Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rated PG-13 ('Splosions and guns)
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Ed Brubaker (concept and story), Joe Simon and Stan Lee (comic book)
***1/2 out of ****
THIS is why I love Captain America.
Batman has brains and money, but he's insane. Superman is good, but he's basically a god. (Yes, I know that DC and Marvel take different approaches to their respective superheroes, but I didn't read a whole lot of superhero comics growing up.) There was just... something about Cap that I liked.
I'm sure that you've seen the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks. If not, I'll try to recap them.
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was a 90-pound weakling when Hitler started doing his stuff in Europe. Steve wanted to help out so damn badly. His best friend, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is going to be an amazing soldier, and Steve doesn't want to be stuck being just a stateside volunteer. He won't take "no" for an answer from the enlistment board. His moxie is noticed, and he is put in the "Super Soldier" program (which, due to licensing deals, can't be called what it became by Marvel Studios films. Captain America is Weapon I. Wolverine is Weapon X.). Cap goes to Europe, socks Hitler in the jaw, and loses Bucky.
After being frozen in the North Atlantic for decades, he's "resurrected" by S.H.I.E.L.D., and joins the Avengers Initiative. He helps Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Thor and Hawkeye beat Loki, and continues working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent while trying to adjust to the 21st century.
So, now we're here. Cap and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are sent on a rescue mission. A S.H.I.E.L.D. launch platform was hijacked by pirates. Wait. Cap was sent on the rescue mission. Black Widow was sent on another mission that just so happened to be on the same ship.
This really irritates Cap, and he lets Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) know. Fury doesn't really care. What he doesn't tell Cap is that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised.
Fury tells his best friend, and S.H.I.E.L.D. executive, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). An attempt on Fury's life is made by a "ghost" known only as the Winter Soldier.
Then a bunch of stuff blows up.
Marvel really keeps raising the bar with each installment. One helicarrier in "The Avengers"? Let's do three. One kickass woman in the "universe"? That sounds like an awfully small number.
I think I liked this better than" The Avengers". Much like in "Thor: The Dark World", the Marvel team is letting the characters breathe. If you wondered why Black Widow was in The Avengers, you won't after this. Captain America needs a team, and with Black Widow, Nick Fury and Falcon (Anthony Mackie), he has an amazing one. while I'm going to see all of the Marvel Studios movies, I am really interested in seeing where Captain America goes from here.
Captain America is a soldier, yes. But he's not a blind soldier. He is a government agent, yes, but he doesn't fight for the government. Captain America represents the best of America, regardless of politics. Superman fights for Truth, Justice and the American Way, but Captain America IS Truth, Justice and the American Way. His attitude isn't "My country, right or wrong," but "When my country is right, it's right. When it's wrong, it needs to be taken to task."
