Captain America may have been the biggest surprise of all of the first round of Marvel flicks. I was never a huge fan of Captain America as a character, and generally found him to be a kind of a corny cliche of what a "good guy" might be, However, the decision to set the first film almost entirely in the 1940's really played up Captain America's stronger elements as a character, and as he was ripped from his own time and brought to ours the character took on a fundamental naivete, sadness, and heroism throughout Avengers. Consider Captain America's scene where he saves a building full of civilians and gets them to safety, while coordinating an evacuation of the city with police in Avengers. It was probably the single biggest moment of pure heroism in any superhero flick to date, and sums up perfectly what Captain America can be when he's done right.
In Captain America: The First Avenger we meet Steve Rogers as he's recruited and given the super-soldier serum that made him into the superhero known as Captain America. After ditching his role as a propagandist and war bonds salesman he becomes America's greatest soldier, leading the battle to defeat the Red Skull and Hydra, the rogue secret Nazi science division. In the sequel we see what Captain America is up to in the modern day, running secret missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. and becoming increasingly troubled by the lack of moral clarity in the modern day geopolitical landscape. It becomes clear that more is going on at SHIELD than anyone was letting on, and Captain America finds himself forced to unravel the conspiracy while on the run from dangerous forces that plot against freedom everywhere.
The Good: the film is as smartly written and concise, from a narrative standpoint, as any film that I can recall from the last several years. It's not just smart for a 2 hour Hollywood blockbuster, it's smart for a story, period. As Marvel moves deeper into its cinematic universe, it's taking more chances with its films, and The Winter Soldier really has the feel of a political/spy thriller at its heart, with all of the big action sequences you'd expect from a superhero flick. The "don't trust anyone" atmosphere really adds a palpable tension, and as Captain America finds his allies few and far between, the character development really ratchets up. Chris Evans is perfect as Steve Rogers/Captain America, combining a wholesome "aw shucks" naivete with a steely determination that just nails everything we're supposed to admire about the character. In an era where militarized police and NSA surveillance dominate the headlines, this film proved to be as spot-on and thoughtful on the topic as anything else I've come across. Framing it as a shoot-em-up superhero flick was a stroke of genius, and the film somehow manages to flawlessly wed a cautionary tale on police state style surveillance with an effective Marvel superhero film. I felt that Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow was the weakest link in Avengers, so it was reassuring to see that she was pretty effective in a large role here. Robert Redford (!) was great, and brought and earnest and refreshing gravitas and real-feeling villain to the whole endeavor. In many ways, a professional bureaucrat can be as much of a villain as a theatrical superhuman in a mask. Newcomer Anthony Mackie wasn't given a ton to do, but the fact that his Sam Wilson/Falcon doesn't feel like a patriotic cornball is a credit to the writing and his performance.
The Bad: unfortunately, the downside to the shared cinematic universe is that sometimes it doesn't make sense when other characters are absent. In this case, a conspiracy involving SHIELD and threatening the entire world set on the east coast requires at least an explanation as to where Tony Stark/Iron Man is. I'm not asking for a lot. A 5 second scene where Black Widow explains that they can't trust Stark or they can't get a hold of him or whatever would do the trick, but Iron Man's absence simply doesn't make sense from a narrative perspective. There isn't a lot to criticize in this flick, but that's a biggie. Additionally, I know that this film was right on the edge of being too long and had a lot stuffed in, but it would have been nice to get a little more development on the Winter Soldier himself. It's fair to say that that will be saved for Captain America 3, but I feel like considering the title of the flick, he doesn't get a lot to do other than serve as a foil.
Make no mistake, though, when it comes down to it, this is a great example of what superhero movies can be, and why they're likely going to endure as a key part of the cinematic landscape for years to come. This film is at once a key part of the Marvel universe and one of the more effective political thrillers in recent years, It's a true achievement, and one that everyone involved should be very, very proud of. Full-disclosure, and other downfall of the MCU: knowledge of at minimum Captain America and Avengers is going to be required to enjoy this one.
8/10.
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