Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) by Stevenf — 03 Apr 2014

The success of 'The Avengers' back in 2012 was undoubtedly going to usher in another phase of films from the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Robert Downey Jr. was the first to suit up for the third Iron Man outing and his fourth for the franchise overall. The third entry in the Iron Man franchise proved to be riding the wave of the massively successful Avengers, taking a huge haul at the box office. Next up was Chris Hemsworth as the muscle bound god of thunder Thor.

Both proved to be successes, the former continuing to impress while the latter was better than the first outing but still left plenty of room for improvement. But the first avenger to start it all was Steve Rogers as Captain America, his first film was good but not great, it had a wonderful retro feel to its first half until it took an explosive and predictable path for its final hour, each event leading into The Avengers. Cap was always difficult to put in front of an audience that nowadays demands darkness and gritty realism over charm and light-hearted antics. He stands for goodness and doing what's right, something that isn't very sought after in modern day heroics.

But in this sequel to the 2011 film, it's a different time and a much different film. Not only does it improve upon the last solo outing, but it could very well be the best film to come out of the Marvel franchise so far. The man who was frozen in time returns with Chris Evans again putting the famous shield on his arm, he now works for S.H.I.E.L.D. who continue to be a very secretive organisation which Cap is determined to get to the bottom of. He works closely alongside fellow operative Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). The witty chemistry between these two is easily one of the highlights of the film, even in the stickiest of situations, the writers manage to infuse some comic relief that works every time. But the threat this time in the film is much closer to home as S.H.I.E.L.D. itself is the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is given a much larger and more pivotal role in the Winter Soldier, the more Sam Jackson the better if you ask me! The story plays out in thrilling fashion as a mole within headquarters has each of our good guys on their hit list. The great alliance is now in tatters and someone that Cap has never dealt with is hunting himself and his friends down. Who better to send after them than the mythical Winter Soldier, he may just seem like a master assassin with a metal arm and anger issues, but there is much more of a story going on behind the mask that plays a part in a film that finds balance between emotional repercussions while also entertaining the fans with explosive set pieces, thrilling fist fights and a fantastic car chase involving director Fury, it all packs a heavy punch while infusing the film with superior wit and charm, especially from supporting cast member Anthony Mackie who dons a familiar pair of wings as the plot unfolds. The story delves very deep into the history of the S.H.I.E.L.D organisation while also outlining the problems that face a company who is trying to do everything right by preventing crime before it happens, "What about freedom?" the Cap asks, always there to detail the line between right and wrong. Chris Evans himself is on fine form and he acts out a very emotional script that paints Steve Rodgers as a man who is unsure about what to do with his life after the secrets of the people he works for start to unravel. It pays homage to the first film while also solidifying itself as possibly the best Marvel film so far, it has everything that could possibly be imagined and just when you think that it can't get any better, Robert Redford shows his face along with several other strong characters, there are surprises at every turn but enough of the same characters we've come to know from previous films to add up an adventurous, pulsating and epic adventure that could be the best film of the year.