I was fortunate enough to get tickets to one of the
Regional Premières of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' - a week before its
UK release, and a whole two weeks before it's out in the US. (Thanks to ShowFilmFirst.com for the
tickets!) So can I count this review as
an EXCLUSIVE? Probably not, but I will
anyway - getting in to an advance screening of any film is a bit of a scoop for
a lowly cinema goer like me! Bearing in
mind it could be a week or two before most people get to see this film, I'll
keep this review as spoiler free as possible.
Anyway, if you've read any of my previous reviews and
articles, you'll already be aware that as far as Marvel Studios movies goes, I'm
already completely sold. I've really
enjoyed the previous films, absolutely loved Avengers Assemble, and have
increasingly geeked-out over the shared 'cineverse' that they're building with
each release. So, first and foremost, I
have to be honest and admit that I've approached this new Captain America as a
fan; which means that my expectations have been high, and in a few ways quite
different to those when I watch most other movies. I'll admit that it does mean I can be willing
to overlook short-fallings in plot, script and characterisations, so long as
overall the film is entertaining and as some great comic inspired moments.
 |
| Anthony Mackie as Sam 'The Falcon' Wilson makes a very welcome addition to the series - hopefully we'll see some more of him in future Marvel movies... |
With that in mind, starting from the viewpoint as a fan
of Marvel Studios' movies, I found Captain America: The Winter Soldier to be an
immensely satisfying and entertaining - and at times surprisingly thoughtful - ultimately
it is a very strong entry in to the cannon of Marvel movies, and in some ways
is one of the better films they've released.
During production, Producer Kevin Feige and the Directors, brothers Joe & Anthony Russo, spoke about how this film was intended as a political thriller in the
vein of paranoid conspiracy movies from the 1970's. Well, there's certainly conspiracy, and some
great thriller elements, but the political threads don't really come
across. There's some elements which seem
to chime with surveillance and the extent of this in a post-War on Terror
world, and occasionally some interesting thoughts on the balance between the
need for freedom and democracy between the need for order to sustain peace -
and what that can cost. In this respect
this film has possibly the most mature themes of Marvel Studios' films so far.
But these ideas aren't really at the fore when the plot
thrusts along at a consistently high pace.
After a low-key opening with a one or two scenes which maybe don't quite
have the impact they could have, once the main narrative gets going the film
begins to lift off. The first act is
like the best bits of one of the better series of 24, only minus pointless
daughter-based sub-plots and scenes of torture, but with super-powers and
super-science gadgetry instead - it truly hits the conspiracy/thriller marks
the makers were aiming for. Then the
narrative takes a slight turn and opens up in a way which in some respects
might seem silly for a conspiracy thriller - but bearing in mind we're in the
Marvel Cineverse here, it is one which can be excused (then again, depending on
how much you subscribe to Marvel's setting).
At this point the thriller/conspiracy elements don't come across as
strongly, but the focus shifts to pretty relentless action.
And I must say, the action scenes and set pieces in this
film are pretty damned solid, and considering the Russo Brothers have never directed
a film on this scale before (they're better known for their TV work), it is
handled masterfully. Initially I was
worried about how they were directing the action, as one early scene employs
the cardinal sin of on-screen punch-ups: shaky cam, which is always annoying
when you're trying to follow one or more fast moving characters and enjoy the
physical poetry of their martial prowess!
Fortunately this is dropped after one scene. Another bugbear raises its ugly head early on
- lens flare, so beloved of JJ Abrams to the point it is now officially distracting. Again, thankfully this is
only in a couple of scenes early on and doesn't become distracting.
 |
| Captain Steve Rogers finds out he can't trust anyone. Good job he's more than capable of handling himself... |
Script-wise, the film is efficient if not spectacular,
but serves the characters well, and gives moments of that Marvel wit which is
familiar throughout their movies. Some
new characters are served better than others, but the key ones, especially newcomer
Sam 'Falcon' Wilson, whose burgeoning friendship with Cap himself is handled
very well, are done sufficient justice.
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson as Captain America and Black Widow
respectively are fully at ease in their roles, and suggest there is more going
on under the surface than sometimes the script allows them to show. On the other-hand, despite being the titular
nemesis, The Winter Soldier doesn't quite show up enough to make as much of an
impact as the character fully deserves; when he does he's a more than
formidable foe, but there are little flashes that suggest there is going to be
more to this character in later films (and if you know the comics, you'll know
that this is emphatically the case).
 |
| The titular villain - The Winter Soldier himself; expect more from this character in future films. A lot more, potentially... |
All said and done, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
moves along at such a pace, moving seamlessly from one impressive set-piece to the
next that there's not time to dwell on the films few short-comings; this is
another great entry in the Marvel Franchise.
It is a solid action-thriller, and shows that there is a lot more depth
and potential to the Steve Rogers character than as a flag-waving relic of
mid-20th Century propaganda. Once again,
choosing a story that explores different aspects of the character(s) by putting
them in a situation which puts them at the forefront, rather than overshadowing
them with maguffins, villains or showy effects, proves a success for
Marvel. Sony, Fox and Warners/DC would
do well to take note..! If I was asked
to place this in order of quality with the rest of the Marvel Studios films so
far, I would put it firmly in Fourth - behind Avengers Assemble, Iron Man 3,
and the first Iron Man (in that order).
Finally, and here be very, very minor spoilers for this
film and next year's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', but if you've been paying
attention to recent casting and shooting announcements, you've probably already
put two and two together: this film has one or two ideas, shall we say, which
are likely planting seeds for some of the things which are going to happen in
Age of Ultron. As per all the other
Marvel movies, there are easter-eggs and references which will make comic book
fans and geeks (like me!) squeal with excitement ever-so-slightly... Then you come to the mid-credits stinger: all
I'll say is my geeky brain was somewhat blown by this, as it really confirms
some of what I'd read about Age of Ultron, characters in it and what I'd
speculated would be the way they'd be portrayed. It made me wish I had the super-power to skip
the next year so it was next May already (with a pause for Guardians of the Galaxy this summer) - and cut out the wait for the Avengers sequel. It is shaping up to be pretty spectacular
indeed...
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