Captain America: The Winter Solider Review

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2014)

My Thoughts: I have to say this movie is probably one of the best from Marvel. They are not afraid to take on new directions or subjects it seems. So what do we get from the new Captain America movie? We see a Steve Rogers that is now firmly working for S.H.I.E.L.D. doing what looks like black op work. And let me tell you, the opening sequence is just packed with some awesome action scenes, though it does seem everyone has learned how to do parkour, but that doesn't really detract from anything. Steve Rogers still feels like a man out of place in this new world; he doesn't really know if he fits in with the way Director Nick Fury is running S.H.I.E.L.D.
But while Captain America is trying to figure out what he wants to do with himself and his association with S.H.I.E.L.D., it seems like there is someone trying to take out those in control of S.H.I.E.L.D., and of course, this sets Captain America on the case with Black Widow as his back up to figure out who is behind these attacks on S.H.I.E.L.D. and to find out what really is going on. Along the way, they recruit a former paratrooper that Captain America has been talking to during his morning runs, and as it turns out, he is also more than meets the eye.
One of the things I really wanted, though, is more of him in his Falcon costume, or uniform, or whatever you want to call it. We get to see him talking to Steve Rogers and tagging along all out of his costume, but its not until the final battle that we see him kitted out. He does add some much needed new blood in the Marvel franchise, and I do hope we get to see him in more of the movies, if not a standalone film of his own.
One of the things I was afraid of, though, is that this movie destroys in my mind the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show–and I am not saying this because of Cap, Black Widow, or even Falcon. I am saying this because we get to see some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in action in this movie, and while I was watching them on the screen, I was thinking "why the hell isn't AoS doing this?!" If you took out the super heroes and just had S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in this movie, it would have been an awesome spy movie or TV show. Plus, the way that this movie ended doesn't really give you any warm, fuzzy feelings about how S.H.I.E.L.D. or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be moving forward. I am sure they are going to try to tie both together, but it might be interesting to see what comes next.
Despite what I've said, I still stand by my statement that this is a great Marvel film. It went in a darker direction than I thought they would really go, and we get to see it through Steve Rogers: the man from a different century trying to process how this new world is operating compared to how they did things during World War II.
We also see hints of what is, in my opinion, going to become Ultron in Avengers 2. People have been saying that Tony Starks' AI Jarvis will get corrupted and become Ultron, but I have to say there is some other AI working in this movie that would make way more sense to evolve into the sinister AI that we have seen in comics. So, what I think will happen is that we will see this AI program in Cap 2 become Ultron and maybe, just maybe, we will see the Jarvis AI evolve into something more like Vision. Of course, this is just me speculating from what I have seen in the movie.
I really shouldn't have to say this, but there are TWO Easter eggs in this movie. The first one you get is a mid-credit one that gives us a tie in to Avengers 2 coming out next year, and I thought it was really well done. The second one was alright, but deals with the Winter Soldier himself. I will say, though, I think it was better than the one from Thor 2. My Recommendation: Like I have to say this to you guys, but this is a must see movie! It works as a standalone movie. It has awesome action, a good storyline, and great actors. So, go see this and be happy. I did not see it in 3D, so I cannot give you that recommendation for this movie.