A Bright, Noisy Take on the Political Potboiler

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2015)

A nice rummage through the genre bin in search of a hybrid that hadn't yet seen the light of day: the action / adventure / superhero / political thriller. It's enjoyable enough, if a touch on the shallow, superficial side. Though it runs a bit long, I don't feel like the drama was given quite enough time to simmer and skeptics will see right through an early plot twist involving a major death (or two). The action scenes look and feel great, though, with an emphasis on physical effects in lieu of CG that pays big dividends. Scarlett Johansson gets a lot of screen time, much more than I'd expected, but feels purposeful and at-home, where Anthony Mackie's equal turn as Falcon seems forced and irrelevant. Of course, Chris Evans is vanilla but strong in the leading role and Sebastian Stan is appropriately cool-looking, if slightly under-explored, as his momentary nemesis the Winter Soldier. They probably should've kept the mask on longer, though; he seems far less menacing and visually striking without. I'm really struggling to understand why this didn't feel more substantial than it did. Even Cap's most appealing personality quirk - his disconnection from the trappings of modern society - gets little more than a cursory glance. Good but middle-of-the-pack in the Marvel family.