MOVIES: Captain America: The Winter Soldier – A bloated but enjoyable addition to the Marvel universe – Review

Prior to Christopher Nolan raising the bar for comic book adaptations with his Dark Knight trilogy, Hollywood was struggling to produce any movie based on a comic book property that wasn’t completely unwatchable. After the success of the first X-Men movie in 2000, we were inundated with garbage like The Fantastic Four, Jonah Hex and (dear god!) The Hulk as studios sought to capitalize on audiences’ love for superheroes and mutants. Thankfully, Nolan stepped in and made three outstanding films while Marvel Studios emerged from the shadow of Walt Disney Studios and began producing excellent work of their own. Today, comic book adaptations are once again something to celebrate.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, which was a surprisingly good movie bolstered by Chris Evans’ terrific performance as the titular character a.k.a Steve Rogers. (In the interlude between the first and second movies, Cap was drafted into a mission with a ragtag group called the Avengers. You might have seen it.) Much like the first film, Winter Soldier is made more enjoyable by an excellent cast which helps obfuscate the flaws in the directing and screenwriting.

Having been frozen for over 50 years, Steve Rogers (Evans) is now trying to adjust to life in the 21st century in his roles as both a super-celebrity and a member of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. The director of the agency, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), has a style of leadership that seems dangerous to Rogers who is very much a by-the-book military man. Rogers’ closest thing to a friend, Natasha Romanoff a.k.a Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), is loyal to Fury to a fault, something that keeps their relationship strained.

After what seems to be a particularly dangerous and ill-conceived mission, Rogers discovers that Fury has been less than forthcoming about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s newest project. Unsure of who to trust, Rogers finds himself torn between Fury and Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), a bureaucrat at the head of the international peace council. To make matters worse, Captain America has seemingly found his match in an assassin-for-hire called the Winter Soldier, whose strength, speed and agility rival his own.

The film is directed with a modest amount of skill by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo. Prior to The Winter Soldier, the brothers had worked mainly in television so it is no surprise that their vision is rather limited. This is a huge fault given the scope of Captain America as a character and the very layered story they are trying to tell. The action sequences are poorly staged with no sense of perspective ever established. Aside from two very cool fight scenes – one being the now famous elevator fight which was released a few months ago – very little of the action ever gets our pulses racing.

The Russo brothers are quite adept though at allowing the script to breathe and not rushing any of the dialogue-heavy scenes. This keeps the plot moving at a steady pace which is a benefit for the audience given the very dense story that is being told. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have crafted a very intelligent and complex story that is perfectly suited to a Captain America movie. Sadly, there is so much back story that must be established (most of it necessary) that nearly two-thirds of the movie is nothing but an amalgam of exposition and filler for anyone who may not have seen The First Avenger and/or The Avengers. Had Markus and McFeely chosen a simpler plot, the movie wouldn’t feel so bloated and overwritten.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Captain America/Steve Rogers. With his natural charm and leading man good looks, he perfectly fits into the All-American mold. Beyond that, though, Evans handles Rogers’ inner turmoil very well, making him more than just a naïve Boy Scout. Johansson plays her part well, but in all three movies Natasha/Black Widow has been underdeveloped. The perfect partner for Evans, Anthony Mackie appears as Sam Wilson/Falcon, another former soldier who has an instant connection with Rogers. As the ambiguously intimidating Pierce, Redford adds a great deal to the film, not just with the weight he brings as an actor of his caliber, but with dedication with which he plays his role.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a solid installment in the Marvel machine, but is likely to be best remembered as the intermission entertainment between The Avengers and The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Grade: C+