world leaders. This could be distressing to viewers with an incarcerated loved one.
  • Torres is shown in hospital after being caught in a missile explosion and is said to be in critical condition.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Torres wears an Adidas tank top while training with Isaiah.
  • Wilson drives a GMC Truck.
  • Isaiah has a poster of NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the wall of his boxing gym.
  • iPhones are used frequently throughout the movie, playing a prominent role as a means of mind-control for Samuel Sterns. Additionally, Torres takes a photo with Isaiah and uses the AirDrop feature to share it with him.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Ruth talks about Bucky as a prospective romantic partner, saying, “I can work with that”.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • As Ross transforms into the Red Hulk, his clothes no longer fit and tear off his body, leaving only his pants from the knee up.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • President Thaddeus Ross is repeatedly shown to be taking pills throughout the movie, which are uncovered to be a heart medication engineered by Sterns to turn him into the Red Hulk.
  • Wilson orders some beers in a bar.
  • Wilson, Torres and Isaiah hold glasses and champagne in a limousine on the way to the White House.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Shit
  • Stupid
  • Hell
  • Damn
  • Bitch
  • Ass
  • Bastard.

In a nutshell

Captain America: Brave New World is the latest instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the fourth Captain America film within the Universe. The movie focuses heavily on the wrongdoings of government, with lies, secrecy, imprisonment and human experimentation present. Due to the violence and coarse language, the film is best suited for older teens and adults, with parental guidance for ages 15 to 16.

The main messages from this movie are to embrace your unique qualities and to have confidence in yourself, no matter how large the shoes you need to fill. The movie also champions standing up for what is right in the face of injustice.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Teamwork
  • Courage
  • Friendship
  • Compassion
  • Trust
  • Integrity.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • The use of threats, violence and lies for personal gain.