“We compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn’t freedom, this is fear.”
It feels like Captain America: The Winter Soldier shouldn’t have happened.
That’s not a bad thing at all.
With an already strong universe that was over-performing at the Box Office, how could the ‘lawful good’ poster-boy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stand out?
Come the ending of The Winter Soldier though, the Captain stands out brightly as the new Gold Standard for the MCU.
After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), lives in the nation’s capital as he tries to adjust to modern times.
An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk.
Joining forces with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Rogers struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy.
Oh man, The Winter Soldier.
How the heck did Directors who at the time were most well-known for the episodic comedies Community and Arrested Development direct this?
What is this?
This is a film where the stakes are high, the political intrigue is through the roof and the action is as good and pure as the humour.
The Russo Brothers crafted a world around Steve Rogers that took him from the battlefields of a World War, to a Shadow War within a global organisation.
Starting with an epic action sequence to tell the audience they’re not fooling around, they don’t let up as the story continues. Just when you think they’re done, the next action sequence will up the ante.
The plot itself is impressive in scope; It unravelling threads in an established universe that’s no easy feat, and does so in thrilling manner.
Improved relationships amongst leads, The Winter Soldier creates one of the best on-screen friendships with the development of Steve and Natasha’s banter as they navigate the story.
There’s good reason the Russo’s picked up Captain America: Civil War after this, along with the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, proving their ability to direct and showcase individuals in large ensembles.
And with what they started here, you can see the Captain will be ready to one day declare “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!”.
