"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014, PG-13)

marvel-movies.wikia.com
I was a latecomer to the Avengers universe – I enjoyed the first Iron-Man at some point, and Joss Whedon’s involvement brought me to the first Avengers, which was the film that sent me on a crash course through the series.  I caught up quickly, and I’ve since seen all the post-Avengers offerings on their opening weekends.
 
Well, I literally just returned from the new Captain America, and I’m terribly pleased.  It might be my favorite post-Avengers movie of the bunch, I had an absolute blast.  Quick thumbnail – Capt. Steve Rogers has mostly adjusted to life in the 21st century after the growing pains of The Avengers, working hard as a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. man.  However, factions within S.H.I.E.L.D. are conspiring against him, and Cap finds himself on the run.  As his investigation throws up specters from his past, Cap is face with a venerable foe, a mythic assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
 
It’s hard not to love Cap, and Chris Evans is great as always.  Though his character has gone on quite the journey and he’s been more than a little disillusioned, it’s good to see that his core values are still intact.  Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow makes a stellar screen partner for him – she makes him think a bit more critically, and he gives her something to trust in.  Those two have terrific friend chemistry, and I could watch them be fugitive investigators all day.  Anthony Mackie fits seamlessly into Cap’s world as Falcon (and the wings?  Awesome,) and I like seeing more of Cobie Smulders’s Maria Hill.
 
With the Winter Soldier, Marvel might have finally found an adversary to rival Loki.  He’s used largely as a weapon in this movie, but Sebastian Stan, who I’ve loved since Kings, is highly effective in his bigger character moments, and I predict great things for the next Captain America movie.  Given the nature of the character, he’s more than just a generic bad guy with eeeeevil ambitions – the whole thing is full of story potential.  Oh, and those scenes of the Winter Soldier as a weapon are amazing; such a BAMF, and it’s fantastic to see Cap go up against someone who can match punches with him.
 
The story plays like an old espionage thriller with superhero-action set pieces.  The character interactions are fabulous, and there’s a nice balance of humor throughout (I especially like the comments poking fun at Cap’s behind-the-times-ness re: pop culture and technology.)  There are some topnotch fight scenes, especially between Cap & co. and the Winter Soldier.  However, I’m not all that impressed with the camera work in the action sequences; it often feels too frenetic, which muddies the scenes and makes it hard to tell what’s going on.
 
As is the norm for these movies, we get two post-credit scenes, so stick around!
 
Warnings
 
Tons of action violence and a few sexual references.
 
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In other news, Game of Thrones is coming back tonight, and it's gonna be awesome - I can't wait!

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