From the moment I saw the first previews for Captain America: the Winter Soldier, I knew it was going to be a classic. The first one worked so well because it was going for an Indiana Jones kind-of vibe and it really worked as a good vs. evil story, and so did The Avengers which has become sort-of the Star Wars of our generation.
But now, this film takes its place up there with Spider-Man 2, X2 and maybe even The Dark Knight as one of the great superhero sequels of all time and proves that when done right, the best superhero films are the ones that follow the hero now that the story has been told.
I'm not going to go too into depth, because like The Dark Knight, it's really all about the surprises. And really, I think I'd need to see it again to really get the themes and what works and what doesn't, but I'll give a sort-of preliminary review.
For one thing, while other actors have played Captain America before in television films, a serial and even an unsuccessful film, Chris Evans is building a reputation as the standard by which future Caps will be judged, much like Christopher Reeve to Superman or Sean Connery to James Bond. As the guy who's always tried to do the right thing, he has the ability to seem like a man whose moral certainty is unwavering even when the world around him is a confusing place.
Anthony Mackie is also terrific as Falcon and I hope that the two of them make at-least one more movie together. He's got a certain wit about him without being a wise-cracker (well, not anymore than anyone else in the Marvel Studios films) and he was just the right man for the job.
Samuel L Jackson and Scarlett Johanson do their jobs as Nick Fury and Black Widow, but there's a certain zest missing. I never really bought Scar-Jo as Black Widow and this movie drives it home by placing the character's date of birth the same year as her real year of birth, meaning she would have been seven when the KGB disbanded. And why does she talk like she was born and raised in Santa Monica?
But of course, the man who brings the movie its political thriller credibility is Robert Redford and he gives a fine performance as, well, you'll see. I actually think he would have been the perfect Captain America in the '70s.
Now, this review may seem a little generic, so I'm going to warn you about some minor spoilers, so stop reading if you don't want them, but I'll try not to give too much away.
1) This movie is action-packed, but by the same token, it's extremely violent. It's not quite as violent as "Man of Steel," except that the deaths of characters is more explicit. Also, the horrible injuries suffered by some characters might be hard to watch. Think first before taking the kids.
2) I think most people already know that the Winter Soldier is Bucky, who survived because of experiments performed on him before Cap rescues him in First Avenger. He's also played by the same actor, so really, they've made things a little too obvious.
3) Maria Hill appears in this movie. Her character's appearance is one example of something that might not make much sense if you hadn't seen The Avengers because I don't think they do a great job setting her up. I'm not unhappy to see her, however.
4) On Nick Fury's tombstone, there's a passage from Ezekiel 25:17. Any Samuel L Jackson fan will recognize the significance.
5) And, of course, there are two scenes that play during/after the credits. The first one gives you a glimpse of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, while the second one is just… unsettling.
