Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014.
Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell and George St-Pierre.
SYNOPSIS:
Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.
After decent but unremarkable first film, and a by-the-book second outing with his fellow Avengers, it is probably fair to say that Captain America has been the most underwhelming member of Marvel’s cinematic supergroup. Lacking the humour of the Iron Man films, and the fantasy world-building we get from Thor, it was easy to get the impression that ‘Cap’ was around simply because you couldn’t have The Avengers without him.
Now however, with the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we have been given irrefutable evidence that the star-spangled superhero is here to do a lot more that make up the numbers; he has his own unique contribution to make to the Marvel cinematic universe, and we should all be grateful for it.
Set almost entirely in Washington D.C., the film’s first half plays out more like a political espionage thriller than a superhero blockbuster. Laden with untrustworthy authority figures, rouge agents, car chases and set pieces focused around impressive hand-to-hand combat, the only thing in the first act to remind you you’re watching a comic-book movie is the outlandish costumes (and even they’ve been toned down). For the opening thirty minutes the only difference between Steve Rogers and Jason Bourne is that iconic shield.
It’s a thematic choice that is both refreshing and effective. For starters it shrouds the entire film with an air of mystery, which generates a fair amount of tension. Say what you will about the superhero genre, it is usually fairly clear who or what the villain is (with obvious exceptions, of course), and so to employ the snaking narrative structure of a political thriller really pays off. I never thought I’d leave this film drawing comparisons to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but there are definite similarities.
Marvel fans worried about a Captain America/House of Cards crossover needn’t fear though. The final act returns to the familiar ‘epic silliness’ that the franchise has become known for. The Marvel floodgates creak open and gargantuan set pieces and pithy one-liners gush out thick and fast. Despite the visual assault, the narrative doesn’t take a back seat entirely. In fact the climatic plot-points show a sort of unabashed courage that has been one of the franchise’s biggest assets over the years. There’s a particular piece of exposition that will have real consequences on all the Avengers films that follow; a revelation far more meaningful and interesting than the empty gesture at the end of Iron Man 3.
In terms of the filmmaking cogs working in this film, there’s very little to complain about also. The cast are all on fine form and Chris Evans is very much the finished article when it comes to being a leading man. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan have great introductions and there’s some sharp back-and-forth between Samuel L Jackson and Robert Redford, even if the latter does chew a little scenery from time to time. Having said that though, he isn’t exactly helped out by the script he’s been given. Regardless of the great narrative work going on here, some of the screenplay is incredibly clunky, both in terms of dialogue and the transpiration of coincidence within the plot.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the film that many of us had been waiting for. Building on the promise of the first film, whilst incorporating a style and tone previously untapped by the Marvel films. Armed with a plot to keep you guessing and action to keep you enthralled, the man-out-of-time has finally arrived in the twenty-first century.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Jackson Ball – follow me on Twitter.
Originally published March 28, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
