Winter Soldier: A film with unlimited potential to be the next great superhero film but falls short

Rating: 5/10 (27 May 2014)

Captain America: Winter Soldier sputters in the first half of the film that comes to life in then second half but by then it's too late. Chris Evans returns to his role as Captain America trying to fit into the role of a super human being that is the ultimate display of the best that mankind has to offer. He gives the role too much goodwill and it's hard to buy into his character because he's too perfect. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer to have my protagonists flawed.
The film has incredible potential to stand above many of the mediocre superhero films of the last six years with a series of interesting subplots, but fails to explore or follow through with any of them. The most interesting subplot was the relationship between Steve Roger and his late wife who is now an old woman at her death bed. I would've love to see the filmmakers explore this aspect of Captain America's life but it's only given one scene. Black Widow also teases about an complex backstory but it is given little attention. The relationship between the Winter Soldier and Captain has incredible amounts of potential for a great story, but it is only introduced near the end of the film and not given enough time to make it work.
Even if you have an all-star cast does not mean your dialogue will work. You could sense the discomfort on the actors faces especially Robert Redford as they struggled through plot-driven dialogue that sounded like it was written by a ten-year-old. The acting ability from the whole cast was never utilized no thanks to the poor directing of the Russo brothers. They pushed the CGI too much in various sequences which showed their lack of respect for the audience. We know it's all done in computers, but we want to believe that it's real life, don't make it look so fake where we know how you did it. Even the theme of the film was pushed too hard and came off as forced like a schoolboy grudgingly doing a homework assignment.
The tipping point came from the laziness of the Director of Photography, Trent Opalach, who shot with an ordinary style about an extraordinary man. Many shots were done on a steadicam with little thought to composition or color. Recent comedies in the past few years look far better than this film.
However, Winter Soldier surprised me on a few occasions. There were a number of impressive action sequences that even had me on the edge of my seat. Scarlett Johansson never fails as Black Widow and had more screen time than other of her previous appearances in the Marvel universe.
I end with a word to the producers and the corporate heads of Marvel Studios: Invest more money in screenwriters and cinematographers than CGI and explosions. Audiences will be more appreciative and more loyal long after the credits roll.