At the Theater - "
Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) - Where
Captain America: The First Avenger was a pulpy,
nostalgic WWII-era throwback, this particular sequel is a modern-day,
politically motivated conspiracy thriller- I'm of the mindset that the
sharp contrast was necessary due to current sensibilities, with the
film's narrative effectively taking advantage of the governmental
corruption and big-brother induced paranoia frequenting today's headlines. The filmmaker's obvious commitment to utilizing practical effects and
stunt-work (in the first two acts, anyways) is highly commendable, and although this is indeed a darker, edgier foray that is undeniably entertaining, the film is missing that indefinable "it"...
Chris Evans returns as "
Captain Steve Rogers"- our hero is thrust into a labyrinthine espionage tale that finds him less and less trusting of his superiors and accomplices while trying to secure and decode a McGuffin in the form of a coveted USB flash drive. Branded a traitor and heading for a showdown with an enigmatic, metal-armed assassin known as "
The Winter Soldier",
Cap uncovers a plot with deep seeded roots, complete with the fate of millions hanging in the balance.
Evans, appropriately swollen and showing veins of charisma, once again supplies an effective embodiment of integrity and idealistic American justice- that said, the 32 year-old-actor's face is a bit too boyishly soft in close-ups and I found myself puzzled that this 95-year old super-soldier was wearing so much noticeable facial makeup. Couldn't the filmmakers have allowed for just a little bit of stubble? Evans has presence and believability is never an issue with him continuing the role- I just hope he looks a little more "natural", less "pretty" next time...
Samuel L. Jackson returns as "
Nick Fury" and is given much more to do this go 'round- an extended ambush sequence involving the one-eyed Director of
S.H.I.E.L.D. is pretty damned snazzy. I'm not a fan of Jackson, though he continues to make the role his own.
Scarlett Johansson (
Iron Man 2) brings sexy back as "
Black Widow", with a handful of impressive fight scenes to showcase the character's deadly nature. It appears a stand-alone
Black Widow film is scheduled for sometime in the next few years and I would expect Johansson to return.
Veteran screen legend Robert Redford (
3 Days Of The Condor) supplies "
Alexander Pierce", a senior
S.H.I.E.L.D. official whose motives keep the audiences guessing- his role here is much, much more than just a glorified cameo. Redford's presence adds a strange legitimacy to the proceedings, though maybe that's because I never thought I'd see him in a film of this nature.
Anthony Mackie's (
The Hurt Locker) "
Sam Wilson/
The Falcon" makes his debut here, portraying the genial war vet who, along with his familiarity with a winged-jet pack, is called back into action to aide
Cap and
Black Widow. Those unfamiliar with Mackie should get used to him- he's been relegated to supporting turns (as he is here) though I have a good notion that's just about to change.
Sebastian Stan (
Black Swan) portrays "
The Winter Soldier"- yes, this is the return of
Cap's long lost sidekick and best friend, "
Bucky Barnes", who audiences last saw falling into a deep chasm in
The First Avenger as a helpless
Cap looked on.
Barnes has been brainwashed and "reprogrammed" by the villainous faction, "
HYDRA", for the last 70 years- I find it interesting that the producers stepped around his origins in the comics, which featured the character as a Soviet weapon...
Frank Grillo (
End Of Watch) supplies
Cap's S.T.R.I.K.E. team member "
Brock Rumlow"- comic fans are more familiar with him as the mercenary "
Crossbones", though he's never referred to as that here. UFC Welterweight Champ Georges St-Pierre appears as "
Georges Batroc" (better known as
Batroc The Leaper), an Algerian Pirate who squares off against our main hero early in the film. The scarred and skewered-eyed Callan Mulvey (
300: Rise Of An Empire) is yet another
S.T.R.I.K.E. operative while Emily VanCamp may prove to be
Cap's next love interest.
Other returning Marvel Movie Alumni include the pretty Cobie Smulders (
The Avengers) as
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, "
Maria Hill", Gary Shandling (
Iron Man 3) as a stuffy Senator and Maximiliano Hernandez (
Thor) as a
S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison. Hayley Atwill reprises her role as the elderly version of
Cap's former love interest, "
Peggy Carter", from the first film- the effects work regarding her aged look is outstanding. Toby Jones (
The Mist) makes a brief appearance as
HYDRA's premiere scientist, "
Dr. Arnim Zola".
Expect a myriad of references to
Tony Stark and
Stark Industries, with one shout out to some guy named
Stephen Strange. Stay alert during
Cap's visit to the Smithsonian and have fun trying to place the exhibit's narrator. I'll remember this film as having my favorite Stan Lee cameo to date, while there's also a cameo from comic writer Ed Brubaker, essentially the Father of
The Winter Soldier storyline.
Very cool to see veteran British actress Jenny Agutter (
An American Werewolf In London) pretty much save the frickin' day...in a sense, that is.
A few problems with the film-
- Cap carried and
used firearms in large stretches of the modern comics as well as in
"The First Avenger" (Thompson machine gun, .45 model 1911) where he never utilizes a firearm in any manner in this sequel- what's changed
and why?
Also, Falcon, Black Widow
and Nick Fury are brandishing weapons against the bad guys while Cap
rushes headlong merely holding up his shield in defense- none of the
villains are smart enough to go for his legs? Not one errant shot
accidentally grazes him? Pretty damned goofy and nonsensical if you ask
me, without any supplied reasoning behind his
- Perhaps what bothered me the most with this particular film was it's
predictability and a lack of gravity- none of the
principle players really die and stay dead in these films and it's
almost impossible for an audience to be
expected to hold their collective breaths when any one of these
super-powered characters is clinging by their fingernails miles above
earth.
- Lastly, composer Henry Jackman's uninspired and completely forgettable original musical score does very little for the film. I ask again, what the hell is happening with memorable theme music for these particular characters?
It's quite noteworthy that the Directors Joe and Anthony Russo's only other widely released theatrical offering was 2006's awful
You, Me and Dupree- what a turnaround!
The action here is all effectively staged, though there is still that
intermittent shaky cam and a few too many editing cuts involved with the
close quarters combat for my tastes. There's a rather large amount of gunplay and hand-to-hand skirmishes,
one worthwhile car-chase and a climactic sequence involving our heroes
attempting to bring down three Helicarriers which is as visually
impressive and as sharp effects-wise as any segment featured in any
prior Marvel Movie. I found very little to pick at involving the
film's logic, which is a rarity for myself in regards to superhero films
of this particular scope. I was also impressed with a healthy amount of smaller character-building moments strewn about, while there is a few nice touches of humor for levity's sake.
I grew up reading pulp novels and comics and appreciate what many would consider "outdated" characters like
Doc Savage,
The Shadow,
Sgt. Rock,
Tarzan,
The Avenger,
Zorro,
The Lone Ranger, etc., thus I appreciated the first installment (and it's pulpy tone) in this franchise a bit more. I also felt it had a bit more heart and actually ended on an effectively sad note- in short, it was more of an emotional ride than this sequel.
Overall,
The Winter Soldier still comes Highly Recommended and deserves to be seen in theaters. For those who do make the trip, there is one mid-credits scene (worthwhile to comics fans) and one post-credits scene (an OK tack-on).
Captain America will return in
Avengers: Age Of Ultron...
8.5 out of 10
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Maximiliano Hernandez, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwill, Toby Jones, Callan Mulvey, Jenny Agutter and Garry Shandling
Run-Time: 136 minutes
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout
For what it's worth-
The Avengers - 9.0
Iron Man - 8.5
Iron Man 2 - 8.0
Iron Man 3 - 6.5
Captain America: The First Avenger - 8.5
Hulk - 5.0
The Incredible Hulk - 6.5
Thor - 7.5
Thor: The Dark World - 8.5
