Ever since Marvel Studios' 2008 surprise smash hit Iron Man and leading up to 2012's The Avengers and beyond, the bar has been set very high for Marvel to deliver.
Marvel has set forth doing something that had never really been done before, and that is creating a universe where its films are all linked in some way. Guest cameos and end credit Easter eggs have been a staple of the movies, and it's been polarizing to say the least.
Captain America's Avengers 2: Age of Ultron Suit Leaked; Looks a Lot Like Winter Soldier Suit
Some people love it. It makes every movie exciting, because you know that whatever happens in Captain America could have implications in Thor or Iron Man. It also allows for these heroes to be cognizant of each other -- name dropping one another, cracking jokes and referencing past battles (especially the "Battle of New York").
But some have been critical of this strategy. They say that it doesn't let the movies live on their own. You're constantly thinking, "Well, is any of this really important anyway? I already know that X, Y and Z is set to happen in the next Avengers movie." It's a tricky tightrope that Marvel has found themselves walking, with some success and some failure. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk felt like movies that could have just as easily stood on their own forever. Captain America: The First Avenger, while being a well-directed and well-acted movie, felt like it was just a set up for Avengers in the long run. A lot of people considered it a throwaway movie in the grand scheme of things.
Well, Captain America: The Winter Soldier definitely feels more like a movie that could stand on its own forever than purely a set up to next year's Avengers: Age of Ultron. It delivers on the action front, there was plenty of conflict between the characters, and most surprisingly (in a great way) there was a lot of espionage and back-stabbing throughout.
This review won't have full spoilers, because this is definitely a plotline you should see for yourself. If you'd like to know what happens in the movie, be sure to check out my upcoming write-up on the events of The Winter Soldier and what implications it'll have on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. But this review will delve into just what made this movie great.
Winter Soldier finds a Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) who is questioning everything he thought he knew. He's still adjusting to life in the 21st century, and some things still just don't make sense to him. But he's a soldier through and through, and like a good soldier he goes on missions for SHIELD to help keep the world safe.
But at a certain point, Cap begins to question everything. SHIELD is full of secrets and security clearances. Watchers of Agents of SHIELD are more than familiar with the different "clearance levels" and what they restrict certain agents from knowing. Captain America, despite more or less being the general of the most powerful secret army in the world (and, uh, a freaking superhero), is only Level 8, two below Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). After Cap catches Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) diverging from what he believed was his mission's orders, he grows frustrated and confronts Fury, who gives him a look at SHIELD's grander plans, if not a full scope.
But from there on, everything hits the fan. Double-crosses happen every few minutes. Captain finds himself not knowing who to trust, especially within SHIELD. And he, of course, finds himself going toe-to-toe with The Winter Soldier (who I won't divulge any details on).
This movie did something for me that none of the Marvel movies have really done yet -- it left me guessing all the way through. At some points you almost had a The Departed-level of not knowing who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. Obviously Captain America is the good guy and the Winter Soldier is the bad guy (although even that isn't quite so black and white), but you find yourself having a shred of doubt about almost every other major character in the movie. It delivered a James Bond-type feel to the plot, always wondering about which character might be double-crossing Cap next.
The acting was also fantastic. Evans delivered again as Captain America, really doing a good job capturing the internal struggle of Cap while also looking like he was having fun. When you're a super-powered soldier it's got to be fun busting skulls at a certain point. And he showed that, particularly in the early parts of the movie.
Johansson played Black Widow great as well, although the direction they took her character was at times too casual, in my opinion. To this point, Widow had always been a smart ass when she knew she could get away with it, but when it was business time it was business time. The snark meter seemed to be set to the max in this one, however, and she rarely got the serious face on. That said, ScarJo played it well. I don't have a huge problem with the way they took the character and it didn't take anything away from the movie, but it was just not quite what I was expecting.
And lastly, Jackson of course did a good job as Fury. He's been one of the consistents throughout these Marvel Universe movies, and this performance was more of the same grizzled awesomeness.
So, suffice to say, I loved this movie. If you're a fan of superhero flicks, of course go see this. But even if you're normally not into superhero films, this might be worth a watch anyway. Much like the Dark Knight trilogy, this movie has an appeal to it other than just having a super powered costumed hero. This is a real thriller with a lot of spy games and betrayal, as well as the grade-A action sequences we've grown to love from Marvel.
Marvel's still trying to figure this whole "Universe" thing out, I'm sure, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier is without a doubt one of their strongest films to date. If there really are plans for movies leading all the way up to 2028, we're in for a treat.
