By ANDY GILCHRIST
Arts Editor
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a bit of a slide recently. After the good, but not great, The Avengers, the studio churned out the mediocre sequels Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. As they continue to put out follow-ups to their earlier hits, some fans have begun to wonder if they would ever reach the heights that the first Iron Man hit six years ago.
Thankfully, Captain America: The Winter Soldier breaks this streak. By putting the emphasis on plot and characters rather than jokes and CGI, the film succeeds where most of Marvel’s recent fare has failed. Strong performances by all of the lead cast members and making the film a slick throwback to 70s conspiracy thrillers, the film is not just Marvel’s best in years, it might be their best ever.
Taking place after The Avengers, Captain America (Chris Evans) has begun working for SHIELD, running black-ops missions for the spy organization across the globe. But working in the shadows has left Cap disillusioned to the current state of the world, an entirely different place than the one he knew during the 40s. Learning that SHIELD is involved in experimental drone technology, which has the power to take out thousands of threats at once, only further concerns him.
Following an attempt on the life of SHIELD director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Cap goes underground with fellow Avenger and SHIELD agent Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Picking up threads of international corruption dating back to the very founding of SHIELD, the two find themselves taking on almost the entire intelligence community as the clock ticks toward the unleashing of a weapon that threatens the entire planet. Meanwhile, the mysterious Winter Soldier, a legendary assassin active since the 50s, has been hired to kill them. When Cap and the Black Widow meet the Winter Soldier, secrets from everyone’s pasts will be exposed.
Marvel has always been willing to take risks, more so than their rivals over at DC Comics. For their post-Avengers slate of films, the studio hired a group of directors not well versed in the CGI and big budget effects that a blockbuster demands. Their riskiest hire was easily that of brothers Anthony and Joe Russo to direct the Captain America sequel. The brothers had only made two films, both comedies, before The Winter Soldier, having done the bulk of their life’s work on several critically acclaimed sitcoms, such as Arrested Development and Community.
Despite their complete lack of work in any genre but comedy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a solid action thriller, making it look like the brothers have been doing action their entire careers. What are most satisfying are the action sequences. While the third act of the film does follow the Marvel playbook of being shot entirely against a green screen, the numerous action sequences before are all shot on sets or on location. Fight scenes and car chases are filmed on real city streets, as opposed to on a studio back lot. While this seems like a minor detail, in a series of films that seem to be getting repetitive with the overuse of CGI, shooting in the real world is refreshing.
But even more so than the realistic fight scenes, the film succeeds because each of the major characters gets their own story arc. Captain America has been criticized as being unable to change since he must always represent the highest ideals of America. But here, Chris Evans accurately portrays Cap as a man torn between a duty to his country and disgusted by modern warfare. Gone are the days of storming the beaches, replaced by drones committing murder from the air. Cap sees that he must change with the times, but has America gone too far? And if so, what is he willing to do about it?
Also returning is Scarlett Johansson as superspy the Black Widow. While her performances in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers were good, there wasn’t much there for her to do other than kick ass and give female audience members someone to connect with. Here, the Black Widow gets at least half a dozen times more characterization than both of her previous appearances combined. Having lived the life of a spy her entire life, she begins to wonder who she really is behind the numerous cover stories and whether she ever wants to be that person again.
A new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon. Having served two tours in the Middle East, Wilson now works as a counselor to returning soldiers suffering from PTSD. When Cap and the Black Widow have nowhere else to turn, he offers them not only shelter, but his help in taking down the conspiracy. Despite making his first appearance in this film, the character goes through an entire story arc over the course of the movie’s 136 minutes. This is more than can be said about most Marvel movie main characters, let alone a supporting one.
The film also succeeds because of its great villains. While controversy over the depiction of the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and a total lack of characterization for Malekith the Accursed in Thor: The Dark World caused those films to suffer, the villains of Captain America: The Winter Soldier only make it better.
Robert Redford, a veteran of the conspiracy thriller genre, gives the film gravitas as World Security Council member Alexander Pierce. An old friend of Nick Fury, Pierce represents modern America, the one willing to kill before the crime has been committed in order to save lives. But his dedication to the cause puts him at odds with Fury, Cap, and their allies, all of whom soon find themselves in the crosshairs.
The Winter Soldier, meanwhile, is a merciless killing machine. An assassin who rarely speaks and refuses to stop unless a mission is complete, he is more than just a faceless killer stock character. A mysterious past, having been active for over 60 years, and a bionic arm make him more than a formidable opponent for Cap, Black Widow, and the Falcon. Comic book fans already know the character’s identity, but hopefully it will surprise non-fanboys and add multiple layers to the Captain America saga.
Finally, the film triumphs because of its genre. While it is obviously a superhero film, the movie is also a conspiracy thriller. Inspired by such films as Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, and All the President’s Men, the Russo brothers put a lot more emphasis on the spy aspects of the story than most fans are expecting. As stated above, the film deals heavily with drone warfare, but also delves into the government monitoring information everywhere. This theme could not be timelier, as the film speaks directly to the current political climate, especially after Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks and revelations. By instilling a “trust no one” tone to the film early on, the directors have created an intense thriller film that appeals to those who aren’t fans of the superhero genre.
While there are no outstanding faults with the film, there are some aspects of it that could have used a little more work.
Those who have not seen the first Captain America movie, Captain America: The First Avenger, are likely to be a bit confused by The Winter Soldier. There are numerous shout outs and callbacks to the first film through flashbacks, stock footage, and even present day versions of characters from the first film. Likewise, there are also references to other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While these references are not overt and one can understand the film without getting them, the studio does risk alienating new viewers by continually referencing their shared continuity.
Also, despite the fact that his name is the film’s subtitle, the Winter Soldier is a very minor character, appearing in only 20 or so minutes of the film’s 2 hour 16 minute runtime. But this is merely a disappointment, not a problem. The character is mysterious enough that he is only needed for that small amount of screen time; anything longer would have taken away from the character’s covert nature. And let’s not forget, Chinatown only mentions that part of town twice, yet it perfectly captures the secretive nature of that film’s world. The Winter Soldier represents the shadowy world of spies, so it is the perfect subtitle for this film.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the latest offering from the juggernaut that is Marvel Studios. While all of their previous sequels have disappointed, their newest film is the first to improve upon the original; it builds off of what the first established, yet takes it in a different and better direction. It’s been six years since Marvel put out their first legitimately great film, not just a really good comic book movie, in the first Iron Man. Now, they have a second.
