To accurately describe what Captain America: The Winter Soldier was like, you’d need only one word: intense. The entire movie had you on the edge of your seat, biting your fingernails, your heart racing.
Following the events of the battle in New York City that took place in Marvel’s The Avengers, Steve Rogers, also known to the world as Captain America, is living in Washington D.C., doing casual missions for SHIELD under Director Nick Fury’s advisement. He’s been paired with Natasha Romanov (The Black Widow), a seemingly odd pairing at first but most definitely a perfect choice.
Steve’s wholehearted trust in SHIELD and Director Fury himself is seen starting to waver not far into the movie. Compartmentalism within the missions he leads is the cause of this break in trust, and Steve is left wondering.
“Do not trust anyone,” some of the last words Director Fury tells Steve not only hits him hard, but as well as the audience. There’s been a break in SHIELD security, a secret organization known as Hydra, which Steve last encountered in the first Captain America movie, has been growing within SHIELD for decades and is trying to take over.
These four simple words set in the feeling that Steve really doesn’t know the people he’s around, if they’re working for the greater good or if they’re part of Hydra. His bond with Natasha are tested deeply and his inner circle of friends that he trusts dwindles down to two.
The Winter Soldier plays a major part in the movie, though you may not see him as often as you’d like. He is a super soldier, like Steve, and his true identity troubles the superhero deeply. It is one thing to fight against someone you don’t know and it is another to be forced to battle a person you loved.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier leaves you with a feeling of uncertainty. You don’t know what will happen in the world now, and what will become of SHIELD, it’s agents, and it’s once secret files. The ending sets up a perfect plot for a third movie, which was confirmed by Marvel & Disney, and the bonus scene at the end of the credits leads for a nice teaser for The Avengers 2.
Personally, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the greatest film that Marvel has released thus far in its cinematic universe. It’s darker than most of the films have been but it helps add to the movie and it fits in well with the plot and storyline. The audience gets to see Steve Rogers, a wholesome, young man from the 1940s thrust into an even darker version of the present day. The audience goes on the ride with Steve, both not knowing who he should trust and who he shouldn’t, who is a part of Hydra and who’s not, etc. There’s a connection with the audience in that aspect.
Another reason why I thoroughly enjoyed this movie is the light that was shed fairly well on “The Black Widow”. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), not much is known about Natasha Romanov. Throughout The Winter Soldier, bits and pieces of Natasha is shown more and more, her desire to do good and be good is clear and evident in the film. Also, the audience gets to see Natasha on a much more human level. Instead of the perfect assassin and spy that audiences have seen in other Marvel films, the Winter Soldier highlights her ability to make mistakes, her mortality, and most importantly, her vulnerability. It was wonderful to watch and experience.
Captain America & the Black Widow surely are an odd pair but there is no doubt that they can shown to work perfectly together. Where one is lacking, the other makes up for it. They also can relate to each other on a deeper level because of the circumstances they are facing. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johannson have great chemistry together and to see them bring that forth and use it in this movie helps to make the connection between the two Avengers realistic and plausible. It didn’t feel forced and you could see the two moving from just partners to comrades and friends.
The action in the movie had you on the edge of your seat and your heart racing. The sequences are intense and only led you more to question who to trust and who will make it out of there alive. Many action sequences in the movie were motion camera shots, not Steadi-Cam. I feel that there could have been times when they should have used a Steadi-Cam instead, as some shots were too jerky and an angle didn’t last for more than a few seconds.
Overall, I would recommend this movie highly. I give it a high 4.5/5 rating.
SBO
I would like to see thor and loki in the next disney infinity game, i think if they are not in there alot of loki fans will be disappointed.