“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Review
With few allies and many enemies, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) must take on HYDRA when they pose a threat to the world in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Marvel films may be huge blockbusters with lots of crowd pleasing moments, but that doesn’t mean that some don’t push for realism. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” may focus on a supersoldier with a shield he throws around, but it has all of the skill and feel of a political thriller. While some Marvel fans were underwhelmed by sequels like “Iron Man 2” or “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is one that surpasses the original while bringing Captain America to modern day.
After “The Avengers,” Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is now serving S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent, frequently working with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to stop threats to America. When director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is thought to have been killed by a mysterious assassin called “The Winter Soldier,” Rogers discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised and infiltrated by the villainous organization HYDRA and is now on the run. Alongside Romanoff and a new ally, flying veteran Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Rogers must take on HYDRA and prevent them from attaining world domination.
One of the best things about the film is how it takes Captain America, whose previous solo film was a fun action adventure set in WWII, and makes him more realistic. While he still has that optimism he possessed in “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “The Avengers,” it’s constantly being confronted by the more morally gray attitude of today.
One of the more interesting elements of Rogers is how he adapts to the present time. While there is an occasional joke about him not understanding a modern thing (he keeps a notebook of things to check out like The Beatles and the “Rocky” films), screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely know that those jokes are cheap and that, since Steve Rogers is a soldier, he can adapt to his environment. When he first meets Sam, Steve says that having no polio is great as is the internet and healthier food.
The biggest problem Steve faces is the fact that nearly all of his friends and loved ones died while he was frozen for 70 years. The only one left in his life, the love of his life Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), is now in her nineties and she is starting to deteriorate which is incredibly sad. With all of this going on, it makes sense that Steve would work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and do the only thing he’s really good at.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. turns on him, Steve teams up with fellow Avenger Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to fight HYDRA.
But when HYDRA reveals its ugly head, Steve must prevent them from hijacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarriers which would allow them to target anyone they see as a threat. To do so, he must work with Black Widow, who is constantly trying to set him up on dates, and Sam Wilson who dons a winged jetpack to become The Falcon.
Both of these characters are fantastic with Black Widow being the badass agent we know and love (although she was still seven years away from her own film) and Falcon making a marvelous introduction. Wilson is a great addition to the Marvel Universe because of how, like Cap, he’s a veteran. It’s also great to see more Marvel heroes that aren’t superpowered which adds to the more realistic tone of the film.
While the “Iron Man” films are action comedies and the “Thor” films are more cosmic, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” works very well as a spy film/political thriller on par with “All The President’s Men” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” Everything about it feels more realistic which is saying something for a film with a star-spangled protagonist. The film addresses themes of freedom versus government surveillance but never comes down too hard on either stance.
HYDRA, which was a more over-the-top organization led by a guy called Red Skull, has evolved into a more sinister presence. The film’s main villain, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), is a senior official within S.H.I.E.L.D. and he’s incredibly intimidating because of how he feels like a real threat we’d see in today’s world. It also helps that Robert Redford is one of the greatest actors of all time.
The film’s action is both spectacular and gritty with urban action sequences and great locations. One of the best action scenes is a bunch of guys in an elevator trying to overpower Captain America. Not to give anything away, but Cap wins. The bridge fight is also incredible with the Winter Soldier being revealed to be Cap’s WWII buddy Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who was captured by HYDRA, cryogenically frozen and brainwashed into a living weapon. This reveal, for non-comic fans, was very shocking and gave Cap even more drama since his best friend is now his enemy.
Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) introduction to the MCU is wonderful as he meets Steve Rogers through Veterans Affairs and collaborates with him to take down HYDRA.
All of these elements come to a head in the fantastic climax which sees Cap, Black Widow, Falcon, Nick Fury and their allies within S.H.I.E.L.D. as they take down HYDRA. With HYDRA trying to take over three helicarriers, the heroes have to infiltrate the helicarriers’ targeting systems and have them shoot each other. The action is impeccably well shot with a good mix of CGI fun and excellent practical stunt work. Other than the climax of “The Avengers,” this was probably the most exciting final action scene the MCU had at this point.
It’s important to know that directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who would go on to make three more Marvel films, began their journey in the MCU with this film. Their talent as filmmakers is incredible because, if they can take characters like Captain America and The Falcon seriously, then they are some of the greatest directors working with comic book films today.
While I’ve had no problems pointing out the flaws in Marvel films, even the ones I love, it’s hard to find any notable problems in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” It’s a tightly paced thriller that managed to take a story that had no aliens or Infinity Stones and make it something truly special.
