Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) by Alec D — 04 Dec 2018

After viewing countless comic book adaptations of movies for a decade now, it's quite obvious that while they are still generally great films, we're starting to see increasingly predictable plots and movie tropes that are turning original source material into reworkings of the same film. The opportunity to turn this genre into a wide range of subgenres has been missed over and over again so that we as an audience are forced to reach into our pockets to view a film we've seen a million times before.

Well I'm here to set the record straight by saying that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not that type of movie. After viewing the film, I began to see that a superhero movie could actually be more than what we've been previously getting. It was so much more than a grand spectacle of explosions and larger-than-life characters (though the movie still has its fair share of them). It was a film about a man, out of touch with modern society, who struggles with betrayal, maintaining relationships, and dealing with his past, though covered up by a Marvel logo.

The film finds Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America, played by Chris Evans) living in the modern world after he was found frozen in ice. He is working as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D, but later finds that it has been infiltrated by Hydra, and is then made out to be a fugitive after the supposed death of Director Nick Fury. Rogers, along with Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow Scarlett Johansson), is on the run from former allies, only to discover a mysterious assassin, known as the Winter Soldier, is after him. Rogers deals with the betrayal of his allies and has to rely on new ones to save S.H.I.E.L.D. He then learns that the mysterious assassin is actually his best friend since childhood, Bucky Barnes, who is alive after being presumed dead during WWII, being brainwashed into working for Hydra.

I think that what most people love about Cap is that he is human. Despite all of the steroids and the shield that defies the laws of physics, he still bleeds the same blood that you and I bleed. He isn't all-powerful, but he is a guy who has a moral code and truly tries his best to do the right thing, which is something a lot of moviegoers can relate to. He's not your typical hero, flying around, lifting boulders, or shooting lasers from his eyes, but he's a hero in the sense that he does things by the book, helping in any way he can, and fighting for what he believes in. With that being said, Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn't like your typical superhero movie. It plays out more like a political thriller, with deep themes and messages of loyalty and betrayal, fighting for what you believe in, and the negative effects of having too much power.

They say that a hero is only as good as his villain, and I think that the Winter Soldier is the villain we needed to see Steve Rogers go toe to toe with. I believe the reason he works so well is because he's a former friend of Steve's, presumed dead. Knowing how loyal Steve is, we see a massive internal struggle of loyalty and trust for Steve as he's forced to fight against a man he once called a friend, and his reluctance to do so. We aren't made to view the good captain fighting against an evil villain, rather a struggle to pull Bucky Barnes back to the side of good. We see themes of betrayal, and where one turns to when all he knows and trusts has fallen.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a solid film, with good themes about loyalty and morals. Not only were the themes and messages well done, but the movie was overall very entertaining. The action scenes were fast-paced and intense, and the characters are likeable and believable. Out of the other MCU movies, this one is different, and I think that most people will enjoy it because it's cinematic themes, cinematography, and character quality make it a great film as a whole.