Never judge a film by its poster.
Or at least don't judge this film by this poster 'cause this poster's very bleh.
One of the more interesting points on the business side of this whole 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' shebang is how The Avengers' success impacts the subsequent films; does co-starring in the big climactic team-up increase awareness and box-office muscle appreciably for the non-Iron Man heroes? I'd imagine that's something Marvel Studios are banking on. While I consider Captain America: The First Avenger to be a great film - in fact, it's almost a perfect film, insofar as it's the best possible movie that could be made out of both Cap's origin story and his delivery into the modern world - it only did okay at the box office for one reason or another, not much more or less than The Incredible Hulk (which you'll notice has yet to have a sequel mentioned).
Judging from what I've read, this paid off with Thor: The Dark World, which comfortably outgrossed its predecessor even after opening in the tail end of Autumn. So will the same hold true for The Winter Soldier, which with Black Widow in a featured role and much SHIELD shenanigans is doubling down on residual Avengers love?
I certainly hope so, because once again the Sentinel of Liberty has delivered a hell of a movie.
"I know it was you who stole the Hulk's nachos from the office
fridge, Natasha! DON'T LIE TO ME."
The Plot: Now that the world's skies are clear of alien-spewing wormholes, Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans) has drifted into employment with the worldwide peacekeeping/espionage operation SHIELD, but his innate honesty puts him at odds with director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his need for compartmentalization. A data package stolen during one of Cap's missions turns out to be the first thread in unravelling a conspiracy that possibly goes to the highest level of SHIELD, and ties in with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), a faceless assassin that's been plaguing the intelligence scene for over 50 years. Finding himself on the run with only fellow Avenger Natasha Romanov a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and newfound pal Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to help, Cap races against time to prevent the rise of a deadly new world order - but will a few ghosts from his past trip him up?
BATROC ZE LEAPAIR KICKAIR~!
The Good: My god, this script is glorious. There's a delicate balance to preserving interest in superhero movies right now which, to no surprise, Marvel are way out ahead of, and the best trick is to not simply make them 'superhero' stories in the traditional sense. The Winter Soldier is an espionage thriller first and superhero story second, and like all the best spy films it's densely plotted and full of twists and revelations stacked on top of one another. There's a great sense of showmanship in how the film essentially shows you nearly all its pieces to start with, but takes its time showing how those pieces stick together, and when the joins started becoming apparent I almost clapped with delight. At the same time, the filmmakers know that it's the strong character work that has kept audiences attached to this whole shared-universe-series whatchamacallit (I hate the word 'franchise' with a burning passion) and they leave themselves sufficient room to not just give the Captain room to breathe, but to flesh out even the minor parts of the supporting cast too. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely deserve all credit possible for managing such a balancing act.
But a script's only as good as the hands bringing it to life. Joe and Anthony Russo were a bizarre choice to direct Winter Soldier, but after seeing it, it's increasingly hard to believe these two haven't been in the blockbuster game for years. Granted, their varied TV resumé would suggest that pulling great performances out of actors is a particular skill of theirs, but their collective eye for shot composition to convey a feeling or scale is top-notch, they know exactly when to go for the close-up (an undervalued skill, I feel), and the deft touch with which they handle action is stunning. Even when resorting to pretend-handheld shakeycam, everything is clear and readable, and that's coming from a guy who reeeaally hates what shakeycam has done to cinema. Great work here, and it'll be interesting to see how the brothers grow as their careers no doubt blossom from here (until one of them betrays the other and throws him through a barbershop window en route to a major singles run...filmmaking and pro-wrestling are basically the same, right?).
This summer, Sebastian Stan IS Rocket Raccoon!
...shit, wrong movie, nvm.
Another thing the film still finds room for? Punching. Lots of punching. Also kicking. Perhaps fittingly for a hero whose main 'power' is throwing a big frisbee in exciting ways, Winter Soldier eschews CGI-heavy explodathons (saving most of the money and processor juice for its crazy climax) in favour of convincingly brutal and excellently choreographed hand-to-hand fights between its many costumed butt-kickers and the prerequisite legion of expendable schlobs. This might be a PG-13 film, and sure, there's very little blood to be seen, but that doesn't dilute the impact behind any of the many, many fights one iota, whether they involve Cap or the Widow or the Winter Soldier or the brief appearance of Batroc (potato-headed UFC man Georges St. Pierre, doing what he does). The only film I can honestly say handles its fights better, to my mind, is The Raid, and The Raid did not have a guy with a robot arm in it so it's obviously inferior. That's just science.
Since I'm just throwing out character names at random now, let's acknowledge the cast, who (surprise!) are all giving 110% here. Y'know, a few weeks back I experimentally rewatched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (to be quick, I still like it a lot more than anyone else does), and going from that to this just compounds how dynamic Chris Evans is as an actor. Aside from muscle mass, he looks basically identical in both films, and even has the same accent, and yet he absolutely feels like a different man here. His Captain America has been spot-on since day one, and thankfully here he's not dragged down by jokey "oh I don't know how cable works" schtick that's basically the lazy way of handling a time-lost character. Instead he's comfortable with the modern world but just can't find a niche for himself in it, and is frustrated by the knowledge of what's right and the reality of seeing 'right' become an unaffordable luxury. That's a difficult line to walk on - making the hero a sort of know-it-all compared to everyone else - but Evans anchors Steve with humility and so never comes off like a jerk. Then there's the Black Widow, who - rather than just being some "hey, you guys remember The Avengers right?" bit of fan-fluff - helps spell out the movie's moral journey as a sort of friendly dark-mirror equal to Cap. While Steve Rogers hails from a more straightforward time, Natasha was born into the ethically-murky age of SHIELD and has had her whole life to get used to not asking questions/not knowing what you're really fighting for. While it's always fun to see the Widow kick ass, Winter Soldier sees her at her most open and vulnerable, and gives Scarlett Johansson some very welcome room to breathe in her catsuit. (metaphorically anyway - I still don't think she can actually breathe in that thing) Her easy banter with Cap is a refreshing change from the more predictably uptight version of Widow seen in past films, and the film's resolution leaves her in an interesting place going forward.
For the guy whose name is right there in the title, it takes almost a full half-hour for Sebastian Stan to appear as the Winter Soldier, but he's by no means a disappointment when he shows. When you're dealing with a leading man who's already been in two movies and will doubtless appear in more (and is, y'know, the Perfect Living Human to boot) it's tricky to generate a sense of peril, and yet whenever the Soldier is onscreen there's a palpable sense of incoming dread. This man moves with a sense of implacable purpose that befits the Terminator, and even with precious little dialogue to aid him Stan conveys so much with his steely-eyed glowering and forceful body language that the character's backstory - which was regrettably minimized in The First Avenger - carries genuine weight on its reveal. Nick Fury is put through the wringer on this one, with Samuel L. Jackson both expanding his range and owning his first real solo action scene of this series, which is long overdue and well worth it. Anthony Mackie is probably one of the most charming guys working in Hollywood right now, and his scenes with Evans form a perfect counterweight to the grim nature of much of the rest of the movie (this is by far the 'darkest' MCU flick to date, but it still has its share of humour and warmth). Plus, y'know, he becomes the Falcon, and the Falcon is the nuts. And Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce...probably the best thing about him is how little he behaves like 'the villain' despite that essentially being what he is. There's no foreshadowing, no moustache-twirling before the big plan comes to light; for most of his scenes, Redford behaves like a rational, likable guy with a mission that's actually fairly well justified. Which of course makes the eventual gut-punch of his evil scaremongering all the more potent.
Since I'm just throwing out character names at random now, let's acknowledge the cast, who (surprise!) are all giving 110% here. Y'know, a few weeks back I experimentally rewatched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (to be quick, I still like it a lot more than anyone else does), and going from that to this just compounds how dynamic Chris Evans is as an actor. Aside from muscle mass, he looks basically identical in both films, and even has the same accent, and yet he absolutely feels like a different man here. His Captain America has been spot-on since day one, and thankfully here he's not dragged down by jokey "oh I don't know how cable works" schtick that's basically the lazy way of handling a time-lost character. Instead he's comfortable with the modern world but just can't find a niche for himself in it, and is frustrated by the knowledge of what's right and the reality of seeing 'right' become an unaffordable luxury. That's a difficult line to walk on - making the hero a sort of know-it-all compared to everyone else - but Evans anchors Steve with humility and so never comes off like a jerk. Then there's the Black Widow, who - rather than just being some "hey, you guys remember The Avengers right?" bit of fan-fluff - helps spell out the movie's moral journey as a sort of friendly dark-mirror equal to Cap. While Steve Rogers hails from a more straightforward time, Natasha was born into the ethically-murky age of SHIELD and has had her whole life to get used to not asking questions/not knowing what you're really fighting for. While it's always fun to see the Widow kick ass, Winter Soldier sees her at her most open and vulnerable, and gives Scarlett Johansson some very welcome room to breathe in her catsuit. (metaphorically anyway - I still don't think she can actually breathe in that thing) Her easy banter with Cap is a refreshing change from the more predictably uptight version of Widow seen in past films, and the film's resolution leaves her in an interesting place going forward.
For the guy whose name is right there in the title, it takes almost a full half-hour for Sebastian Stan to appear as the Winter Soldier, but he's by no means a disappointment when he shows. When you're dealing with a leading man who's already been in two movies and will doubtless appear in more (and is, y'know, the Perfect Living Human to boot) it's tricky to generate a sense of peril, and yet whenever the Soldier is onscreen there's a palpable sense of incoming dread. This man moves with a sense of implacable purpose that befits the Terminator, and even with precious little dialogue to aid him Stan conveys so much with his steely-eyed glowering and forceful body language that the character's backstory - which was regrettably minimized in The First Avenger - carries genuine weight on its reveal. Nick Fury is put through the wringer on this one, with Samuel L. Jackson both expanding his range and owning his first real solo action scene of this series, which is long overdue and well worth it. Anthony Mackie is probably one of the most charming guys working in Hollywood right now, and his scenes with Evans form a perfect counterweight to the grim nature of much of the rest of the movie (this is by far the 'darkest' MCU flick to date, but it still has its share of humour and warmth). Plus, y'know, he becomes the Falcon, and the Falcon is the nuts. And Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce...probably the best thing about him is how little he behaves like 'the villain' despite that essentially being what he is. There's no foreshadowing, no moustache-twirling before the big plan comes to light; for most of his scenes, Redford behaves like a rational, likable guy with a mission that's actually fairly well justified. Which of course makes the eventual gut-punch of his evil scaremongering all the more potent.
Gratuitous hardware porn.
Even beyond the main players, the casting is fantastic. Though the film's version of Brock Rumlow is missing the appearance or name of Crossbones (future plans...), Frank Grillo is given enough space to evolve into something more than just a random black-clad thug. Remember how movie henchmen used to be cool and had clear personalities? Those days are back again. Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill returns from Avengers but fits into place far better, getting to feel like an integral part of the story rather than just a background character that shares a name with someone from the comics. And there are two more returning players from the first Cap movie whose appearances many may have already guessed at, but I'm hesitant to mention here because their scenes are so great.
The Winter Solider is also one of the smartest Marvel movies (if not the smartest) to date, willing to engage with real-world issues and brave enough to take a definite stand on them. The eventual villain plan might involve crazy super-technology that doesn't exist, but the rationale behind it rings all too true, and there's enough room to both show why such a plan could possibly be supported by the public, while also very firmly declaring how wrong it is. And if you're worried that the whole deal sounds a bit 'heavy' for a summer actioner, well, it does also involve the remaining members of a Nazi splinter faction who've been hiding in plain sight for decades and aim for (what else?) world domination, so it works as just fun action froth too. But I like it when films like this try to be something more.
Saying that the film's technically flawless is maybe perfunctory (would it get released if the effects weren't finished?) but I do like to at least acknowledge that good work was done here. There's a crapload of fantastic stuntwork on display, and when digital trickery has to take over the joins are blissfully invisible - I was deliberately squinting at the Winter Soldier's robo-arm to try and spot some CG joints, but damned if I couldn't see any. The score this time is by Henry Jackman, whose previous work includes X-Men First Class and G.I. Joe Retaliation, and Winter Soldier's music has a similar heavy-industrial bent to it that fits its tone very smartly...though if I'm honest, the audio highlight was hearing Alan Silvestri's title theme from the first Cap film getting a reprise. Love that tune.
Bonus good: of course there are teaser scenes in the credits. This follows the same pattern as The Dark World did, i.e. a scene to tease a future film after the swanky main titles, and a stinger to compliment a thread from this film at the tail end. Worth hanging around for both.
"Bad points? I'll shoot some damn holes in allll your bad points!"
The Bad: Uhm...the film did eventually end? I can't watch Captain America 3 tomorrow? That kinda sucks?
Well, alright, I guess...there's always that one character in films like this who you wish had more to do. The Winter Soldier does a better balancing job than most, and as I mentioned earlier it's great to see one-time throwaway Maria Hill being treated better, but even so...there's always one. In this case it's Agent 13, played by Emily VanCamp. VanCamp does great with what she's given, and if they do move her into a love interest role in future, she has good chemistry with Evans to support it. And she has a couple nice stand-out moments, especially one involving Rumlow. But she's just not all that vital to the story, and if you took her scenes out of the finished film I don't know if you'd really notice.
"Next?"
Overall: Three films into 'Phase 2' of the Avengers project, and we're at 3-0 for greatness. The Winter Soldier is certainly the first true follow-up to The Avengers but it's much more than that. It's (another) damn near perfect Captain America film, a surprisingly smart commentary on the black-ops spy game that's running under all our noses today, heartfelt and exciting and 'big' enough to feel like a true event picture in its own right with or without the impending promises of bigger things to come.
10 out of 10. Again. And it doesn't even feel like hyperbole much.
"No, you fool, this thing needs washed by hand!"
The Winter Soldier: weirdly pedantic about his accessories.
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