[dropcap]C[/dropcap]aptain America: The Winter Soldier’ is the follow up to 2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ and the latest installment in the Avengers story line for the Marvel film canon. When Marvel unleashed ‘The Avengers’ in 2012 it marked a definitive achievement for the franchise and set the bar for any works that might follow in the series. So how does ‘The Winter Soldier’ stand up? To answer that question, it’s important to address the reality of what makes a superhero movie just that, and how it can be done well, or vice versa.
The Winter Soldier starts in traditional action film form; a brief, light-hearted moment that quickly transitions into a generic, seemingly inconsequential mission to stop a gang of bad guys who’ve taken hostages on a S.H.I.E.L.D battle cruiser. Alright, I’m pretty sure anyone who’s ever watched a movie has seen this scene blow for blow. The action is well done, but it’s anything but uncharted territory.
Now I’m sure that it seems like I’m casting aspersions on this movie already, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Winter Soldier is one of those rare action films that manages to outweigh the sum of it’s parts. And it does this in a very simple, yet keenly insightful way. This movie establishes relevance. The plot behind The Winter Soldier is one worth not ruining, but there are small aspects that can be divulged at face value.
The primary adversary of this film isn’t some ferocious anti-hero/mysterious super soldier, nor is it a corrupt politician/evil conspiracy…though all of the above pose serious threats throughout. The big baddie in The Winter Soldier is, well, it’s a mega-drone. Yes, a mega-drone. Actually, it’s three futuristic mega drones referred to as ‘Project Insight’ that are capable of identifying a million individual targets and whipping them all out in a minute.
Let’s take a second to acknowledge something, that is EVIL. Not only is it evil, it’s also terrifyingly believable. There’s nothing magical or superhuman about such a threat whatsoever. In fact, it almost feels like a look into the potential, not so distant future if you’ve been reading the news lately. And herein lies the arsenal of tactics that makes this Captain America pack such a powerful punch. Unlike so many superhero movies that emphasis the fantastic and then lean on the mythology of the hero to excuse that transgression, The Winter Soldier appeals to the values, fears, and beliefs of its audience in order to make every event mean something to us.
The acting in the film is exactly what you’d expect from the genre; equal parts ominous and endearing. Chris Evans fills the shoes of Captain America in both stature and manner by playing the ‘Johnny Do Good’ Steve Rogers; an old school good guy in a modern, unpredictable world. Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson reprise their roles as Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff in respectable fashion with parts serious overtones and quippy comic relief. Anthony Mackie also delivers a strong performance as Steve Wilson/Falcon; an amicable sidekick with a touch for realism.
One thing that The Winter Soldier nails is its delivery of convincing action scenes. Yes, this is a super hero film and there are plenty of heroic moments, but the combat sequences never feel one sided or overly simplistic. Even the primary enemy in the first mission of the movie (who UFC fans will know as Georges St. Pierre) isn’t just some low level thug or outmatched brute. The Winter Soldier has a lot of tactical tendencies that never come off as over the top. In fact, so much of this movie feel as much like a political thriller as it does a comic book turned film offering.
So now we return to the question of “What makes a super hero movie good?” With ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Marvel delivers one of the most earthly, astute and engaging films that the genre has seen to date. Fans of the franchise and popcorn moviegoers alike will appreciate the film’s personality, subject matter and not-so-nonsensical delivery. The fight for justice is riddled with adversity and tough realizations, and this Captain passes the test with flying colors.
