Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, with Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Backstory

As I mentioned in the my review of the first movie, I’ve always had a soft spot for Captain America, despite my Canadianness. I enjoyed his first film, and his appearance in The Avengers. But going through the deleted scenes for the Avengers, I loved how they got into the “man out of time” aspects of Captain America, stuff that we were told would be brought to the fore in Cap’s next solo film, The Winter Soldier. Now that it’s here, how does it fare?

Plot

After Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, it’s time to catch up with Captain America to see how he’s faring following “the Battle of New York.” Cap has decided to stick with Nick Fury and the Black Widow, and now works as one of SHIELD’s top operatives. Needless to say, Cap is having some troubles with it, as things aren’t as black and white as they were during World War II, something he confronts Nick Fury about one day when Black Widow goes rogue on one mission to serve another agenda. Cap begins asking one too many questions, and soon Alexander Pierce, the man that Nick Fury answers to, is branding Captain America to be a rogue agent. On the run from SHIELD, Cap, Black Widow, and their new ally Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, must get to the heart on what’s corrupting SHIELD from within. Complicating factors is, hot on their trail, is a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Who is the Winter Soldier? What is the true nature of the plot being hatched within SHIELD? Will Cap ever find where he belongs?

What I Liked

First up, this is probably the best Black Widow that Marvel and Scarlett Johansson have given us so far. In Iron Man 2, she was just there to tease the Avengers, in the Avengers, she didn’t get much outside that great interrogation scene with Loki. But here, she actually serves a purpose and gets to do stuff integral to the plot. It’s great. Also a worthy addition to the team is Anthony Mackie as the Falcon. He seems to be the first one who truly “gets” Cap and what he’s going through, so their partnership seems genuine. And through it all, Chris Evans continues to shine as Steve Rogers. The action is great, the plot is great. Everything is great.

What I Didn’t Like

Despite all the good stuff, a few cliches of the superhero genre still rear their ugly heads, which is to be expected at this point.

Final Assessment

I’m reluctant to say it’s as good as the Avengers, but it’s definitely the best of Marvel’s Phase 2.

3.5 Nibs