Well, it’s that time again. That time where Marvel Studios release their films like two weeks earlier in Europe than in North America. I don’t necessarily understand why, but that means that I have seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And I want to tell you about it.
Before you all freak out, as the title suggests, this is an entirely spoiler free review. Actually, I will try my best to not discuss any real story element of the film simply due to the fact that it is so story heavy that any story element could fall into spoiler territory.
So, where to begin… well, let’s begin at the top. For a couple of guys whose biggest directing credits have been episodes of Community, it turns out that the Russo brothers are incredibly well suited at directing an action film. This film, without exaggeration, is one of the best action films made in the last fifteen years. I genuinely believe that. I would never have thought I’d be saying that about a Marvel film much less a Captain America film, but the Russo brothers’ direction is simply a revelation. They know exactly when to push in on a measured use of “shaky cam” during a fight scene to heighten the tension and exactly when to pull back and allow the action to play out. This isn’t the kind of film where a camera that never stops moving and quick edits are used to hide sloppy filmmaking. Using inspiration from cinema vérité and a lot of focus on handheld camera filming, the action this film blends a sense of grounded, cinematic realism with Marvel’s patented sense of comic book-style unrealism.
The action feels heavy, it feels real, it feels vicious and brutal, but it also has a guy dressed in the American flag and a guy with a wingsuit running through the proceedings and yet it still blends seamlessly. That kind of earnestness in the filmmaking really allows the audience to buy in and care about the characters during the action as opposed to always feeling like the director is sitting beside you whispering “Get a load of this guy.” This makes scenes like the freeway attack by the Winter Soldier (it was in the trailer, I’m allowed to mention it) and the final action scene (which I won’t mention even though it was in the trailers because I’m annoying like that) feel so visceral while at the same time feel like pages from Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s run on “Captain America” brought to life.
The Russo brothers’ direction isn’t the only thing that pulls out all the stops here, either, as the screenplay from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely manages to put more story content in a two hour movie than I thought possible. Seriously, from the moment the film literally hits the ground running, the screenplay is tight and incredibly well written until the end and it does not let up until the end credits. This includes having seemingly more twists and turns than all of the previous films combined. This film right here is the single biggest game changer to the MCU since the Iron Man trailer at Comic Con. This is the movie whose events will ripple throughout the MCU from here on out towards Avengers: Age Of Utron and beyond.
One of the key things I noticed about the script, though, is that despite the smattering of Marvel’s brand of tension-relieving humour here and there, the film is deadly serious from the get go. From the very heartfelt conversations between Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson (more on him in a sec) and their struggle to readjust to life after war to the political thriller undertones of the movie, this is perhaps Marvel’s most overtly serious movie overall.
That’s also true of the directing as, due to the very emotional nature of the story and the visceral action throughout, this might also be Marvel’s least family friendly movie. Even though I still have major problems with Tony Stark casually gunning down A.I.M. goons in Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios’ films have otherwise been accessible to pretty much anyone which has to be a large part of their success. With this, however, I do worry that kids who loved Captain America in his first movie, which had a very measured restraint in it’s violence, and The Avengers will find the action in this film frightening simply due to it’s realism. It’s not Superman drowning in a sea of skulls-level dark, mind you, but I really do think it’s something you comic-reading and movie-going folk with kids should take into consideration.
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Okay, technical review-y stuff out of the way, let’s get to the meat. Just as Thor: The Dark World gave Chris Hemsworth the opportunity to use the events of the The Avengers to flesh out the character of Thor, this movie really shows a side to Steve Rogers we’ve never seen. This is a man who followed orders for as long as he can remember being Captain America and he is here forced to question his loyalty and possibly follow his own orders for once. Not only does this give us a look at Steve as a person dealing with this new time in a way that was sadly cut from The Avengers (mostly due to time), but it allows the evolution of Captain America from soldier to leader to hero over the three films. This is something Chris Evans pulls off really well as he just pulls the humanity out of the character and wears it on his sleeve. Even in his most stoic of moments, Evans paints a very emotional portrait of a character.
Not only is Evans putting in his best performance as Cap to date, but the movie’s focus on including Black Widow allows Scarlett Johansson to infuse the character with a history and humanity that has, honestly, been sorely lacking in movies past. Natasha’s role finally steps out of the shadow of having to put up with Tony Stark’s shit and then having to put up with the Avengers’ shit and allows her to be a person. If this movie wasn’t another test run to see if people would react to a Black Widow film (which they would), then that would be sorely disappointing because Johansson shows here that she is ready and able to pull that off.
Rounding out our heroic trio of the film is Anthony Mackie as new addition, Sam Wilson. While Wilson’s history has been changed for the movie, it definitely works and gives the character and immediate connection to Rogers. That would be enough to make the character stand out in the film, as would his part in the finale, but it’s Mackie’s crushing charisma that makes him shine on screen. This man shares a film with Samuel L. Jackson and easily holds his own in a charisma-off with him. If there is one breakout character from this movie who needs to keep returning, it’s Mackie as the Falcon.
Lastly, I want to briefly touch on the film’s titular character. No, the other titular. The sub-titular character. Briefly because anything I do say here could breach into spoiler territory, but I will say that I genuinely believe that this movie tells this character’s story better than even the comics did. Operating less like the Joker or Loki with a bombastic and commanding presence through pure theatricality, the Winter Soldier feels more akin to the shark from Jaws. His presence is felt throughout the film, even when he’s not onscreen, and when he is onscreen the feeling of utter terror and dread emanating from his presence is palpable. This movie could have lived or died based on how effectively portrayed the Winter Soldier was and, thankfully, everyone involved simply nails. And then to be accompanied by the electronica nightmare fuel that is Henry Jackman’s theme for the character that subtly permeates each and every scene with the character in it, punctuating every feeling of dread he conjures.
From Iron Man through to The Avengers, I think it was easily to see not only the expansion of the universe of these films, but also an increase in stakes with each movie. With Phase 2 I think we’re seeing something much the same with the personal stakes of each of the main characters of these three films. And with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel has taken another massive leap towards Avengers: Age Of Ultron and the domination of the comic book film market. If you were on the film for any reason, then I would say that this film is a must-see. From the directing to the action to the writing to the comedy to the raw emotion to the performances, this film ups the ante in every way. I don’t know how they do it, but Marvel seems to make every new film their best film yet.
