In perhaps Marvel’s most daring picture to date, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ reunites us with Steve Rogers in a tale of espionage, loyalties and secrecy. In the aftermath of the events of "The Avengers’, while we find Cap leading operations for S.H.I.E.L.D, it’s made clear that he still struggles with Director Fury’s modus operandi, as well as in the relevance of patriotism and its implications within this new world that he inhabits. When things inevitably go sour, with the appearance of the mysterious Winter Soldier as well as an apparent breach in S.H.I.E.L.D’s security, Steve is told to “trust nobody” and teams up once again with Natasha Romanoff (the Black Widow), as well as new ally Sam Wilson (Falcon) to uncover what’s really going on.
The Russo brothers, despite being another left field directional choice on Marvel’s behalf, managed to pull off this feature spectacularly well and possibly providing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) its best standalone picture to date. Foregoing being steeped in superhero lore, The Winter Soldier has all the makings of a spy thriller and does very well in executing all the necessary components that make it up. In no way being afraid of racking up a body count, we’re treated to; car chases, covert operations, extensive hand to hand combat scenes, as well as a plot that continues to intensify at every twist made it a very compelling watch, and trust me, the identity of the Winter Soldier is not the only twist you’ll have to watch out for. To top it all off they also managed to incorporate several themes that correspond to current events, such as; the treatment of young war veterans, the issue of personal security in the age of technology, as well as bringing up the moral grey area of the spying on civilians by government agencies.
However, despite running for 136 minutes, the whole affair seemed rather rushed and leaves one a little wanting in its wake. The film is immensely plot driven, sprinting from one scene straight into another and barely giving you a chance to catch your breath, however at the expense of this the personal development of several of the main characters remains static, in stark contrast to Phase 2 predecessors "Iron Man 3’ and "Thor: The Dark World’, which were character driven to the point of criticism. The titular Winter Soldier himself has the bare minimum of screen time, despite the character reveal not coming along too late in the day, by the end of the film his story arc feels completely underdeveloped for someone whose character shares the title of the movie. Although we are treated to the optimistically dry humor typically associated with Steve Rogers, as well as brief instances of witty banter between Cap, the Black Widow and Falcon, these are somewhat swallowed up by the permeating seriousness of the film’s tone. By the time the credits roll you’re left with a resonating feeling of “that’s it?” and ultimately is more effective in making you anticipate the next Captain America film in with a small degree of impatience.
Of course what would a Marvel film be without dropping several easter eggs about past and future films, and without a doubt this one is definitely not lacking. Perhaps I’m not so keen as to have caught all of them on my first viewing, but there were several that gained my attention, from the painfully obvious to the most intelligently subtle. As we’re told in "The Avengers’, S.H.I.E.L.D often monitors potential threats, and this point is expanded on to an extent in "The Winter Soldier’, long enough to name drop Bruce Banner for example, as well as a few other popular characters in Marvel comics continuity, much to the delighted squeals of several fanboys in the audience. We are also given an inkling of an insight into the mysterious deaths of Howard and Maria Stark as well as hinting at a possible repurposing of the Stark Tower in New York in the future. But most of all, in perhaps the most exhilarating end credits scene Marvel has yet to dream up, we are introduced to an infamous foe as well as two very familiar faces that Marvel fans are sure to recognize, and that I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of very soon. As always, don’t leave before all the credits roll or you might miss out.
Despite minor issues, nothing much served to dampen my overall enthusiasm of the film. The events that take place have definitely shaken up the structure of the MCU and provided new and interesting factors which must be accounted for when theorizing over the unfolding of events in future films, and how what goes on in "The Winter Soldier’ most definitely affects them. Overall definitely worth the price of the ticket, Marvel can mark me down as interested and definitely watching closely.