Captain America – The Winter Soldier: Review
(Beware: This review contains SPOILERS!)
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie). However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
Ever since the first Captain America film and The Avengers I’ve been waiting for Cap to be out in the modern world. I’ve always felt like that’s where we would get more of the emotional side of Steve Rogers and his displacement in 2014. The first act of the film dealt with a part of that which I really dug. The went in to the “everyone I know is dead” moments and that brought the story back down to earth and gave it a sense of realism. He’s the only hero out of the bunch that doesn’t entirely have anything to go back to except S.H.I.E.L.D. and his duty to protect. The S.H.I.E.L.D. presence was the main focus of this film and what takes place within the secret agency was something I didn’t expect at all. It caught me by surprise and immediately got my attention. That was the turning point of the story where it went from a superhero movie right into it being a political espionage film. It was that aspect that kept my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Every moment that I witnessed consisted of me wondering who was on the right side or who was double crossing who. As of now this has to be my favorite of all of the MCU films so far simply because of its substance. Evans is phenomenal as Cap and has really found a way to embody everything that the straight laced soldier is and has the perfect heroic look. In this film he branched out a bit more with his performance and gave us a side of Cap people probably didn’t expect. Another thing that you expect from a Marvel film is the easter eggs and this one definitely had them. The main one that got me excited was the name drop of a certain Sorcerer Supreme. That gives us more than enough proof that Marvel is going straight ahead with a Dr. Strange movie and that has me pumped for Phase 3. The fight scenes in the film were fantastic! I was very impressed but the one that got my attention was the one on one fight against Batroc The Leaper played by Georges St-Pierre. His MMA training came in handy here and we were treated to a fast paced fight that included powerful hits as well as a whole bunch of counter attacks. Johansson and Mackie round out the supporting heroes in the film. Johansson has proven what an asset she is to these films and deserves a film of her own soon. In every MCU movie she is in she seems to up the ante and gets more and more physical and it was no different here. My favorite moment was the confrontation against Alexander Pierce. Speaking of Pierce, Robert Redford did an amazing job as the main antagonist of the film. When his name was revealed to be involved in the film I just knew that the approach to the movie was going to be much different than what we’ve seen before and I was absolutely right. He gave the film a calm, menacing vibe that only someone with a caliber such as his could only provide. Mackie’s Falcon was the character that I was curious about. I was wondering how it would translate to the screen and boy did it ever. The Falcon’s aerial maneuvers looked less like a handglider and more like an actual bird flying through the sky. I hope I’m wrong but it almost feels like he’s the War Machine of this film and is there for a small part of the movie then we don’t hear from him for a while. I hope I’m wrong because I actually liked The Falcon but I’m not sure at this point. Sebastian Stan was great as The Winter Soldier and his action scenes were parallel to Evans. He was basically the Anti Captain America and as the movie progressed showed that he was a damaged and conflicted man. When the first Cap movie came out I couldn’t have predicted just how great Stan was going to be because of his minimal role but he definitely shined a lot more. I just wish that we got a bit more from The Winter Soldier. Maybe they’re saving it for another film but it just felt like there wasn’t enough to me. There was so much in this film that I could honestly go on and on about this film but I won’t. This is truly the best MCU film that has come out so far. I really liked Thor: The Dark World and liked Iron Man 3 but this one feels like there was a lot more on the line story wise and progressed the way things will be perceived in the MCU from here on out. Definitely a MUST SEE!
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1. The first of the scenes shows Baron Von Strucker, played by Thomas Kretschmann talks about how HYDRA is still around and reveals Loki’s staff from the The Avengers movie. He talks about how they had been experimenting on various subjects and how none of the survived……except for The Twins. That’s when they show Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch contained in cells.
2. The Winter Soldier stands in the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian and comes across the Bucky Barnes portion of the wing. The thrilling music plays as it cuts to black.
So, what do you all think?! I’m VERY excited about the future of the MCU and as far as I’m concerned they can take my money now.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier in NOW PLAYING in theaters EVERYWHERE!
