In my spoiler free review I said that The Winter Soldier is filled with high-action and great characters.
There are many reasons why I think this, and also some things that I think went
wrong in the movie.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t really enjoy Captain America: The First Avenger. It
annoyed me, mostly because of the cheese character that was Captain America.
However, he has really proven himself in this movie. Not only is he a total
badass (his hand-to-hand fighting was way cool to watch) but he was a fresh
take on a hero. Unlike other Marvel stand-alone movies, Steve Rogers was not
concerned with the safety and well-being of a girlfriend. Tony Stark had
Pepper, Thor has what’s her face, but Steve Rogers is concerned about the
safety and freedom of everyone on Earth. He is focused.
And am I the only one who thinks he looks crazy cool in his
dark blue uniform? It’s clean and modern, and doesn’t make him look ridiculous
(*cough* The Avengers uniform
*cough*).
Now let’s talk about The Winter Soldier AKA Bucky Barnes. I
mention in my other review that, even though The Winter Soldier is really cool
and delivers some amazing action scenes, he lacks substance. Apart from a few
flashbacks, we get almost no dialogue from The Winter Soldier. He’s a weapon, a
puppet, being used by the main villain of the movie, Hydra. His lack of
substance and his role in the film doesn’t warrant the subtitle of the film to
be The Winter Soldier. A friend of
mine stated that without The Winter Soldier, we wouldn’t get the struggle of
Steve Rogers discovering the truth about his friend, affecting his character
throughout the movie. While I agree with that point, it is more of a side
problem than the actual problem in the movie. The Winter Soldier, I feel, is
underused. The after credits scene where we see The Winter Soldier discovering
his true past gives me hope that we’ll get more out of this character in the
future films that he is to be in.
Now speaking of villains, let’s talk about the biggest flaw
in this movie for me: Hydra. I will say, the way Hydra is used in this film is
commendable. Secretly pulling the string of SHIELD and almost completely
pulling through with their whole plan was great to discover. It was another
fresh approach to comic book villains, where Hydra (through Pierce, through
SHIELD) wasn’t just one bad guy telling the world he wants to be king. However,
the exposition scene with Dr. Zola in a computer was unsettling. It reminded me
of the corniness that was The First
Avenger. And why would Zola reveal the whole plan to Captain America and
Black Widow? It reminded me of something taken from an Austin Powers film: villain with an accent talking through a
computer, revealing “the secret algorithm that will kill every living person on
Earth with a big laser, muahaha.” I rolled my eyes and hoped that the movie
would get back to form, which it did.
A final thought on that: I really think that Warner Brothers
must hate Disney even more, since the WB film Transcendence, about a scientist whose mind is put into a computer,
releases later this month.
Let’s talk about Nick Fury. In the movie he is killed off
for a bit, but then it is revealed that he faked his death to avoid being
hunted further. Points to Fury for being capable and intelligent, points
deducted from Disney/Marvel for still not bringing themselves to killing off
any of their characters. Even Agent Couslon was brought back for the Agents of SHIELD tv show. This movie,
however, made me really like Nick Fury. His action scene before getting bopped
by The Winter Soldier was incredibly fun and showed his competence in the
field.
Oh, did anyone else notice that the scripture written on
Nick Fury’s tombstone was Ezekiel 25:17? The same scripture famously recited by
Samuel L. Jackson in Quentin Tarantino’s movie Pulp Fiction. Gotta love the power that Sam Jackson has in the
movies he appears in.
Now, many people are talking about the chemistry between
Black Widow and Captain America. It’s true, they had great chemistry and worked
well together, but I’d like to say that I’m impressed with decisions Black
Widow made near the end of the film. Exposing all of SHIELD’s secrets, and
therefore hers, to the public was a great way of showing just how committed
this character is to trying to do good. Major points to Black Widow.
Another problem I had with this film, and with the other
phase 2 films to be released so far, is the fact that it is not acknowledged
where the other members of the Avengers are when it matters. The problems occurring
in The Winter Soldier are in the
middle of Washington. Nick Fury is “dead” and SHIELD is going crazy, but where
is Iron Man? I understand that Tony Stark/Iron Man cannot make an appearance in
The Winter Soldier due to his
contracts with Disney/Marvel, but then there must be some sort of explanation
why Black Widow or Nick Fury can’t call up Bruce Banner or Tony Stark. Also,
where is Hawkeye? In The Avengers,
Hawkeye and Black Widow are very close, but here he is not even referenced.
Yes, we like to see our heroes handle their situations on
their own, but at least letting the audience know why others cannot help in
certain situations will lead to an even stronger and cohesive universe.
Finally, the first end credit scene was great. We are
introduced to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Although they are the children of
Magneto from the X-men comics, it seems in this Cinematic Universe they have
been the subjects of tests. Warner Brothers and DC are sure to be keeping an eye
on how Quick Silver is handled in The
Avengers: Age of Ultron, to see if speedsters can be accepted by movie
goers. My guess: yes, they can be accepted.
One final Easter Egg was the very,
very, quick reference to Steven Strange, AKA Doctor Strange, another Marvel
comic hero. It’s now certain that we’ll get to see Doctor Strange in phase 3 of
these Marvel movies.
So these were my thoughts on Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Hope you enjoyed!
Make sure to follow me on Twitter, @SenorMovie and like my Facebook Page for more Señor
No comments:
Post a Comment