As you read in the teaser, I was one of the lucky few to see
Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Thursday, and boy I'm glad I was. Now, I am here to give you my thoughts! Oh, and P.S.. this is my first review.
From what I gathered, Captain America is perceived by the general public to be, well, kind of dumb and boring. Frankly, I couldn't really blame them. He's not filthy rich, doesn't have a badass hammer, can't turn into a 10 foot tall monster. All he was made out to be in
Captain America: The First Avenger and
The Avengers was just some guy who's above the average human. Knowing this, it became Marvel's mission to reinvent Cap into someone who is a favorite of those pesky general audiences.
Without further adieu, Marvel hired two directors that would achieve this: the Russo Brothers. Many were skeptical of two TV guys coming in and directing a huge action movie, but those concerns can be put to rest.
The Winter Soldier features downright incredible action, easily the best EVER featured in a Marvel film. The Russo Brothers turned Steve into an incredible 21st century soldier that kicked total ass. If you watched the 4 minute clip, you know what I'm talking about. Naturally, with Cap's new fighting style/technique, there were some incredible fights between him and foes like Batroc and the Winter Soldier.
Besides the fighting, this movie is also incredible in almost every other category. For one, this is one of the best-acted Marvel films we have seen. For that matter, one of the best of all CBM's. Anthony Mackie killed his performance as Sam Wilson while Robert Redford stole the show in the second and third acts. Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson were great as usual. Evan's performance added on to the new Captain America. Scarlett Johansson made, in my opinion, a massive improvement over her Avengers performance. In that 2012 box office mammoth, a lot of her lines didn't feel like they were delivered properly (though, this could be attributed to Joss Whedon's cheesy writing style). Black Widow had a lot of development throughout the film, and Ms. Johansson portrayed this perfectly. Also, actors like Frank Grillo, Cobie Smulders, and Maximiliano Hernandez showed off their chops.
Another great factor of the movie was the plot and story. While some reviews say the complex plot brought the movie down, I disagree. To me,
Captain America: The Winter Soldier brings the story in a full circle better than most CBM's before. The resolution is extremely satisfying. If you read the comic this movie is based on, you may have an idea already. Marvel didn't stop there, however. This film brilliantly sets up
The Avengers: Age of Ultron in the final 10 minutes. Clearly Marvel has learned their lesson from
Iron Man 2. When it was said it would significantly shake up the MCU, they weren't lying.
Visually,
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is solid. The new Helicarriers looked like beautiful diamonds through the Sony 4K projector at the theater. There was one scene with spotty CGI and you'll know it when you see it (if you aid attention to set photos, you could probably guess). The use of practical effects weren't as frequent as you may have expected with all of the touting of it. But when they ere there, they added a great dimension to the movie, adding on to the grounded feel.
Now, I know you've been waiting for it. The prime highlight for this film has got to be Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier. So far he has been at a consensus tie with Loki for the top Marvel villain. I disagree, he's easily the best yet. Never in a Marvel film have we had such a Badass character. If you thought Cap's moves were epic from the clips and whatnot, you are in for a show with the Winter Soldier. Not only were his fighting skills top of the line, Sebastian Stan made him one of the most terrifying villains in any CBM. Stan conveyed so much feeling through the part of his face that wasn't covered. You could feel the anger. You could feel the determination. You could feel... the sadness. Oh, and yes, his infamous line from the book is in the movie.
All in all,
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a truly amazing film, one any CBM fan should see as soon as possible. The fantastic action, great visuals, return of a few characters, and phenomenal performances from Mackie, Grillo, Redford, and Stan make this the best Marvel solo movie, and possibly the best movie they have ever done.