Marvel movies like Captain America: Brave New World are often at their best when they lean into other genres. Guardians of the Galaxy is a wacky sci-fi action comedy. Shang-Chi is a martial arts fantasy. Thor: Ragnarok is a metal-inspired epic. Brave New World feels a lot like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the franchise's best political thriller. Sticking with the theme, Brave New World took inspiration from John Frankenheimer's groundbreaking 1962 classic, The Manchurian Candidate.