Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

Can the First Avenger overcome a moral quandary like no other in present-day America?

For all its patriotic gusto, Captain America: The First Avenger turned out to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first major missteps in 2011, its inconsequential narrative and somewhat archetypal supporting characters taking the film in a less than satisfactory direction during its second half. One year later, of course, Joss Whedon gifted us with the frankly magnificent Avengers Assemble, transforming Chris Evans’ morally righteous World War Two hero into a man out of time whose rigid sense of justice comes into conflict with the immense complexities of modern warfare and politics.

Moreso than any of the Phase Two instalments which have preceded it, The Winter Soldier serves as a follow-up to both Cap’s first solo outing and indeed his debut within the adventures of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. No longer must we endure a storyline which offers next to nothing in terms of hints as to what to expect from Avengers: Age of Ultron (and yes, we’re looking at you, Thor: The Dark World), since the shatteringly subversive, franchise-shifting events which transpire over the course of the movie’s 136-minute running time are sure to have major ramifications down the line for Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and SHIELD overall.

The latter pair of key players warrants a significant degree of attention before we move any further. Despite starting out with a relatively minor supporting role in Iron Man 2 back in 2010, Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow has gone from strength to strength with each successive appearance, and never has she embodied such a breakthrough for female character representation in the superhero film genre as she does here, rolling out cunning quips and causally-vital tactics during each and every scene in which she appears. Between Johansson, Cobie Smulders (who reprises her role as the ever-enigmatic Agent Maria Hill) and Hayley Atwell, the latter of whom receives a wonderfully poignant cameo before the flick’s main action kicks in; The Winter Soldier has every right to brand itself as the most groundbreaking instalment in the franchise yet for its increasingly empowered femme fatales.

On the other side of the gender playing field, the sequel’s male performers more than hold up their own. That Chris Evans’ portrayal of Cap remains energetic, yet evokes a certain level of pathetic sympathy in light of the character’s plight and his sacrifices, should be all but a given by now, so if anything, it’s his co-stars who are likely to have the greatest impact on the seasoned Marvel fanboy (and to some extent casual viewers, though it’s safe to say that the line between those two categories is well and truly blurred by this point). Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie each rise to the challenge of entering the already-crowded MCU with a flourish, the former rivalling even Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in terms of the sheer dramatic presence of his near-mute, undeniably tragic antagonist and the latter’s performance as the Falcon arguably justifying his potential inclusion in a future Avengers roster right from the off.

All things considered, though, from a performative perspective, virtually none of the production’s array of talented lead and guest stars can hold a candle to the man who has tied the MCU’s various strands together with aplomb for nearly six years now. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury has often lurked in the shadows in order to play his cards close to his chest, and while that’s partially true of the character’s role this time around, any sense of omnipotence and/or omniscience which we gained from his previous appearances as a result has undoubtedly dissolved by the time the credits roll here (largely thanks to Robert Redford’s shady SHIELD operative Alexander Pierce). One suspects (for reasons which we shan’t divulge until a later point) that Fury’s role in future Avengers and Captain America motion pictures will be reduced somewhat, but if so, then thanks to Jackson, the character has at least received a fully-fledged and wholly satisfying moment of glory for us to savour in years to come.

That Marvel had all but confirmed the return of directors Anthony and Joe Russo for a second foray in the world of Steve Rogers even before Winter Soldier hit cinemas should have been evidence enough of the strength of their work at the aesthetic helm, but boy is it a pleasure to confirm that the brothers Russo have done themselves proud. Like Kenneth Brannagh (Thor) and Shane Black (Iron Man 3) before them, the pair bring their own dynamic visual style to proceedings, and even if venturing to dub them as auteurs would be a step too far, they’ve evidently had a profound influence on additional intrinsic contributory elements such as the gung-ho soundtrack and the construction of the various superbly grounded (to the extent that we can actually see without trouble what's going on at every moment!) special effects-heavy action setpieces. As ever, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s masterfully structured, morally subversive screenplay probably provided the first foundations for the production team’s immense aesthetic success, yet credit must go where credit’s due, and in this instance, the Russo tag-team have absolutely earned all of the praise which is about to come their way.

After last Autumn’s Thor: The Dark World managed to come so astoundingly short of our expectations, the pressure was on for Captain America: The Winter Soldier to right its predecessor’s wrongs and in doing so redeem the Marvel Cinematic Universe ahead of its much-anticipated 2015 ensemble follow-up Age of Ultron (a tall order, that’s for sure). For most production teams, accomplishing these mighty feats alone would be a monumental achievement, and as such, by not only returning Marvel Studios to their rightful throne as the kings of the superhero film industry but simultaneously matching many of the studio’s past hallmark efforts (Avengers Assemble included), the Russos have done the impossible, creating in their masterful follow-up to The First Avenger a metaphorical hero that the MCU franchise needed and deserves.

5/5

P.S. We were so impressed by The Winter Soldier in all of its majesty that we've elected to award it our Best Release title for March 2014- below is the updated monthly list of those releases which have claimed victories in this regard during the first three months of this year:

JANUARY 2014- 12 YEARS A SLAVE

FEBRUARY 2014- THE LEGO MOVIE

MARCH 2014- CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER