Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Credit: Marvel Studios

2011’s Captain America felt like a hybrid of the Indiana Jones films, the gadgets and espionage of the James Bond series, mixed with the world of superheroes. So how does one top that for a sequel? They didn’t! Instead, Marvel went in another direction by disguising its latest superhero movie as a 1970’s political thriller with an all too real Post-9/11 conspiracy.

Chris Evans returns as Captain America and he’s still adjusting to the 21^st century, though he has a handy notepad full of music and movies he is encouraged to use so he can get caught up with the world of pop culture. He also has a new friend (and ally) named Sam, who later takes on the superhero nickname of “Falcon.” Although it feels rather contrived how he comes to be the Falcon; did he lose a bet or was a pair of metal wings the only remaining weapon in a SHIELD bunker? Either way, he proves to be a valuable asset to Cap. Scarlett Johansson also returns as Black Widow, along with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in his 6^th appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Maybe I’m wrong but my count is Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and now The Winter Soldier.) Also making appearances are Sebastian Stan as “The Winter Soldier”, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, there’s of course a Stan Lee cameo, and Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, whose appearance adds credence to the political thriller tone. I really loved picking out all of the cameos from previous movies as well as new characters that are slowly being introduced. Marvel really does have this whole “Universe” concept plotted out and it’s amazing that they finally have the freedom to do it themselves after so many years of other movie studios owning the rights to a varied level of success. I hate spoilers so you’ll have to discover them for yourself like I did.

As much as I enjoyed this movie, it bugs me how Captain America isn’t shown adjusting to his new environment. It was glossed over in The Avengers, which was likely a good move so they could keep the pacing moving fast and furious, but in his own feature film we barely scratch the surface. Captain does visit with an elderly Peggy Carter, who seems to be suffering from Alzheimer’s, and he also visits a museum dedicated to his heroic adventures during WWII. However I wanted to see more of the Captain’s flashbacks to his past. If Tony Stark was given “post traumatic stress” in Iron Man 3, we should feel more of Cap’s loneliness or isolation. Despite the lack of character depth for Cap, they did make up for it by adding a new layer to the characters of Black Widow and Nick Fury with a peek at their lives prior to SHIELD. Perhaps Captain America doesn’t need further character development because he is the one constant throughout this movie; while there are double crosses throughout the film, he remains the moral center and never compromises his beliefs. That’s actually what drew me to the character in the first place, that he is a true good guy who’s a great contrast to so many “anti hero” characters throughout the action movie genre nor does he need to have the best one-liners.

I found this to be a wholly satisfying movie, especially after the recent Iron Man and Thor sequels seemed to take an even lighter direction. While there are many comedic moments, The Winter Soldier is a dark movie; perhaps the darkest among the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Maybe Marvel and Disney intended for this to happen as a way to set all of their movies apart and not fall into the trap of repeating the same pattern. They’ve already completed the Guardians of the Galaxy and are working on an Ant Man feature film, so I am very intrigued by the possibilities of other characters being added into their Universe. The future is also wide open for further adventures of Captain America.