CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Grade: A-

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford and Cobie Smulders

Premise: Still trying to adjust to life in the 21^st century, Steve Rogers is betrayed by members of the covert agency SHIELD and forced into a two-man war with ageless Russian killing machine The Winter Soldier.

Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, some bloody images, a scene of torture, and some language

Leave it up to Captain America to save the movie-going day! Being a non-comic book fan and a cynical, show-me-something-new moviegoer, I haven’t been the biggest fan of the comic book movie explosion that’s happened in the past ten years. In fact, I’ve left the last half-dozen Marvel Comics’ sequels—including Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and The Wolverine—wondering if I ever need to see another comic book movie. I’m being facetious, of course; as long as there are Marvel Comics movies, they’ll always be huge hits, and since I always want to be in the know as far as movies are concerned, I’ll see them. Basically, we've now seen so many movies about people developing superpowers and using them to stop dastardly villains and save the world (or worlds, in some instances), they can’t help but be a little repetitious and cliché, even bland. True, I’m psyched to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, and who isn’t going to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron when it comes out in 2015, but, basically, I walked out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier ready to see the next Avengers movie. And, for me, that really means something.

Plot

Even though he helped save the modern world in The Avengers, life isn’t necessarily getting easier for Steve Rogers (the very likeable Chris Evans). His likeness is plastered all over a Smithsonian museum exhibit, he’s constantly rubbing shoulders with secret agents and super soldiers, and he’s capable of amazing feats of physicality, but he doesn’t have any real friends, and doesn’t really know what to do with himself when he’s not running missions. And he’s still all about honesty, honor and nobility, so when he finds out his employer—high-tech government agency SHIELD—is using covert data recovered during a recent mission to invite armed satellites to quietly keep tabs on anyone SHIELD may consider a threat, he’s disgusted. He goes right to his frequent comrade-in-arms, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and eye-in-the-sky supervisor Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) demanding information. When he’s met with what-did-you-expect and you-can’t-really-trust-anyone platitudes, he considers giving up working for SHIELD. But if he’s not using his gifts for the government, to help save lives, what is he doing?

Everything changes when Fury becomes the victim of a brutal assassination attempt, and swarms of double agents and hit men come gunning for Rogers, possibly taking their orders from SHIELD’s High Council, which now includes the whip-smart senator (Robert Redford) who hired Fury. And these would-be assassins are just child’s play compared to the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), a fast, fit, dead-eyed assassin who has supposedly been offing people since the ‘50s, and who’s strong enough to snatch the Captain’s trademark armored shield right out of the sky during a skirmish. Constantly on the run with Romanoff, SHIELD superspy Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and an Army Special Ops vet (a welcome Anthony Mackie), the Captain tries to find the rat inside SHIELD and to keep his few real friends alive. But this quickly becomes harder than it seemed at first, because not only is someone inside SHIELD calling some pretty nasty shots, but the ever-mysterious Winter Soldier may not just be coming after the Captain because he’s been ordered to end him...the Captain slowly begins to realize it may be even more personal then that.

What Works?

Let’s get this out of the way right now—Captain America is my favorite Avenger, and he should be yours. Why? Well, other than the fact that he’s called Captain freaking America, after two movies (not including The Avengers) it’s clear there’s a bit more substance to this character than some of his super comrades. Fittingly focused on ideals like honor and truth and self-sacrifice, Steve Rogers reminds us of what’s good about people, and what we wish the major figures in our society today would be a lot more like. He’s more grounded, I guess—Evans is every bit as watchable as Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Hemsworth, and he manages to be so without an irritating character trait like Tony Stark’s smug arrogance or Thor’s empty-headed nobility—and his movies are less likely to be bogged down by over-hyped gadgets and effects (Iron Man) or plain old goofiness  (Thor). Winter Soldier is easily the best post-Avengers Avenger film.

Is part of that due to the fact that more of the Avengers players are back? Maybe. Evans shares a lot of screen time with the slimmed-down Johansson (whose Black Widow is even more down to earth this time around) and the gravely-stern Jackson, who's always nice to see. Cobie Smulders’ no-nonsense Agent Maria Hill from The Avengers is a positive addition to this cast as well. There are also effective cameos from some of Evans’ co-stars from the first Captain America, like Toby Jones and Hayley Atwell. Winter Soldier’s newcomers are all typically-great performers, with Robert Redford, Frank Grillo, and Anthony Mackie all doing great work. Mackie, in particular, is a delight as Captain America fan/ally Sam Wilson, who gets a big boost from Mackie's natural charisma, not to mention the actor's past screen roles (he's particularly easy to buy as a recovering vet after his memorable turn in the Best Picture-winning modern war classic, The Hurt Locker).  Oh, and Sebastian Stan, as the Winter Soldier of the title? He’s good, too, making quite an impression with a minimum of dialogue (and, man, can he fight!).

With great actors and a cool concept, Winter Soldier is super entertaining and it breezes along—rarely has two and a quarter hours in a theater gone so quickly. Avengers die-hards and newcomers alike will laugh, cheer and sit on the edge of their seats, as many of the plot twists and choreographed super-fights recall the Bourne series in their unfussy intensity. There’s some real emotion here, some real grit and meaning; we as an audience care about these characters and their connections, and even though we’ve seen about a billion superhero movies by now and they always save the day, the idea that they might not do so in time is particularly horrific here. Oh, and the token Marvel movie Stan Lee cameo is brilliantly well-used. To be frank, this might be the best all-around Marvel Comics movie since 2004’s Spiderman 2.

What Doesn’t Work?

Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot. Movies that deal with sophisticated technology and have to explain it always run the risk of getting a little bogged down and talky, and this one threatens to do that a few times, but its lengthy running time is, for the most part, pretty well used. Anyone who hasn’t seen either the first Captain America or The Avengers will probably feel pretty lost, so I would recommend a viewing of either (if not both) before going, but this is still a pretty great movie, and it feels like a breath of fresh air after wave upon wave of stale, by-the-numbers Marvel sequels.

Content

Good thing Captain America’s a tough guy, ‘cause his movie can get pretty intense. The violence is usually not particularly bloody, but there is a lot of it, and the stakes manage to get pretty grim. There’s no sensuality or sexuality, though, and there are only a few, low-key curses. Despite the sheer amount of mayhem, though, there’s not much here audiences haven’t seen a whole lot of times.

Bottom Line

Better than The Avengers? I’ll let you make that call, but Captain America’s second go-round is an action-packed, exciting, well-made and gripping movie that’s way better than the recent Iron Man and Thor sequels, and it will leave you panting for the next Avengers (if you stick around through the entire credits, you will see not one but two bonus scenes). Chris Evans is as super as ever, he’s surrounded by a great cast, the effects are good but CGI doesn’t rule the roost, the twisty plot and epic fights are pretty awesome, and there's some unexpected heart, too. I can be a little bit of a Grinch with these Marvel comics movies, but, today, I enjoyed myself immensely.

Thanks, Captain.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely; Based on the Comic Books by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Rated PG-13

Length: 136 minutes