Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I'm looking at Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The film that most say caught audiences off guard by just how good it was and is regarded as the sleeper classic of the MCU.
Is this film as great as everyone says? Yes, it is.
When I first watched this film, I went in thinking it was just going to be a filler movie and nothing spectacular. I think most viewers went in with the same mentality and we were all shocked and happy to see a film that was much more than a filler film. I'm jumping the gun by saying this, but this is one of the best Marvel films and the film that started the upward trend of hit after hit with the films that follow it.
So yes, this is a great film but let's take a look at why this film is so great.
Also, before I get started, there is a big reveal in this film that I would rather not spoil for anyone who has yet to see it. So, if you're reading this and haven't seen it yet, STOP READING AND GO WATCH IT!!! If you choose not to do so, you've been warned...
The Hero's Journey
Steve Rogers’ journey in the film revolves around the main ideas of adjusting to life after service and trust. He tries to adjust to his new life in the modern world but finds great difficulty. He is forced to come to terms with the fact that the people he’s known and loved are gone.
He deals with the consequences of his continued path of selflessness. His inner struggle between doing what’s right for others and doing what he wants follows him throughout this film and later Marvel films. He tries to throw himself back into missions to keep him busy but even that proves to not be enough. He visits an exhibit on himself at the Smithsonian and later visits his love Peggy who is now older and withering away mentally. At the beginning of the film, he meets Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, who has also experienced the difficulty of adjusting to life after service and they form a bond.
While on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., he discovers Natasha Romanoff has another agenda and later confronts Nick Fury about it establishing early on that Rogers will have a difficult time knowing who to trust. After Fury is ambushed, he sneaks into Roger’s apartment and tells him not to trust anyone before they are attacked. When Rogers is confronted by Alexander Pierce about the incident, he heeds Fury’s word and withholds information from him. This results in Pierce branding him a fugitive and forcing him to go on the run. He is joined by Black Widow and despite his initial resistance must trust her and they investigate the situation together, putting his trusting skills to the task.
Their investigation leads to the discovery that Hydra has secretly been recreated within S.H.I.E.L.D. and plans to use Fury’s Project Insight to create more chaos in the world with Pierce leading the way. They recruit Sam and try to take down Hydra together. Along the way, they encounter Hydra’s assassin, the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier took out Nick Fury and sets out to take out Captain America as well. They have an epic encounter where the Winter Soldier's identity is revealed...
If you've read this far and didn't hear my warning from before I hold no responsibility for the following spoiler. I'll even give you a courtesy warning...
. you’ve been warned...
In one of the best plot twists of the Marvel films, Steve discovers that the Winter Soldier is his best friend, Bucky whom he had believed to have been dead. The reveal of Bucky adds another layer of conflict to Rogers as he now wants to save his best friend. After this reveal, another reveal occurs when Nick Fury returns “from the dead” and they concoct a plan to stop Project Insight from taking flight and taking down Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the film’s climax, Rogers and Bucky battle it out on the Hellicarrier. Rogers refuses to fight his friend and tries to get through to him. Rogers completes his mission but as the Hellicarriers destroy each other, he falls into the river to his presumed doom. However, Bucky rescues him before disappearing. The film ends with Rogers, joined by Sam, deciding to go after the Winter Soldier with the hopes to rescue his best friend.
In the end, Rogers learns a valuable lesson about trust as he has formed a friendship with Black Widow and gives her his trust. He also learns that there can still be good inside ones thought to be too far gone. Bucky’s choice to rescue him gave Rogers hope that his best friend is still inside the Winter Soldier and can be reached and brought back. This newfound hope carries Rogers into the next film and gives him something to fight for that benefits the world and himself.
The Villain
The Winter Soldier is a super-soldier assassin created by Hydra to carry out numerous heinous acts including taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. leader, Nick Fury.
James “Bucky” Barnes is Steve Rogers’ childhood best friend. He protected Steve throughout his life often saving him from bullies. In the first film, Steve saved Bucky from captivity by Hydra in World War II. Bucky joins Steve in the war effort to take down Hydra’s strongholds. However, Bucky falls off a train during one mission and is presumed dead.
It is revealed in this film that due to the experiments that Hydra conducted on him during his captivity, Barnes was able to survive the fall and was recaptured by Hydra. He is tortured, brainwashed, given a metallic prosthetic arm, and transformed into the super-soldier assassin that is the Winter Soldier. Under Hydra’s control, he committed numerous assassination and terrorist acts.
When his mask falls off and his identity is revealed, his first reaction is to ask, “who is Bucky?” Afterward, he begins to question his identity before he is shocked and tortured back into submission. In the film’s climax, the Soldier is determined to kill Captain America, while Steve tries to appeal to his friend. When the Hellicarrier is destroyed and Steve is sent into the river, Bucky is freed from his brainwashing and rescues his friend before disappearing. In the post-credit scene, Bucky is seen visiting his exhibit at the Smithsonian, trying to recollect who he is and now on a similar journey to Steve to adapt to the new modern world while also coming to grips with what he’s done as the Winter Soldier.
The Film's Pros
The Twists and Turns
The biggest strength of this film is its ability to build and maintain suspense and interest. It has the traditional characteristics of an espionage film with a lot of twists and turns around every corner. This is a film where the audience shares the feeling of anxiety with the characters. The characters are not able to stop and get their bearings for long as they are constantly on the run. We want to see the characters succeed and share their feeling of shock and awe when another twist is revealed. My girlfriend was caught off guard by all the twists and turns and it kept her interested as we watched. It felt like there was always another piece of the puzzle being given to us slowly. It felt like a Metal Gear Solid game with a number of conspiracies and plot twists. Thankfully unlike MSG 2, the twists and turns were easy to follow and explained clearly. It was not an overly complicated story but not a simple story either. It is one of the better tales of government conspiracies that I have watched as it kept me engaged and I did not know where it was going.
It starts off with things seemingly going as usual with Cap on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission and doing the standard superhero duties. This is where the film could have risked coming off as a filler film. However, it is not long before questions begin to rise around Black Widow and Nick Fury’s motivations as well as that of S.H.I.E.L.D. The suspense heightens when Fury is ambushed and taken out. When Fury was attacked, my girlfriend was frantic again wanting to see him get out of trouble and questioning why the police were attacking him. Before his “death” he warns Captain America not to trust anyone. After Cap’s encounter with Pierce, he is labeled a fugitive and is now on the run from who he thought were his allies. My girlfriend was frantic when Cap was ambushed by the S.T.R.I.K.E. team in the elevator shouting “get out of there!” at the TV. The twists and turns continued when he and Black Widow discover Arnim Zola’s secret plan that recreated Hydra from within S.H.I.E.L.D. And of course, there is the reveal of the Winter Soldier’s identity that caps off (no pun intended) the twists.
The first time I watched it I was amazed at well they handled all these twists and turns and watching it a second time only confirms it. It was more than enough to draw the viewer in keep them engaged and take them for a fun and wild ride and makes for a great conspiracy story and a fun comic book film.
The Captain America-Black Widow Team Up
In my review of Iron Man 2, I mentioned that we only get a small taste of Black Widow in action.
As a result, she felt like a wasted character in that film. In Avengers, she is used much more and established herself as one of the mainstays of the MCU and it is thankfully the same result in this film. Black Widow is used to great lengths in this film. This was the closest to getting a Black Widow film before we did eventually get Black Widow. Scarlett Johansson once again knocks it out of the park as Black Widow and is a great foil to the play-by-the-rules boy scout that is Captain America. You don’t always know what her agenda is, but you can’t help but put your trust in her. Her pairing with Captain America is a great pairing and establishes a great friendship between the two that would last for later Marvel films. They have great chemistry as their personalities contrast but also complement each other. They make a great team for fighting but also make a great team comedically. The scene with them in the mall is a comedic highlight of the film with Natasha trying to get Steve to keep his cool undercover and is topped off with them sharing a fake kiss on the escalator to keep cover. It’s followed up later when she takes a light-hearted jab at him in the car about it being his first kiss in 70 years.
They are a fun pair to watch, and it is great to see more of Black Widow. My girlfriend was happy to see Black Widow in this film as she is one of her favorite Marvel characters. She would always yell for joy whenever she got to see Natasha kick some ass. Her inclusion in this film further cements her place as an empowering character that women and Marvel fans can get behind and gave more credence to the idea of her eventually getting her own film.
The Film's Cons
Needed more buildup of Cap and Winter Soldier's Rivalry
To be honest, it was quite difficult to find a major con of this film that hurts it so this is honestly more of a nitpick that could make an already great film even better.
The buildup of the Winter Soldier was significant. We only saw a glimpse of him running after he shot Nick Fury and he was cleverly kept in the shadows before his encounter with Cap which was awesome, and I would not change anything about it. However, the rivalry could have been taken up just a smidge had they had one encounter beforehand where the Winter Soldier bested Cap. It would have made him look like even more of a threat and would have given Cap something to prove in their next battle. On top of that, imagine how much more impact the reveal of the Winter Soldier’s identity would have had if that rivalry had been upped even more? It could have been a similar feeling to finding out Darth Vader was Luke’s father. Okay, maybe not that big but still. But again, this is just a nitpick for what is already a well-done work.
Final Thoughts
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of if not the best of the MCU films and one of the best superhero sequels ever made. It took what was established in the original and heightened it to new levels. It mixed the story of Steve Rogers’s struggle to adapt to the modern world with the suspense and action of a fun spy film. It brought more fun and intimidating villain with a great backstory and made what people would have written off as a filler film before Avengers 2 into a comic book classic. This film is at the top of many fan lists of the best Marvel films and it is easy to see why. It has a great and interesting story, great action, great characters, great character building, and enough twists and turns along the way to keep you entertained. It is a fun ride from beginning to end and gave our beloved Captain America a fun adventure to sink our teeth into. If you only kind of liked the first Captain America film and wanted something more out of it, then Winter Solider is what you’re looking for.
It is also an important film in the MCU’s history as it began the streak of great films that would take Marvel to the next level in terms of film quality and lead to a long streak of great films that would follow. If you’re following the MCU in order, this film is where it starts to kick-off to a whole new level of quality and only gets better from here on out.
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