Marvel Scores with a Brutal, Grounded Comic Film in WINTER SOLDIER

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2015)

Marvel scores again with the third film in their Phase II line with CAPTAIN America: THE WINTER SOLDIER. It's especially impressive considering Captain America has personally been the least interesting character in the MCU Avengers. I enjoy the movies (FIRST AVENGER was really good) but the character just doesn't grab my attention in the fantastic way Iron Man, the Hulk, and even Thor have. But after the awesomeness of IRON MAN 3 and the better-than-anticipated THOR: THE DARK WORLD, we're given a new spin on the superhero genre as the latest Captain America adventure has more in common with a political thriller than any of the Marvel films that have come before. This film saw a major shakedown of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as major changes took effect, and it managed to prove that Captain America is a force to be reckoned with all his own. As the movie begins, we find that Captain America)/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has continued working with S.H.I.E.L.D. since the events of THE AVENGERS. A routine hostage extraction puts Rogers at odds with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) over S.H.I.E.L.D. and its habit of withholding information, and the matter intensifies when Fury reveals Project: Insight. Insight finds S.H.I.E.L.D. launching three new helicarriers capable of eliminating hundreds of thousands of enemies in an instant, and Rogers worries about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plan of maintaining peace through fear tactics. Within hours of the revelation, an assassin is dispatched against Nick Fury, and Rogerswith the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) must turn fugitive when S.H.I.E.L.D. turns its sights on him.
With all the bombastic comic films coming to the big screen, it's a concern that we might become oversaturated and burnt-out on the genre. I love that Marvel is finding ways to keep their films feeling fresh. WINTER SOLDIER is easily the least flashy comic film I've seen. It's grounded in reality (as real as a super soldier can be, anyway) and its action is hard-hitting and brutal instead of flashy and spastic. When Captain America goes into action, it's no different than a Bourne or modern Bond film. It's all beat downs and bullet casings. I can also respect that it's the only Marvel film so far without the colorful, grandiose villain. The film's actual villain is a pretty major plot point that I won't spoil (but I figured it out pretty fast) and the Winter Soldier is merely a tool at his or her disposal. Anyone semi-familiar with Marvel canon knows the Winter Soldier's true identity but the movie seems to play it off as a surprise so, again, I won't say anything here in the event someone new to the material might be reading this in hopes of a recommendation. Despite not being as larger-than-life as previous Marvel film villains, the Winter Soldier is one of the coolest. A fellow super-soldier, he's the only man who can go head-to-head with the legendary Captain America and pose a threat. He's a cold-blood murder machine and the enemy's most dangerous weapon.
Aside from the Winter Soldier (a fantastic addition to the MCU that I can't wait to explore further), the film also introduces the Falcon. As with the rest of the movie, he's presented in a quasi-realistic fashion. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is a military vet spending his time volunteering with those returning from service with PTSD. When Captain America comes along requesting for help, he's all about it, utilizing a piece of experimental flight technology and, boom, a new MCU hero is born. He doesn't get much to do until the final half of the movie but you can tell he's doing to be a popular addition to the franchise. Black Widow gets the expanded role she's been due, Evans continues to prove that there was no better choice to inhabit the red/white/blue costume, and the movie culminates in a franchise-warping revelation that'll switch things up a bit for future movies & television series. Despite its thriller vibe, action fans get plenty to enjoy with an extended sequence in the final act of the film where Captain America and Falcon get time to throw down. My personal favorite moment comes halfway through the film and, despite being a primarily exposition scene, features the return of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones, reprising the role from the first film). It doesn't quite feel like a Marvel film but there's plenty here to remind you that this movie does in fact take place in a universe that's still recovering from an alien invasion. CAPTAIN America: WINTER SOLDIER is the least comic book-ish of Marvel's film stable but that adds to its appeal, and I imagine that makes this film the most easily accessible film for those who aren't necessarily in the market for a grandiose superhero movie.