Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Review

                                'Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?'

Oh, Marvel Films.

Certainly, we have seen some great additions to the Marvel cinematic universe recently, what with the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy recently. It almost seems like Marvel can do no wrong. Once again, this is the case for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Whilst the first Captain America film (The First Avenger) was an ‘ok’ addition that set up the character of Captain America/Steve Rogers, the sequel was infinitely more daring, thrilling and dramatic. With the release of the DVD out today, we aim to give you plenty of reasons why you should be hitting play on this enthralling, action-packed film. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier starts off two years after The Battle of New York (which took place in 2012’s The Avengers/ Avengers Assemble), following Steve Rogers who now works in D.C. for S.H.I.E.L.D., under the guise of Director Nick Fury. Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow is also along for the ride, working to extract data for Fury. The film centres on an imminent threat from a mysterious assassin named The Winter Soldier, and soon Fury and the gang are put in dangerous circumstances, when Hydra looks to be involved. Sufficed to say, it’s one of Marvel’s more complex and intriguing storylines, with an emphasis on national security and threats that exist in today’s society, which make it more of the more ‘realistic’ escapades, which is clear through the Russo brothers’ direction.

First off, the Captain America film series benefits greatly by having some of the more engaging characters of the Marvel universe intertwined with the First Avenger’s life. For instance, The Winter Soldier benefits from having the elusive and highly intelligent (and specially trained) spy, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) woven into the plot, along with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and several other key S.H.I.E.L.D. players, including Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). Not only is S.H.I.E.L.D. one of the more notable and satisfyingly epic organisations, the addition of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow certainly makes the film more captivating, as the aforementioned and Captain America are certainly two dynamic personalities, with contrasting methods on how to go about things, and this is clear on screen. The film did a great job of juxtaposing these two differing personalities, but at that same time showing that they were both after the same thing, ultimately, and showing how much more intimate their friendship is becoming, and how one another is influencing each other.

It goes without saying that Captain America: The Winter Soldier had one of the most sympathetic villains, in the form of the ominous Winter Soldier himself, a.k.a. Bucky Barnes. Warped from multitudes of torture and brainwashing, Barnes was certainly a deeply conflicted villain – but this is what made him so compelling to watch. Sometimes Marvel is guilty of playing down certain villains, and in some cases these villains can translate on screen as not real threats (take Thor: The Dark World and Malekith, for instance), but that is not the case for Sebastian Stan’s Barnes. It would be accurate to say Stan really assumes the role of Barnes, with his particular penchant for face masks evidently apparent, this Winter Soldier is a force to be reckoned with, but also maintains some of his former self. He’s inherently ruthless and driven, with his seemingly incapableness at failing, this is what drives him to complete his missions (after all, he has been a trained assassin for ages, complete with robotic arm), and this is what makes his character so interesting to watch; there’s a story, and it’s developed well on-screen.  

Whilst the latest Captain America film is clearly aiming for a certain element of realism, this does not detract attention away for its intrinsic fight and action sequences, of which, range from kick-ass fight sequences to more stripped-back struggles, featuring naturalistic lighting and classic framing, indicative of the 1970s crime-thrillers. It’s clear the Russo brothers were going for a particular look, style and feel to the film, and it’s executed brilliantly, with excellent cinematography from Trent Opaloch.

A significant step-up from its predecessor, and containing plenty of snarky one-liners from Johansson’s Black Widow, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an effortless character piece that provides fantastic development for its subjects, whilst taking an audience on a classic, thrilling adventure that is sure to intrigue and beguile even the most disinterested viewer.



You can also check out this article on I'm With Geek, here.