Captain Snowden vs. The Big Data Soldier

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2015)

Even though "The Raid 2" is the strongest contender for being my favorite action movie of 2014 it is clear to me now that "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is on top of my list of favorite movies 2014 over all. It is absolutely mesmerizing to me how the Russo Brothers managed to make a movie about a superhero I never gave a chuff about and turned him into my number one favorite. Just to underline how few people care about Captain America in Germany: His solo movies have been called "The First Avenger" and "Return of the First Avenger" here, because it's actually easier to con your friends into watching "That new Marvel movie about the first Avenger" with you before they find out it is about lame ass Captain America! The first thing the Russo Brothers did right was looking at the character and seeing what makes him tick. His superpowers are superhuman strength and agility, so you naturally should see that on film. With that in mind they went for hand-held cameras and fight scenes with actual talented martial artists involved. With people like Frank Grillo and UFC Welterweigh Champion Georges St-Pierre you know Chris Evans had to workout like a mad man to keep up. But not only are the fights better choreographed than anything seen in Hollywood Blockbusters in the last 10 years, they are also much better shot, with wider angles and longer shots dominating the screen. Sure, they aren't as crazy as the shots that Gareth Evans and Isaac Florentine present to us, but for a Marvel movie this is a gigantic step forward.
The second thing the Russo Brothers did right was relying heavily on practical effects. If they were able to build something they went for the real thing instead of CGI, and boy does it show. The car chases are some of the best stunt driving I have seen in years and compared to something like "A Good Day To Die Hard" this will bring tears of joy to your eyes.
But the praise doesn't stop here: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" also features the best character development out of all of the Marvel movies. When there isn't amazing action on screen the characters are talking like they are in a real conversation. Black Widow already was in 2 Marvel movies, one even directed by characterization specialist Joss Whedon, and only now does she feel like a real character to me. Captain America and Black Widow basically pull off a buddy cop routine with running gags through the entire movie, which is such a breath of fresh air after thousands of unnecessary romance subplots in other action movies. A female and a male hero on equal terms are best buddies and take down the bad guys: Chuffing finally.
Another great thing about this movie is the very grim tone that is only lightened up by conversational gags every once in a while. There are so many innocent people getting shot in this that I had to check twice what rating it had. Sure, their deaths aren't nearly as bloody as your good old 80s action fare but it has a very high body count and some really gruesome kills.
The greatest thing though has to be the story. As somebody who never cared about Captain America I had the impression that he's the kinda guy that goes around being all "You don't do this to America, Oorah!" but he really isn't. He is a superhero that stands for the freedom of speech, the freedom of the individual and all that good stuff that America supposedly stands for. So without spoiling too much this movie basically shows Captain America resisting against his superiors and with that the government, becoming a fugitive in the process by trying to do what's right instead of what was commanded to him. It's a very topical story about big data and the prevention of crimes by analyzing it. It even leads up to a point where it basically calls people like Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning heroes for what they did, a stand point I never would have expected to be taken in such a big budget comic book adaptation.
All this combined makes this one hell of a watch and turned Captain America into my favorite superhero. I don't often cheer during movies, but this basically has everything I love. Sure, I would have loved a little more blood on screen, but instead I got to cry some tears at the heartfelt climax.