Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Movie Review)

 

Review by Paeter Frandsen

 

After the events of Marvel's The Avengers, the government has made security the highest of priorities and the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization has taken it upon themselves to preemptively attack potential dangers to the world. As a primary asset of S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers, code-named "Captain America," is concerned about this new way of doing business, and wonders more and more if there is any place for him in this strange world of the future he has awoken to after decades in suspended animation.

Matters become more complex when S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes compromised and attacked from within. Captain America, along with Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow), must figure out who they can trust and where the true evil can be found and confronted. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, a mysterious assassin appears, who is every bit a match for Captain America, and who also resurrects old ghosts from Steve Rogers' past.

The usual supporting cast returns to accompany Chris Evans in the title role. Performances are solid throughout, bolstered by a great script that doesn't overdo humor, keeps the intrigue simmering, and also focuses on character. The pace of the movie perfectly shifts back and forth between action, suspense, and intrigue with welcome splashes of human drama here and there. Although it never once feels sluggish, the film still takes time to help viewers care about these characters and their personal desires, leading to a number of times between explosive action sequences where I found myself nearly welling up with tears.

The action, choreography, and visual effects all come together to create riveting sequences made all the more intense by the vulnerable, human nature of the heroes. The music is a blend of orchestral and electronic sounds that give the movie a nice suspense film vibe. This movie is just what the trailer seemed to promise: a superhero/military/spy-thriller mashup. And it pulls off that blend expertly.

The story pulls no punches, with several surprises, including at least one major game changer for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is a change so big I actually might be curious enough to check in on the ho-hum, by-the-numbers Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. snooze-and-gag-fest to see how that TV show will now move forward in light of the events of this movie.

The movie isn't perfect. Although the CG effects look great much of the time, a few key balls were dropped, including one bit of questionable CGI that took me out of a very dramatic character moment. I also felt that the story could have taken us further into the character of Steve Rogers, possibly delving more into his "Man Out of Time" characteristics. There were also a few jokes that fell flat, continuing the pattern of Marvel movies attempting to capture the lightning in a bottle that was "Iron Man," only to fail with increasing frequency. Thankfully, the jokes (failed or successful), are a few and far between, as this movie largely seeks to have its own identity, not compelled toward humor under the shadows of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.

A significant theme in this movie is the topic of security versus freedom. If you take a strong view on this political subject it may affect your enjoyment of or involvement in the film one way or the other. The prevailing sentiment in The Winter Soldier is that freedom is more important than security. And though I am far from political, and say this with fear over what an excessive application might cost, I would probably side with freedom being more important than security as well. After all, without human freedom, we are unable to even have a debate over which value is most important. 

A minor villain in the story comments that humanity cannot be trusted with their freedom. This is actually true. We have shown throughout history that we cannot be depended upon to use our freedom wisely. Sure, we do some good things, but consider for a moment all the evils, both big and small, that we take for granted as a part of everyday life. We need contracts, lawyers, police officers, judges, laws, prisons, fines, security cameras, and counselors, all because we can't be trusted to do the right thing with our human freedom. In this way, the villain was right in what he said. It was his suggested solution that was the problem.

Despite these interesting ideas, the story lends itself primarily to being an exciting, involving action movie, and not a springboard for worthwhile contemplation or conversation. Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best Marvel movies made so far and is well worth seeing.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 6.6/10