Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

With the recent news that Marvel has slated films as far out as 2028, as well as rival studios planning out similar franchises on the properties they own, it seems safe to say that we won’t be seeing the end of superhero films any time soon.  Personally, these news bits have made me a little weary: The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man 3, Man of Steel and Thor: The Dark World have left me feeling full on superhero movie fatigue (it doesn’t help that Spider-Man & Man of Steel are now foundations for franchises).  While I am going to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, I was ready to cut loose of the other parts of this mega-property, especially with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fiasco.  However, Captain America: The Winter Soldier brought me back on board and showed why Marvel is the envy of the rival superhero movies.

Of the Avengers who’ve had their own films, Captain America was the one with the most potential story-wise.  It’s touched upon briefly in The Avengers, but here it gets more development.  The world Steve Rodgers knew is gone; the people he knew when he was frozen are either dead or elderly, and the mindset of America has changed significantly from the WWII era to the post-9/11 one.  Cap is mostly alone, despite flirtations from a neighbor (Revenge’s Emily VanCamp) and S.H.I.E.L.D. co-worker Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) attempting to play match maker.  He befriends a fellow vet (Anthony Mackie) in part because soldiers are the closest type of person he can relate to.  On top of his personal life, he also bristles with the closest thing he has to home, S.H.I.E.L.D., trying to establish peace through elaborate preventive measures and not being forthcoming with all the details he needs for missions.

One of the strengths that has kept The Marvel Cinematic Universe fresh is the fact that each franchise has a distinct genre, and even that can change between films.  While Captain America: The First Avenger was a war film, Winter Soldier mixes it up with a political thriller.  S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised and our heroes find themselves targeted by the eponymous Winter Soldier, a mysterious, legendary assassin who has been working for decades.  It owes a bit to 70s thrillers—albeit with more explosions—as well as the Bourne series.  There is some sharp commentary on surveillance and governmental power, but it doesn’t preach.  What it says for the future of the MCU is definitely promising.  It is the darkest of the MCU films so far, but it never forgets the importance of levity.

There are a few problems: like a lot of superhero films of late, it goes a little too long.  The staging of the action sequences, particularly early on, was a little hard to follow.  There are also a few elements that needed a little more development like the eponymous Winter Soldier, and as much as I enjoyed the Falcon, the film never really bridged the gap from Falcon as a soldier to a guy with an elaborate mechanical winged apparatus.  Wouldn’t Tony Stark be knocking on this guy’s door or did I miss something?

Watching The Winter Soldier, it’s clear Marvel knows what it’s doing with its empire, which is practically a well-oiled machine.  They make films that largely respect the source material with tons of Easter eggs and shout outs to the fans, yet remain easily accessible to the casual filmgoer (a necessary element for these films to make hundreds of millions of dollars).  Despite my issues with the length and a few underdeveloped bits, The Winter Soldier is a ton of fun and a nice precursor to the summer movie season.

Grade: B

Miscellaneous (SPOILER ALERT):

-I also really like what they’ve done with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow.  They could have had her get together with Cap at the end (they definitely have some chemistry going), but instead keep the relationship platonic.  They could still get together, but withholding that helps show she’s not just the love interest because both Johansson and Chris Evans are good looking.  Hopefully those looking to take Marvel’s crown take note of this with their female characters.

-I’m definitely curious as to how Guardians of the Galaxy will do, the first non-sequel they’ve done since the original Captain America.  It looks like it’ll be fun, possibly a refreshing chaser to what looks to be like a disappointing summer movie season.

-I definitely want Falcon’s wings for Christmas.

-Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce was a decent villain.  That’s usually the weak point of the MCU so far: excepting Loki, the villains haven’t been all that great, but Pierce was solid.

-Zola’s fate, having his intelligence replicated into a computer and using it to continue HYDRA’s agenda, reminds me a lot of a somewhat obscure 1970s sci-fi film called Colossus: The Forbin Project.  It certainly ties into the idea of technology asserting control over people.  If you can find it, it’s worth a watch.

-As usual, the mid-credits scene is the important one for the continuity, giving us our first glimpses of Quicksilver (now the only character to appear in both MCU and non-MCU films with this summer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Scarlet Witch.  But the actual final scene at the end offers maybe a hint at what’s to come with Bucky’s character.  I’ve read he signed a multi-film deal, so it should be safe to say this isn’t the last we’ll see of him.

-I kind of wish they didn’t make Garry Shandling’s Senator (from Iron Man 2) a HYDRA supporter.  Would’ve been nice to have someone just be a jerk and not flat out on the bad side.

-Troy and Abed joining HYDRA!  Hard to believe the Russo Brothers, who directed this film, also work on Community.