As I sit down to write this review of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” the movie has already grossed $95 million dollars domestically, and even more internationally.
These are record numbers for April, so if you were looking forward to seeing the movie, chances are you probably already have. If you haven’t, I hope you will. It’s not just a great superhero, comic book, or action film – it’s a great film.
The story, set not during World War II, like “Captain America: The First Avenger,” but in modern times, centers on a post-“Avengers” Captain as he struggles to accept the strong arm tactics of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization tasked with protecting the world from evil.
Unlike last summer’s incarnation of Superman, Cap still stands for truth, justice, and the American way. But he’s growing tired of being S.H.I.E.L.D.’s janitor, he says, and casts a wary eye on the organization’s new program for eliminating alleged terrorists before they strike. “I thought the punishment followed the crime,” he tells S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury as the two survey four massive battleships designed to target and kill criminals from the air. “We can’t afford to do things that way anymore,” Fury says.
Their tense disagreement is a reflection of the political debate taking place in our country today. On one hand, we have a long-standing establishment that believes the U.S. should police the world and insert itself into wars to protect our safety and national interests. On the other hand, more and more people want to take a less aggressive approach and give peace a chance, so to speak. Like Captain America, these folks are tired of fighting every war, and are questioning the claims of those who say it’s what we have to do.
Like the U.S., Captain America is having an identity crisis as he tries to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. I thought he was supposed to beat up computer animated bad guys, but here I am writing about a politically smart, geopolitically aware film.
“Winter Soldier” is also a clever, tightly written thriller. Unseen forces maneuver to take out Fury early in the film, and as Captain America sets out to find out who and why, he’s closely watched by Alexander Pierce, the head of the World Security Council (WSC), energetically played by Robert Redford. Casting Redford as Pierce is a subtle tip to the political thrillers of the ‘70s, like “Three Days of the Condor,” in which Redford starred. “Winter Soldier” drew more than a little inspiration from those films.
The plot of “Winter Soldier” is anything but boring. Cap battles a mysterious Russian agent who appears to be even stronger than he, befriends a young veteran who becomes Marvel’s fabled Falcon, and is joined by Black Widow, who has a bigger role here than in “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers.” (More of Scarlett Johansson is always a good thing.) Plus, an old enemy come out of the woodwork (or rather, a data base), and overwhelming forces that may or may not be associated with the WSC descend on the Captain. The filmmakers threw in a couple of good twists and a quest for global domination, too, for good measure.
Lay to rest any concerns you have about the story squelching the action. “Winter Soldier” might be a heavily plotted thriller, but it’s also a Marvel film, and that means action – and plenty of it. Don’t except morphing green monsters and strange aliens from alternate dimensions, though. Rather, Cap faces human foes bent on his destruction. Much of the action, including some nicely choreographed gun fights, a well-shot car chase, and a killer hand-to-hand battle in a descending elevator, make minimal use of CGI, but rather were shot on camera. Some of the fist fights relied a little too much on quick cuts and a slightly shaky camera, but I could still tell what was going on. Also, viewers thirsty for more “Avengers”-style spectacle will love the ending.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is easily one of the best comic book, or superhero, movies made to date. It’s up there with “Spider-Man 2” in my book. It’s also one of the best sequels to a genre film – the “Empire Strikes Back” to its “Star Wars.” But aside from all of that, it’s simply a great movie. Thank you, Marvel, for giving us a movie well worth our time and money.
Three-and-a-half stars out of five. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay, and action.