Rent Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay by), Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (based on the Marvel comics by), Steve Epting, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark (based on "The Winter Soldier" by) (uncredited)
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
Verdict
This easily surpasses the first Captain America. While it has more action and it's better plotted, it also does a great job of developing the characters. While the stakes are higher as with most sequels, this isn't just a hero vanquishing a villain. The story centers around a conspiracy, putting Cap on the run as a suspect. Thus this is part thriller and mystery with a super hero at the center of the story.
Watch it.
Review
After re-watching Captain America: The First Avenger I had to watch the sequel. I've had a lot of fun jumping into the Marvel movies for the first time since release. Marvel manages to raise the bar with each sequel. This managed to surpass The First Avenger and was in turn surpassed by Civil War.
The action in this movie is definitely a step above. The elevator scene in particular is a standout from how the movie sets it up with Steve noticing small details about the other occupants to how he kicks it off.
This also has a lot of characters other than Cap/Steve. Black Widow/Natahsa and Falcon/Sam play large roles as does Nick Fury.
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| Cap's elevator scene provides plenty of tension and thrills. |
The story is helped due to being free of the origin story. This is able to jump right into a mission where Steve and Natasha are leading a task force to save hostages. We already know these characters so there isn't need for setup.
The plot centers around the big surprise that Hydra has infiltrated Shield. Cap is entrusted by Nick Fury to safeguard information, and Cap doesn't know who to trust. Eventually he teams up with Natasha and Sam. You've got to give credit to Black Widow. She's isn't super powered, but she manages to keep up with the modified individuals. The infiltration of Shield is far reaching with Cap becoming a fugitive.
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| Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson play Captain America/Steve Rogers, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff. |
There's a lot of friendly banter between Steve and Natasha. It's usually while they're fighting, but makes them seem more real, interacting as friends/coworkers.
This gets political because the World Security Council wants to activate Shield airships to keep people safe. Their reasoning is giving up freedom for security benefits everyone. That's certainly relevant, but Hydra's real reason for the airships is to eliminate threats.With this thread in mind, it's easy to see why Steve takes the stance he does in Civil War. He doesn't want to be governed by politicians with changing agendas and questionable allegiances. He has firsthand experience with how bad politicians can ruin a good organization (Shield). Watching Civil War, it initially seems like hubris, Steve valuing his morality above all else. That's not it. He trusts himself to make the right call, and his track record is spotless. I don't know why he doesn't directly reference Winter Soldier. If you watch these movies years apart as they release, it's not something you necessarily put together. There's a lot of depth to these movies when you go back and watch them.
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| The Winter Soldier and Captain America. |
The climactic fight takes place on the airship with Cap and the Winter Soldier. It's a wild fight as the future of the world rests on this fight. Steve has to not only has to beat the strongest antagonist in the movie, he has to replace a microchip on the airship to prevent Hydra from killing millions.
This is a big movie, from the cast and characters to the budget and production values. Marvel makes their movies an event and this delivers with an intriguing story as well.
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