“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is a fantastic film, and a far improvement on its predecessor “Captain America: The First Avenger.” This sequel is able to tell a wonderfully crafted story, detailed with plenty of interesting layers and intense action sequences throughout.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is stellar, hands down one of the best movies of the year.
However, this film has only a few flaws and it takes place about twenty minutes in. Anthony and Joe Russo, the film’s directors puts an amazing action sequence together that takes place out in the middle the Indian Ocean. This heart-pounding and intensely amazing action scene is some of the best fight sequences you will see all year, or in any superhero flick.
Moments later you are seeing quieter moments that just don’t serve any narrative purpose for this film, it does not allow the film to keep moving at a good pace, making the film suffer and drag for only a few minutes though. The filmmakers could have edited a few of these quieter moments out of the film and they would have been able to keep the emotional impact of the story intact and accomplishing fluid motion throughout this movie.
At times the movie can be quite predictable, but that doesn’t hurt the wonderful film that “Captain America: The Winter Solider” is.
This time around Captain Steve Rogers is struggling to embrace the new role that he has taken in the modern world that he now lives in, while battling a threat bent on taken out of all of SHEILD, only known to some as the Winter Soldier.
Brothers, Anthony and Joe Russo take the reigns as directors of this nearly flawless superhero flick. It is almost as good as Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman 2” and Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” They bring their “A game” to everything from a well-made script that plays out the strong narrative of the film and all the well thought out action sequences.
Those action scenes are not only well choreographed, but they feel completely real, and the use of CGI in this film is minimal which adds a nice level of believability. Additionally, they are able to bring out some fine acting performances from the leading stars.
Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Redford are sensational in their roles in this movie. Redford brings a great amount of levity to his layered and complex role as Alexander Pierce. Pierce is set on bringing peace throughout the world at the cost of freedom, which plays as a great social commentary on the recent NSA phone tapping scandal.
Newcomer to the series Anthony Mackie is as superb as Sam Wilson, and let’s not forget about Chris Evans. Evans shines with every scene that he is in from his tortured hero and this is the best work he has ever put on film.
At times the camera work of this film can seem a little jarring, and if you are prone to motion sickness, you may feel a little light headed at during the action sequences. However, the Director of Photography Trent Opaloch brings a certain timeless feel to his camera and lighting work, that you may think you are looking at a Normal Rockwell painting on the screen. Composer Henry Jackman who has dabbled in other superhero films like “XMen: First Class” nails the score with his melodious tunes.
Marvel finally is able to capture some magic in a bottle with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” it is a nearly flawless film that will you keep invested throughout its entire 136 minute run time. If you plan on seeing this film make sure that you stay for the mid credits scene that is followed by an end credits scene that teases the next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A-
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