★★★½
I couldn’t have told you one comic book superhero from the
next until Marvel launched its Cinematic Universe in 2008 with “Iron Man.”
Today, I look forward to each new installment. However, most of their films
have not lived up to the enormous expectations. The latest installment from
Marvel is “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and with that, Marvel may have
finally figured out how to make these movies accessible to everyone.
“The Winter Soldier” takes place a couple years after the
events of “The Avengers.” Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) continues
to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. helping them fight terrorists around the world. As we
open, he’s on a mission with Agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) trying
to rescue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from a ship hijacked by pirates. One of the
pirates is Georges Batroc, played by UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre, which turns
into some fun and wild hand-to-hand combat between him and Cap.
Of course, Romanoff appears to have a separate agenda during
this simple rescue mission. Rogers doesn’t like being left in the dark on
missions when members of his team are given a separate mission. He takes it up
with Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Fury decides he’ll let Rogers in
on a little secret mission since he’s so upset about being left out of the
loop. S.H.I.E.L.D. is working on something called Project Insight which
consists of three upgraded Helicarriers (advanced models of the massive
air/water vehicle S.H.I.E.L.D. used in “The Avengers”) which can patrol the
globe indefinitely and eliminate threats to world security. Rogers doesn’t
agree with this thought process. Fury shares Rogers’ doubts about the program
with Secretary Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) who is leader of the World
Security Council (an active supporter of Project Insight).
Fury’s suddenly finds himself being targeted by a ruthless
assassin called The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). He’s a Keyser Söze-type
villain who’s more of ghost story character than anything else; many have heard
of him, few see him and live to tell the tale. But here he is, in the flesh. Rogers
and Romanoff take off running from him and those who hired him, trying to
figure out why they’re being targeted all of a sudden. Thankfully, a new friend
of Rogers, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), is trustworthy and proves very helpful.
“The Winter Soldier” is a huge win for Marvel and their
ongoing Cinematic Universe. What they’ve done here is taken well known and
beloved comic book heroes from this and previous generations and successfully
blend them into a modern day setting. This isn’t a just a comic book/superhero
movie; this is smart political action thriller more than anything else.
If you were to remove the superhero elements from the
script, you’d be left with a tightly wound story about powerful and corrupt
people with the good guys trying to bring them down. This, of course, despite
many different antagonist elements sprinkled throughout the plot. I think this
is the model Marvel has been working toward since they started making all these
movies in the same Cinematic Universe. We’ve got the origin story out of the
way, we’ve got “The Avengers” out of the way, so it’s time to really take this
character and put him into a real world story arc.
While other Marvel movies have attempted this structure with
little success, “The Winter Soldier” is the first film to really make it work. That
credit should go to screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who
have worked with Marvel already on “Captain American: The First Avenger” and “Thor:
The Dark World.” Third time’s a charm, I guess. The first “Captain America” was
dead on arrival and no one was able to salvage that. It was a two-hour preview
for “The Avengers” and had very little for the audience to identify with. It
was an obligatory film that had to be made in order for “The Avengers” to be
the success that it was. As for “Thor,” that’s a hard one to tell. The
character isn’t well known outside the Marvel fan base and he’s not easy to relate to. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Chris Hemsworth in the role and Tom Hiddleston
steals the show, but it seems to be a hard world to write and bring to life.
But Markus and McFeely finally have it figured out with “The Winter Soldier.”
It’s as if they wrote a political thriller first, and then stuck Captain
America in there as the protagonist after they worked out the kinks in the
story. And it’s got the right amount of wit and humor to accompany the story.
Of course, the film is not without its faults. There’s a lot
of unnecessary development of the Rogers character despite this being the third
time we’ve seen him. Additional development is okay in sequels (see Alvin
Sargent’s masterful screenplay for “Spider-Man 2”) but it shouldn’t bog down
the pace of the film. After an amazing opening series of scenes, this film
grinds to a halt for the remainder or an overly long first act. There’s also
plenty of spots where I wasn’t sure who was fighting who and who was on who’s
side. When the climactic events occur in multiple locations all at the same
time, things tend to get a little muddled. Joss Whedon figured that out, which
is why the battle in New York at the end of “The Avengers” is so well put
together.
But I can’t take anything away from directors Anthony and
Joe Russo. For a couple of guys who’s credits include directing the pilot
episodes to two cult television shows (“Arrested Development” and “Community”),
they don’t seem to be intimidated by a complex plot, a big studio budget or
operating within the realms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel was wise
to lock these guys into another film. They handle the story well by letting the
plot take center stage rather than the CGI. Sure, there are hundreds of effects
shots in this film but they’re used to supplement the film, not steal the show.
The Russo’s have also guided their stars into excellent
performances. Chris Evans seems right at home as Captain America. I know I’ve
seen him in other films before (including two terrible films featuring another
set of Marvel characters that shall remain nameless), but I can’t help but see
Captain American every time I look at him now. He works well with Scarlett
Johansson too. I felt her character got the short end of the stick in her other
Marvel appearances, but her character really takes off here. And I really liked
the way the Winter Soldier character is handled. He is the film’s namesake, but
the plot doesn’t revolve around him. He intersects the plot at random times
causing havoc whenever he appears. He does get some back story, but overall he’s
just viewed as a menace. That might not work in some films, but it works great
here.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is the stand-alone
film Marvel fans have been waiting for. I don’t think fans of the comics will
be disappointed at all, especially with the way the characters and the source
material are handled. Those who aren’t big into superhero movies should really
enjoy it too, especially those who like political thrillers. Because that’s
really all this film is. I know nothing of these characters as they appear in
the comics, only from what’s in the movies and on the TV shows. But I have
become a fan of what this studio is doing. And with everything that’s happened
in “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World” and now this, I’m excited to see where
they’re taking these characters and these stories in the next “Avengers” movie
next summer. Just over a year to go.
By the way, there is one scene in the middle of the credits
and one after the credits. You’ll probably want to check out both.
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