The lesson being taught here seems to be . . .

Rating: 7/10 (7 April 2014)

. . . "don't trust the chain of command." In CAPTAIN AMER1CA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, there are two types of military personnel depicted: those who follow orders from their commanding officers, even when it means carrying out a "Pre-Emptive strike" on 20 million civilians, including the valedictorian of an Iowa City High School (who will presumably become the grandmother of a freedom fighter in the distant future, along the lines of the TERMINATOR franchise), and those who think for themselves, such as Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson. Since this movie was not made in a vacuum, it obviously is "preaching" to the U.S. military, which owns more than half the world's martial resources. The writers no doubt are aware that a former C.I.A. chief\defense secretary who died last week--James Schlesinger--had to "go outside" the chain of command so that President Richard Nixon could not nuke either Vietnam or Cleveland (or perhaps both) as he fought to save his presidency. A military coup was Nixon's "Plan B," but Schlesinger defied the chain of command to stop both. On the other hand, polls show many if not most Americans believe the White House plant in 2001 ordered the USAF to "stand down" during the terrorism attack on America, to further the interests of the oil men who put him in the Oval Office even though he lost the election. Therefore, if you have a child in the U.S. military, advise him or her AGAINST seeing CAPTAIN AMER1CA, unless you want them to prevent the next 9-11 by going against the chain of command, as Schlesinger, Evans, Mackie, Jackson, and Johansson all have done.