Captain America the Winter Soldier Review

Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Anthony Mackie

Released: April 4^th 2013

Based on the Character created by: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie in theaters. I was supposed to see Divergent but never got around to watching it and most of the movies that were being spewed out of Hollywood like an endless amount of tennis balls seemed uninteresting. At least Marvel/Disney decided to release another film in their Phase 2 series on a much unexpected date, April. Having a big blockbuster film like Captain America come out in a month where hardly any movies are released is unheard of, and it seems like April might just become the new May. Next week we already have Transcendence hitting theaters-which I am really excited for-so perhaps we might be seeing a new trend on the rise. Captain America the Winter Soldier is the first of my most anticipated films to finally be released. Captain America is my favorite Marvel hero so to say I was a little bit excited is vastly underplaying how large my anticipation was for the film. However I’ve found-and I think a vast majority of people might agree-that Phase 2 has been underperforming compared to Phase 1. Iron Man 3 was horrendous (if you liked it I won’t put it against you), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was a major disappointment despite catching on to a cult fan base, and Thor the Dark World was a very mediocre film that could have been great if it wasn’t for studio interference. So I did have my doubts on the newest Cap film and boy were my doubts quickly washed away, because Captain America the Winter Soldier is an amazing film!

Taking place two years after the events in the Avengers, Captain America: the Winter Soldier focuses on Steve Rogers adjusting to life in the modern world. No longer living in New York, Steve has been transferred up to Washington where he works closely with S.H.I.E.L.D as one of their best operatives. Along with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Steve is sent on multiple missions in order to secure world order and peace. However that peace is soon destroyed when a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier begins attacking S.H.I.E.L.D operatives and Captain America himself.  Blamed for the murders and branded as a traitor by the government he was sworn to protect, Captain America teams up with Black Widow in order to stop the murders and discover who the Winter Soldier really is.  

Captain America the Winter Soldier improves on everything from the First Avenger and more some. This is the best standalone film since the original Iron Man film; I’d even go as far as to say that this is the best Marvel film period. Big words I know, but other than the Avengers there hasn’t been that one really good Marvel film that wowed me, and boy did The Winter Soldier wow me. The plot in this film is so complex for a Marvel film and goes to some really dark places. The Russo brothers were very careful knowing how much they could do while still making a film that all audiences could enjoy. Even though this is technically a Disney film the Winter Soldier is the most violent Marvel movie so far, all the action scenes have practical effects and seldom is there cg in the film until the movies climax. I think this is what made all the action in this movie so nail biting inducing, unlike Iron Man or Thor, Captain America is the most grounded character that the Marvel Universe has (and that’s saying a lot).  Even though Capt has his own set of powers he can’t fly or use magic, this makes him more believable as a character and helps to not only ground the action in reality but the movie as well. I think audience members are so accustomed to seeing a hero with god like powers that they forgot how entertaining practical action scenes and a grounded hero can be.

This is the first MCU film that properly portrays Capt’s battle prowess and abilities, the First Avenger and the Avengers had Capt mainly using his shield, and it made people think that the hero could only fight with the famous weapon; however that is not the case. If you read comics you know what Steve Rogers can do, this movie shows how much of a bad-ass Capt is. Chris Evans is the only person I can see as Steve Rogers, just like Robert Downy Jr. and Tony Stark, Chris Evans has fully embraced the character, even after the negative reception when he was first cast as the character back in ’09, and Evans has proven that he is more than just some muscled pretty boy.  It’s a pity that Chris has said he wants to give up acting once his Marvel contract is up.  At least we still got two Avenger films and two solo Capt films coming out in the future.

The other character I was so happy to finally see portrayed correctly was the Black Widow, when Iron Man 2 came out I was really excited to see the Black Widow finally hit the big screen, she’s one of my favorite characters and at the time I think she was underappreciated among some comic readers, I was even happy with the casting choice of Scarlett Johansson, however her character was hardly portrayed correctly in Iron Man 2 and her character was reduced to just a pretty face. Even the Avengers underused her character-although she did have a ton more to do that time around-but her character was just so bland, Black Widow has such an awesome story line and when you are faced with characters like Iron Man Thor and the Hulk, it’s hard to get a lot of screen time and to have a ton of space to work with around these larger than life characters. The Winter Soldier brings the Black Widow to the forefront and gives her so much to work with that it’s a blessing; I do hope that they go through with the plans of making a Black Widow solo film because I think she can carry her own movie. The banter between both Capt and Black Widow is very funny, filled with dry humor and wit; I hope she also sticks around for other Capt films. My only complaint is how they changed her storyline with the Winter Soldier.

The one character though that I was most excited for is my personal favorite Marvel character, and that is the titular villain, the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier is the best villain that Marvel has come up with since Loki. Every other villain the in MCU has been so bland and boring, they didn’t have that spark that Tom Hiddelston had as Loki, nor were they as well developed as the character. The Winter Soldier however is an intimidating force to be reckoned with; he only has around six lines in the entire film but there’s this Darth Vader quality to him. You never know when he will pop up during the film and the entire movie is suffocating under the weight of his next big appearance. If you’ve read comics and are familiar with the source material then you know who the Winter Soldier is, but if you don’t than the reveal of who the character is will make the Winter Soldier all the more memorable and it will start to make sense why he hardly has any lines in the film. He’s also the best representation of a comic character that I’ve seen in a very long time.

Newcomer Anthony Mackie is a delight as Sam Wilson/Falcon who becomes not only Capt best friend but right hand man. The things they did with the character made him a very honest and likeable character and I am pretty sure we are going to be seeing a ton of kids dressed as him for Halloween. Samuel L. Jackson also returns as Nick Fury, however unlike the other installments of the Marvel franchise he is given so much more to work with and his character is FINALLY flesh out.  We also have Robert Redford joining the cast as Alexander Pierce the man behind S.H.I.E.L.D, throwing him into the mix gave the movie the heavy weight and the credibility to pulling of a serious political action thriller. 

I can’t talk too much about this movie without spoiling everything; this is a movie you need to know 0.0000% about before going in. The movie has a lot of surprises and twists and unlike all the other standalone Marvel films this one literally changes the entire Marvel Universe and I have no idea how Avengers Age of Ultron will pick up after this.  I am deliberately making this review short in order for you to go and see this amazing film for yourself, but I was incredibly impressed that two of my favorite Marvel characters were finally represented properly and with care. I am so excited that the Russo brothers have signed on for the third Captain America film, they really know what they’re doing here and I think that the Captain America franchise can become the next Iron Man (despite the crappy sequels)

I give Captain America the Winter Soldier a

9/10

Yes I went there, this is one of my favorite Marvel films period! More than Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2, Captain America the Winter Soldier is an almost perfect film, but don’t let the hype train get you because you don’t want your expectations to high, that’s movie 101 right there, I was victim to it back when Pacific Rim came out and was horribly disappointed.

Also there are two post credit scenes so stick around.