Well, what can I say? I'm always such a fan of following one of Marvel's movies from the stage of conception, up to the release date. Although I've loved every Marvel Studios release to date (although Iron Man 3 is questionable), I usually get to viewing and never feel 100% fulfilled from the anticipation. That has changed with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was one of the occasions where it surpassed my expectations. I was one of the many that loved Captain America: The First Avenger. But I may be part of the minority that has it near the top of my list in regards to Marvel's offerings to date. It's amazing that The Winter Soldier pushes it into the background. Not only is it a great Cap movie, it's very much the SHIELD movie that people were calling for. I don't think that a real fan will need me to repeat the fact that the stakes are high and the ramifications are plentiful. So, to the review*.
*Mid and After-Credits will be labelled with SPOILER warnings. The first portion has story elements but stops short of that big twist.
We open with a Cap that's, very much, settling into modern life. His untrustworthy trait that was present in The Avengers is at the forefront. He's doing what he does best, the only way he knows how, but he's not comfortable with it. He knows that people around him are holding back and aren't laying all of their cards on the table. Something that, initially, he does the opposite to.
It, hands down, has the best opening sequence from the MCU (IM2's 'Shoot To Thrill' Expo entrance was my favourite until now). After we've had an amusing introduction between Cap & Falcon we move on to an exquisitely executed action set piece. It has remnants of a Bond movie, the camerawork of a Bourne movie and the powerful, bone-crunching, action that a Cap movie should have. The shield is thrown, superhuman kicks and punches are delivered as Cap, Black Widow & a SHIELD strike team, lead by Grillo's Brock Rumlow, take down Batroc and his pirates who have taken a SHIELD ship and it's occupants. Cap's minimal trust is tested as he finds Black Widow completing missions on the side for Fury.
There are secrets at every turn and they flood in as the story unfolds at an incredible, and well balanced, place. Cap takes the secrecy straight to Fury and is told that SHIELD really is still fighting to stay that one step ahead. Just as in The Avengers, there are powers that SHIELD cannot always match and cannot always preempt. This doesn't sit well with Steve's moral compass. But events unfold that test this resolve.
We are treated to a heartwarming moment between Steve and his elderly love, Carter, that was sensible to save for this movie. It's brief, but poignant. But what follows is probably my favourite action scene from this movie. Fury flexing his action chops. His sneaky side mission from the movie's opening hasn't gone unnoticed by an unknown antagonist. Having taken his thoughts straight to the top, in the form of Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce, Fury is railroaded by an unknown group of individuals. His slick, cool, head is tested when he is attacked. But it gives birth to an epic car chase and THE super spy's skill-set being given a decent airing for the first time since he first appeared in Iron Man's after-credit scene. You really get a feel for the stakes being high. We are given a brief introduction to The Winter Soldier himself, but little enough for a regular moviegoer to be left with intrigue. As a fan, if the Director of SHIELD can be got at and, very nearly, wiped off the face of the planet then nobody is safe.
We bare witness to Pierce's wrangling at the top, Steve meeting his 'neighbour', who is a potential love interest, and Fury telling Hill that she needs to go "shadow" (off the grid). After his escape, what follows is another assassination attempt on Fury. This time in Steve's apartment. All in the wake of Fury telling a skeptical Steve that SHIELD is "compromised" whilst handing him the efforts of Natasha's side mission from the movie's opening. The secrets unfold from there as Steve's 'neighbour' is revealed to be his protector, Agent 13, and our assassin is Steve's first, brief, first meeting with The Winter Soldier.
As Hill, Natasha and Steve witness Fury seemingly die on the hospital table, a real fear seems to run through these characters. Their chief has fallen foul of an unknown enemy, Steve has finally had it confirmed that he cannot "trust anybody" and this is shown when he hides the drive that they obtained from the ship, even from his close teammates.
At this point, Steve is summoned back to the incredibly depicted Triskelion. Redford gives us our first rousing speech about what it is that SHIELD is trying to accomplish. This speech gives us the first example of how much Steve actually does believe in Fury's questionable methods, as he, for the first time, keeps his cards close to his chest. This very scene leads up into revealing a level of corruption that has seeped into proceedings. As Cap tries to leave, Rumlow's strike team turn on Cap to take him off the grid. Yet another favourite scene of mine is the elevator scene (seen in the trailers in snippets) where he makes his escape. These are the scenes that show off Cap's superhuman ability and resilience. Abilities that we have grown to love over the years in the comics. Abilities that have seemed a little toned down in his previous outings. I hope that this is the way that we get to view Cap in future instalments. That is all testimony to the Russo brother's vision.
From here, Cap finds an ally in Natasha. But can you trust a person fully who isn't as forthcoming with who they actually are? Steve's leap of faith pays of as they delve deep into who is behind the slow disbanding of SHIELD. After a humorous scene where they discover where their journey will take them next, they head to the military camp where it all started for Steve Rogers, Camp Leigheigh. They discover one of SHIELD's first bases of operation but, below, more questions are answered. And we find out just who is behind trying to take SHIELD down...from the inside, out.
From then on, everything that has been built, in regards to SHIELD within the MCU, is changed forever. This movie ceases to be just a POW-WHAM comic-book adventure and a real credible piece of writing, production and direction. It takes everything that has come previously in MCU instalments and doesn't relent in making you feel like it could all come to an end. There isn't one character that, I felt, was out of place or that wasn't portrayed well. The acting standard was high, the set-pieces were executed to perfection and the story was complex without being confusing. My personal highlight was the attention to detail. Nothing was contrived, nothing seemed coincidental and everything had a place and meaning. My only gripe would be that some big aspects of each story arc had to take a backseat at times. The relationship between Bucky and Steve is a very big issue. But it's explored to a small degree. Even Bucky's backstory is only treated to a small montage. However, there was enough that it wasn't just a throwaway part if the overall movie. I think that it is more my greed talking. I enjoyed it so much that I could have watched another hour. Unlike Iron Man 3 (which I didn't enjoy) and Thor: The Dark World (which I liked), even the complexity of the various arcs that are going on, it never felt like parts were shoehorned. It all had a place that lead into everything else that came to pass. This is something that, potentially, will be explored further down the line. And could lead to Evans departing from the franchise within the next few years as stated.
Evans has really made this part his own. My favourite has always been Hemsworth as Thor. But I think Evans has taken Cap to the top of my list within the MCU. This movie gave us Cap as he should be. Moral, fearless, badass. How things end for SHIELD will hopefully allow Cap to become the real leader when Age Of Ultron hits next year.
Johansson also takes the crown as one of many strong female characters. It was always something that Whedon pushed for in The Avengers. But being part of an ensemble, I never felt that she really stood out as much as I expected. This movie, for it's many characters and complex storyline, manages that. This is every bit SHIELD's movie as a Cap movie. And Natasha is every bit as memorable (for acting reasons, rather than just being just smoking).
Mackie is a great addition to the franchise. Again, he can feel a little lost in the overall story. But he doesn't fade into the background. The visuals for his Falcon costume, and how that aspect is introduced, are handled well. I hope his final scene does indeed lead into him being a part of Captain America '3'.
Samuel L. Jackson is great in the set pieces that I mentioned previously. Nick Fury is Nick Fury. But I'm glad that he got a little more screen time. He, after all, is the brainchild of The Avengers. There was always more depth to his character. It will be interesting to see where he and Hill go from here.
Sebastian Stan, for the little acting he gets to do, adds a real angst to one of our villains. Usually there's motive, usually there's anger. With The Winter Soldier, we have nothing more than a pawn in a massive game of chess. That's not dismissive of his contribution. It just allows you to feel a level of sympathy from a ruthless villain. I genuinely cannot wait for him to be back and part of the MCU. Hopefully with the Russos signing on again, we will get that.
It's also nice to see Marvel attracting some classic talent. Ant-Man has gained itself Michael Douglas. And it's great to see that they've started that by attracting Robert Redford. He does a fine job. I guess m only concern is that I'm not sure that I found his motives particularly believable. Whether that was in regard to his acting or whether it was more to do with the fact that time wouldn't allow enough to time to venture so in-depth. Oddly, he was the only part of the acting side of the movie that I found a little weak. There just wasn't that intensity for me.
There was a nice turn for Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow. He slowly becomes a bit of a bastard as the movie progress'. I liked the way that he was left as the movie ended.
Additional cast, that don't get a lot of time are the likes of Agent 13 (but a great foreshadowing of a potential love story), Agent Sidwell (who has a great curveball) and Maria Hill (who hardly shows yet pops up just tie in the story). There is another turn from a Captain America: The First Avenger character, which has a part to play in an overall twist, of which I didn't realise he would appear in such a way. Integral but easy. Even Howard Stark and Peggy Carter have a few moments. And a picture of Tommy Lee Jones can be seen at one point. It ties it all in to Cap's past very well and adds backbone to one or two arcs.
As for the effects. I would say, seamless. There seemed to be a lot of practical effects when it came to combat. I think that that showed. Larger set-pieces had substantial effects yet never seemed undercooked. It really came across as no expense spared. Whether a good mix of practical effects allowed more money for CGI, I'm not sure. But it always looked believable. Sets, scenes and imagery.
I would say that one of the negatives that I've seen pop up are in regard to the score. If I'm honest, I thought it pumped. It got you going at just the right moment. One moment, and fight between Steve & Bucky, where there seemed, like, flat music and really subtle music. For me, it should have been one or the other. It was an important moment but just felt flat. Aside from that, it was rousing.
So after heaping praise on so many aspects of this movie, where does it lead us to? Aside from stand-out performances, like a football team, it all comes down to who's steering the ship. Two things, two words...Russo brothers. These guys have taken their original vision and turned it into an incredible spectacle. Not only is it their unique vision, in comparison to his other outings, it's how Cap should have always been portrayed. SHIELD, villains, complex story, everything. It is a masterclass in how to execute a superhero movie without it coming across as clichéd, repetitive and campy. As I've said before, a benchmark and not just a great superhero movie, but, a great movie. Like MGM have done with signing up Sam Mendes to the Bond movie, having executed Bind to perfection, Marvel were right to snap these two up for another instalment. They are, for me, what Favreau was to Iron Man. Complimentary. And they just 'get him'.
As far as the finale, there wasn't any rush like in The First Avenger. There was the typical one-on-one showdowns. There were a few different scenes going on but each was well paced and balanced and brought it all to a fitting conclusion...in more ways than one.
Now, I've tried to limit spoilers up and to a point. Next I shall talk about my feelings in regard to the mid and end credit scenes.
SPOILER WARNING
Mid-Credit: This was the absolute icing on the cake. But I'll start by airing a grievance. I have a real dislike of Whedon's camera angles. It's such a stupid grievance but her did it in The Avengers. Like in the AOS tv show, he always seems to use small rooms and close angles. That's the first thing I picked up on having just watched The Winter Soldier.
However, I was most excited to see Von Strucker. Maybe slightly underwhelmed, but he looked great. I hope he gets plenty of screen time to shine as the casting is genius. It seems that the plans that were laid in The Winter Soldier were small fish compared to the incredible power that's about to be unleashed in AOU.
Quicksilver looked great also. By the time I watch The Winter Soldier, I has already seen the AOU set pictures. So whether there is a reason for the hair colour change, we'll see. The one thing I took away from his reveal was hat he seemed to be unable to control his powers. Whether it was because he didn't have the space to fully unleash his power, whether it was the, possible, mind control from the sceptre, or whether it was because the powers had been freshly augmented, I'm unsure. No doubt we'll find out next year.
It was also great to see Wanda. Unlike the stress that Pietro was under, she seemed calm. Scarily so. She was captivated by what she was doing. Purely telekinesis on show. But I'm sure that she's going to be an incredibly complex personality. For everyone else...and herself.
After-Credit: Having spent a section of the movie confused by Steve recognising him, we get treated to a scene where Bucky chooses to follow what Steve has said to him and find out for himself. The final looking is his full realisation and confirmation that he is Bucky. A sense of normality will allow Marvel to use him in the future, for good
A couple of disappointments that are not relevant to these scenes are the absence of Hawkeye in such a SHIELD driven movie. Not a problem as everyone is absent. Just felt like a great opportunity. I just hope that in AOU, they address why everybody isn't present throughout the individual outings.
I almost felt like they could have called it Captain America: Agent Of Shield. They could have had The Winter Soldier pop up and saved such a tag for a third movie (depending on how far ahead that Marvel have thought). It wasn't integral to have The Winter Soldier present. It was cool, but not integral. It could have been an incredible movie with people turning on SHIELD from the inside and still been one hell of a movie. But neither takes away from the other. It breaks up proceedings.
I must also remember my boner moment...."...dangerous people like....Stephen Strange..."
SPOILERS END
All in all, as I've said, this was genius execution. The Russos, actors, writers and everybody involved should be very pleased with themselves. I could easily watch this movie again and again. It didn't just enjoy it, I was in awe of it. At no point did it feel flat. There was plenty to get in, which they did, and it was done whether everything complimented each other. Stunning to watch, easy on the ear, no cheese, minimal but effective humour, stand-out performances and, as I've said a couple of times, a masterclass in how to execute, not just a superhero movie (although that's the main goal) but, a great movie.
Enjoyable from start to finish. I just hope that my enthusiasm and, unbiased, enjoyment translates the praise that I have for this movie.
Thank you for reading. Now go and buy your midnight ticket.
Your Craptain salutes you!