Starring: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders, and Robert Redford
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Screenplay by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
And here we have the newest installment of the Avengers series. While I don't believe it is mandatory to watch The Avengers before watching this film, I strongly recommend it for some background information that you might not have otherwise. Certainly watch the Captain America: The First Avenger before this film.
Let me begin by saying that Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is a really awesome 95 year old. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. working for SHIELD, whose headquarters, the Triskelion is just across the Potomac River from D.C. He is called on a mission to rescue a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean that's been taken over by Algerian pirates. Onboard, he finds Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), another SHIELD agent. She's saving all the SHIELD data before something happens to the ship.
Once back at the Triskelion, SHIELD director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows Rogers Project Insight, an incredible surveillance program that involves three helicarriers that can take out any threat from pretty much anywhere in the world. Fury tries to access the files that Romanoff retrieved from the ship, but is unable to access them, causing him to rethink Project Insight. He then sneaks into Rogers's apartment where he tells Rogers about his findings. Fury is then shot by the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) in Rogers's apartment in a surprise attack.
The next day, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), Fury's boss, calls Rogers to the Triskelion to find out more about the incident. When Rogers won't say anything, he becomes a fugitive running from SHIELD, along with Romanoff. Using the files that Romanoff recovered, they track down a secret SHIELD base in New Jersey. There, they find a massive computer storing the conscience of Arnim Zola, a former Hydra agent during WWII (Hydra is basically like SHIELD, but the enemy of SHIELD).
Thinking that Hydra was destroyed in WWII, Rogers realizes that (spoiler alert) Hydra agents were recruited to SHIELD after the war's end, and that a Hydra cell has been working inside SHIELD for years, thus compromising the mission. Pierce, the leader of this cell, wants to use Project Insight as a way to restore world order by taking out millions of targets, enlisting the help of the Winter Soldier. Rogers won't allow this to happen, so it's up to him, Romanoff, and a veteran named Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) that he has befriended, to ensure that none of this happens.
Now, you're probably thinking that I have way too much summary in this review. That's because this is perhaps the longest, most intricate, and most complex story line in any of the recent Marvel films, and there's so much more that I could say, but I don't want to give away too much more. It's the perfect combination between an awesome action thriller that we are so used to seeing, especially in this series, and a spy thriller. While it can be pretty easy to tell where the story is going to go almost from the beginning, it's how the story plays out in getting us to the end that is fun to watch and is what makes this film worth viewing. There are some pretty key elements in this story that make me wonder what's going to happen in future Avengers movies.
Unfortunately, there are some plot holes as well. The Winter Soldier is a rather poorly developed character. It's not clear where he comes from or what his purpose is. The most upsetting thing for me is that he has such a small role in the film. He is only a part of a much larger plot. If the movie is called, The Winter Soldier, it should be at least about him as the main villain, not about him as a periphery character.
Chris Evans delivers a solid performance that demonstrates to audiences, especially young audiences, why he is the modern face that is Captain America. It is also pleasant to see that he is one of those superheroes who does not have any actual superpowers. The whole Avengers series is full of characters that require suits and other items that allow them to be the superheroes that they are. It makes them more relatable and gives us the ability to respect them more because they are just normal people without all that fancy equipment.
This is the most we've seen Samuel L. Jackson in any of the Avengers movies. It's a great pleasure to see him have such an important role in this film. Throughout the series, Nick Fury is the one character that I constantly complain about not seeing enough of. He has such an important role in the functioning of SHIELD and it's always a shame that we don't see much of him, until now.
Scarlett Johansson is terrific as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. She's referred to much more as Romanoff or Natasha in this film than she is as Black Widow. I find that a little strange, but what she is referred to as is not terribly important to the storyline.
The best performance in the film is that of my favorite addition to the Avengers story. Robert Redford delivers perhaps the finest performance in the film. I can't think of another actor who could play the role of Alexander Pierce as well as Redford does. The series is already full of legendary actors, so why not add another?
The special effects are pretty cool. There are some great action sequences that feature a great deal of person-person combat and can often be quite intense due to the lack of a stable shot. While I don't want to say what happens in this particular scene, the final battle is easily the most intense battle scene in the Avengers series, save the "Battle of New York" scene at the end of The Avengers.
If you're going to see this film in IMAX 3D or normal 3D, I warn you now of the potential headache you're going to get. There are a lot of scenes that desperately need a tripod or some sense of physical stability. The shakiness of the camera and the quick cuts in some of the intense action sequences are often a little distracting from the scene and can make audiences dizzy at times.
Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an incredibly satisfying movie. It's better than it's predecessor, The First Avenger, and sets up a great deal of mystery going into the Avengers sequel, set to be released on May 1, 2015. If you're at all a fan of Captain America, or the Avengers, this movie is simply not to be missed!!!!
I give Captain America: The Winter Soldier a B+.
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Screenplay by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
And here we have the newest installment of the Avengers series. While I don't believe it is mandatory to watch The Avengers before watching this film, I strongly recommend it for some background information that you might not have otherwise. Certainly watch the Captain America: The First Avenger before this film.
Let me begin by saying that Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is a really awesome 95 year old. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. working for SHIELD, whose headquarters, the Triskelion is just across the Potomac River from D.C. He is called on a mission to rescue a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean that's been taken over by Algerian pirates. Onboard, he finds Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), another SHIELD agent. She's saving all the SHIELD data before something happens to the ship.
Once back at the Triskelion, SHIELD director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows Rogers Project Insight, an incredible surveillance program that involves three helicarriers that can take out any threat from pretty much anywhere in the world. Fury tries to access the files that Romanoff retrieved from the ship, but is unable to access them, causing him to rethink Project Insight. He then sneaks into Rogers's apartment where he tells Rogers about his findings. Fury is then shot by the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) in Rogers's apartment in a surprise attack.
The next day, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), Fury's boss, calls Rogers to the Triskelion to find out more about the incident. When Rogers won't say anything, he becomes a fugitive running from SHIELD, along with Romanoff. Using the files that Romanoff recovered, they track down a secret SHIELD base in New Jersey. There, they find a massive computer storing the conscience of Arnim Zola, a former Hydra agent during WWII (Hydra is basically like SHIELD, but the enemy of SHIELD).
Thinking that Hydra was destroyed in WWII, Rogers realizes that (spoiler alert) Hydra agents were recruited to SHIELD after the war's end, and that a Hydra cell has been working inside SHIELD for years, thus compromising the mission. Pierce, the leader of this cell, wants to use Project Insight as a way to restore world order by taking out millions of targets, enlisting the help of the Winter Soldier. Rogers won't allow this to happen, so it's up to him, Romanoff, and a veteran named Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) that he has befriended, to ensure that none of this happens.
Now, you're probably thinking that I have way too much summary in this review. That's because this is perhaps the longest, most intricate, and most complex story line in any of the recent Marvel films, and there's so much more that I could say, but I don't want to give away too much more. It's the perfect combination between an awesome action thriller that we are so used to seeing, especially in this series, and a spy thriller. While it can be pretty easy to tell where the story is going to go almost from the beginning, it's how the story plays out in getting us to the end that is fun to watch and is what makes this film worth viewing. There are some pretty key elements in this story that make me wonder what's going to happen in future Avengers movies.
Unfortunately, there are some plot holes as well. The Winter Soldier is a rather poorly developed character. It's not clear where he comes from or what his purpose is. The most upsetting thing for me is that he has such a small role in the film. He is only a part of a much larger plot. If the movie is called, The Winter Soldier, it should be at least about him as the main villain, not about him as a periphery character.
Chris Evans delivers a solid performance that demonstrates to audiences, especially young audiences, why he is the modern face that is Captain America. It is also pleasant to see that he is one of those superheroes who does not have any actual superpowers. The whole Avengers series is full of characters that require suits and other items that allow them to be the superheroes that they are. It makes them more relatable and gives us the ability to respect them more because they are just normal people without all that fancy equipment.
This is the most we've seen Samuel L. Jackson in any of the Avengers movies. It's a great pleasure to see him have such an important role in this film. Throughout the series, Nick Fury is the one character that I constantly complain about not seeing enough of. He has such an important role in the functioning of SHIELD and it's always a shame that we don't see much of him, until now.
Scarlett Johansson is terrific as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. She's referred to much more as Romanoff or Natasha in this film than she is as Black Widow. I find that a little strange, but what she is referred to as is not terribly important to the storyline.
The best performance in the film is that of my favorite addition to the Avengers story. Robert Redford delivers perhaps the finest performance in the film. I can't think of another actor who could play the role of Alexander Pierce as well as Redford does. The series is already full of legendary actors, so why not add another?
The special effects are pretty cool. There are some great action sequences that feature a great deal of person-person combat and can often be quite intense due to the lack of a stable shot. While I don't want to say what happens in this particular scene, the final battle is easily the most intense battle scene in the Avengers series, save the "Battle of New York" scene at the end of The Avengers.
If you're going to see this film in IMAX 3D or normal 3D, I warn you now of the potential headache you're going to get. There are a lot of scenes that desperately need a tripod or some sense of physical stability. The shakiness of the camera and the quick cuts in some of the intense action sequences are often a little distracting from the scene and can make audiences dizzy at times.
Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an incredibly satisfying movie. It's better than it's predecessor, The First Avenger, and sets up a great deal of mystery going into the Avengers sequel, set to be released on May 1, 2015. If you're at all a fan of Captain America, or the Avengers, this movie is simply not to be missed!!!!
I give Captain America: The Winter Soldier a B+.
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