So far, we’ve had kind of a rough time with Marvel’s “Phase 2,” facing rehashed story elements in “Thor: The Dark World” and disappointing characterizations in “Iron Man 3.” It doesn’t help that “expanding the cinematic universe” has mostly meant just making sequels to movies featuring characters we’ve seen already, with typical self-contained stories that have little impact on the established world. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” changes all of that with a surprising amount of character building and sense of meaning that has been sorely lacking in Marvel’s last few outings.
As Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) learns to live in the modern world while working for S.H.I.E.L.D., a mysterious assassin known as The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) appears to take out Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Captain America, with the aid of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and war veteran Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), must now fight an enemy growing from within S.HI.E.L.D. itself and find out where the Winter Soldier came from before the world falls under rulership of the very agency sworn to protect it.
From the very start, it must be said that “Winter Soldier” strains very far from the boundaries of the superhero genre and ventures into espionage/secret agent territory, often feeling more like a Bond or exaggerated Bourne movie rather than an “Avengers” follow-up. Captain America spends much of the movie out of costume, allowing the action to be more suspenseful and chase-oriented than the typical overblown CGI that comic book movie fans are used to. Since the title character is not god-like or nearly invincible like his other brethren, every situation contains a sense of genuine danger, making all the action scenes very exciting to watch.
The effects enjoy a much-needed polish that the last Cap movie was in desperate need of. For me personally, “The First Avenger” was the most visually unappealing and limited in scope of Marvel’s lineup, with poor green screen effects and obvious sound stages, but none of that appears here. Marvel now has the money to fully realize their massive superhero visions onscreen and we see it in all its full glory. This isn’t to say “Winter Soldier” relies heavily on CGI effects. While many are used, there’s a refreshing reliance on practical effects throughout, on-ground man-to-man conflict and truly convincing stages and sets being the norm.
Unfortunately, the movie is not perfect. Captain America has been in need of development in the modern world, however not much is given here. We could have seen him dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, learning to live amongst people who don’t understand him, or struggling to understand a world where conflict can be sparked by an individual rather than another nation, but all of this is cast aside. Instead, we only get a few scenes of him dealing with some of these issues, but most of his “outdatedness” is simply used for simple comedy fuel instead of genuine character development. The plot is also a bit convoluted and characters seem to suffer some development at the expense of another action scene (the mysterious “Agent 13” comes to mind, as she is given a major introduction, but is never given much development). It also has to be said that despite his name being in the title, The Winter Soldier almost seems to take a back seat to all the happenings around him, nearly an afterthought added to a greater plot. His transitions from brainwashed soldier to a self-aware individual seem a bit rushed and hard to believe, as well. Hopefully we’ll see more development for him down the road, but his introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a fairly weak one.
As for the cast itself, everyone does just fine, as expected. Samuel L. Jackson is likable as ever, while Scarlett Johansson is clearly comfortable in her role as Black Widow. Chris Evans is as dedicated as ever to his role, although the role admittedly does not ask for too much. Basically, he’ll always make the right decision, he’ll always be an upright guy without many character quirks. Anthony Mackie is also a welcome addition to the franchise as Falcon, being emotional and truly likable in some scenes, but funny and appealing in the action sequences. The weak links come in the form of Robert Redford and Sebastian Stan. Redford’s more down-to-Earth demeanor struggles to match the colorful super-world around him, while Stan is asked to show very little range, but over-the-top corny when asked to show an emotion.
I’m excited about Marvel movies again. With such misfires as “Thor: The Dark World” and the painfully mediocre Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, I was beginning to wonder if the Marvel series would survive creatively post “Avengers,” but “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has proven that a standalone film can carry an ongoing narrative and make it interesting again, using an increase in stakes, deepening of some of the characters, and making major impacts on films following. “The Winter Soldier” is certainly one of the most well made Marvel films so far and, along with “Iron Man” and “The Avengers,” reminds us just why we love these movies so much.
I give “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” 4 Stars out of 5.
About Brady Gorman
