Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie
Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[Rating: 3.5/5]
Are you ready? Are you ready for your bi-annual dose of Marvel goodness? Are you getting sick of it yet, is it leaving a bad taste in your mouth and making you go, “No, Marvel, I’ve had enough!”? No? Me either. It truly is the golden age of comic-book geekery, a sweet time to be alive if you’re of the spandex-loving persuasion. With their bigger gamble, Guardians of the Galaxy, opening later this year, Marvel have come out of the gate in 2014 with a safer choice; Captain America: The Winter Soldier. A sequel to one of the lesser revered Marvel films, Captain America: The First Avenger, all that’s left to wonder is if this latest instalment can continue the impressive Marvel winning streak or if finally you’ll be left going, “Hmmm, maybe I’ve had enough…”.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier shows Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) going about his new daily life. A life that mainly consists of jumping out of planes, smacking down bad guys with his shield and being pestered by Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) about why he won’t ask out that girl from accounting. Naturally, things don’t stay this peaceful for long as Cap finds out that SHIELD is developing three giant, gun-toting helicarrier world-policing systems. What could possibly go wrong? Amongst the kerfuffle, a mysterious entity only known as ‘The Winter Soldier’ comes out of the woodwork and attempts to take down SHIELD director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and suggests towards a sinister force working from within SHIELD itself. When warned not to trust anyone, Cap goes on a mission to uncover what is actually happening at SHIELD and if there is any way he can stop it. A mission which greatly piques the interest of the World Security Organisation’s chairman, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford).
At this point, you know what you’re going to get with Marvel. If you’re not on board with the whole Comic-Book thing then in all honesty, why are you even seeing the film? The Winter Soldier is a fun, action-packed joy ride masquerading as a sort of, “My First Political Thriller”. This blending of genres always works for Marvel, especially after The Avengers which seems to insist that every film after is imbued with that wonderful ‘Whedon-esque’ humour and charm, regardless of who’s writing or directing. This is one of the best things about these films, the fact that no matter how dire the stakes and how heavy the action is, there’ll always be someone there with a nice wise-crack to cut through that tension. Then, of course, you proceed to build even more tension. It truly is an effective formula which serves this film really well. While sometimes the plot might get a little heavy-handed and a slight chore to chug through, it’s never long before you find yourself smiling at a wisecrack or mouth agape at one of the many action scenes.
There is, of course, the fantastic casting decisions that Marvel continues to dish out as well. While Chris Evans is always admirable as Captain America, one of the best things about this film is that it almost equally focuses on the entity of SHIELD itself and its other employees, namely Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. These two basically steal the show, their characters used to their fullest and brimming to the edge with badass-ness. Overall, they act as a great counterbalance to Cap’s stoic heroism. Adding to this balance is newcomer Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon. A jesting ex-pat who quickly befriends cap outside of work before lending him a hand when he’s most in need. If tackled wrongly, he could have easily thrown off the nice balance going here, but luckily only ends up adding to the group’s overall charisma.
You know what you’re getting here; a fun and bombastic foray deeper into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Much better than its predecessor, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has shield-bashing action, quick wit and a sparkling charm that should please anyone who’s still got a little bit of inner-child to ignite. While its plot may trudge along at some points, the pros definitely outweigh the cons here in what is a safe and almost surprisingly good entry into the franchise. Also, don’t forget, it’s a Marvel movie; STAY UNTIL THE END OF THE CREDITS!
