In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we pick back up with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) an undetermined amount of time after the New York attack (I'd say at most a year after). He is working as a covert S.H.I.E.L.D operative while trying to adapt to the new times and the new politics of today's world. When a high ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D is attacked, Steve is forced to go on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D and from a mysterious and lethal assassin known only as The Winter Soldier, while at the same time uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the freedom of not just the USA, but of the world.
As you can tell from my header, I absolutely LOVED this latest Marvel film. I'm actually crazy about it, but before I nerd-gush I'm going to try to organize my thoughts on the film itself.
There are many characters in this film, some minor and some not-so-minor, but all are strong and well acted. Chris Evans is back as Captain America/Steve Rogers. In this film, he's able to emerge as my new favorite Marvel hero (that's right, he beats out Iron Man). The action scenes he has are great (more on that later), and he still brings a great deal of emotion and gravitas to his role. Cap is still a completely lovable and relateable character.
Scarlett Johansson returns as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff. She is still super sexy here, she does a great and memorable acting job, her fighting skills are still pretty awesome, and she easily emerges as one of the best things about this film. In this second outing, her and Steve get to share a complicated relationship and are kind of a duo (It's great fun to see them working together). Samuel L. Jackson dominates in his always iconic role of Nick Fury, certified bad-ass. He has a definite, strong role to play here and he does not disappoint (when does he ever?). Sebastian Stan does a great job as The Winter Soldier. Despite the title of the film, he isn't as big as you would expect him to be. Don't get me wrong, he does have a sizable role to play here, but he's not main baddie.
Anthony Mackie is pretty great as Falcon/Sam Wilson, he doesn't really come into play until the last act of the film but he still has a big role to play. Robert Redford plays Alexander Pierce, a shady higher up of S.H.I.E.L.D. He really nails his role, managing to impress. Some minor characters make a reappearance as well: Hayley Atwell makes a small cameo as Peggy Carter (I liked getting to see where her character is today) and Colbie Smulders is back as Maria Hill, doing a good job in a supporting role.
One of the most impressive things about Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the action and fighting sequences. This film has THE BEST action and fight sequences in any of the Marvel films thus far. Captain America is a complete and total bad-ass, and the way he goes about taking down baddies is jaw-dropping and super impressive (he also isn't immune to taking a beating at times). Black Widow is also a skilled fighter (which has already been well established). Falcon's aerial battles are impressive as well. Even Nick Fury gets his own action scene in the traffic heavy streets of New York. The action here is brutal, fast, and insane. Luckily for us, it's also fairly constant in the film. Each action/fight scene has something new to it, and they never feel stale, repetitive, or dull. Every one is guaranteed to reel any hardcore action junkie right in (and yes, they are indeed VERY hardcore in this film). I also love that this isn't just Cap's story, but S.H.I.E.L.D's as well.
However, that's not all there is to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This sequel is also a political espionage thriller, with plenty of mysteries and conspiracies hidden inside. In fact, I'd say the film is equal parts political espionage thriller and action film (although the answer to the big mystery at the core of this film is suitably comic book-y). This film wants you to keep your brain on as you watch, as it also has a few sly comments about the world we live in today. It's actually a fairly smart film.
I saw the film in 3-D, and I gotta say that while it's not the best 3-D film I've seen , the 3-D sampled here is still impressive in some scenes (mainly the action scenes). Nothing really flies out of the screen, and there is a decent amount of depth added, but the real benefit of the 3D here is it makes the world you're watching feel larger and more spacious. I'm not going to say the 3D is required or necessary to enjoy the film, but if you do fork over the extra bucks to see it in 3-D you should feel fairly satisfied with the product delivered here.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier marks the next step in the evolution of the Marvel film. It easily asserts itself as a film that needs to be seen. There are some neat little moments that make reference to the first Captain America, so another viewing of that film may prove beneficial, but overall this is one of the few Marvel films that really stands on it's own. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a film that changes the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is an event that occurs at the end of the movie that shakes this world up a good deal and if you are even planning on seeing the next Avengers film, then Captain America: The Winter Soldier is absolutely required viewing. It also is easily the best Marvel film so far (it's also the most brutal, most hardcore, and the dirtiest). It sets a new bar, and from here on out will be the film I will use to judge all other Marvel films. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a strong, fun film that's got plenty of action and smarts to it, making it not just a great Marvel film but a great film PERIOD.
5 STARS
Be on the lookout for a nice cameo by Danny Pudi (aka Abed from Community).
Just for reference: Out of 10 stars, I'd give this a 9.8 .
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