Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Directors: The Russo Brothers
Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen
McFeely
Producers: Kevin Feige and Stan Lee
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson,
Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp,
Toby Jones, Robert Redford and Samuel L. Jackson
Composer: Henry Jackman
Film Companies: Marvel Studios and Walt
Disney Studios
Release date: March 26th 2014
(UK), April 4th 2014 (US)
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Budget: $170 Million
Plot: Steve
Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new
threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.
Review: With each Marvel film released
within the “Cinematic Universe” the expectations go up and with this film its
not different.
The latest entry is a sequel to Captain
America: The First Avenger (2011) but also feels more like a direct sequel to
Avengers Assemble (2012) and the film doesn’t disappoint.
Set in modern times this film uses the
character of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) very well with him adapting to life in
a different era. The pop references help this along and this film shows that
you’d have so much to adapt to if you got thrown into another time.
The film itself is executed very well
and the choice of genre works for the film, as this is a unique genre for a
superhero film. The espionage spy thrilling feeling to the film makes the film
at times quite chilling and tense. The film also has a tone of realism to it
and shows that no one is invincible in this universe.
The plot of the film is very well
written with some nice dialogue including references to the Marvel world and
history what are always nice touches.
The plot also has some nice plot twists and isn’t as predictable as some
superhero films and this keeps you on the edge of your seat and also sets the
film up for a thrilling action packed ending.
Onto the action of the film: The film has
a lot of action in it and may even have more action than Avengers: Assemble had
which was a welcome surprise. The action is well filmed and with a lot of it
done with practical effects and real stunts it is really enjoyable watching. A
few fight scenes are very well choreographed including a fight scene between
hero and villain.
The cast of the film is very strong
lead by Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America who grows into the role and
is a perfect fit (in my opinion) for the role and shows that he is about
justice and doing what’s right and has a nice dynamic with the rest of the cast
and the agency he is working for: SHIELD.
Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha
Romanoff/Black Widow and gives her best performance in the role showing she’s
not good at kicking ass but also is vulnerable and adds a lot of humanity to
her role. She also has good chemistry with Chris Evans and the dynamic between
the two really works in this film.
Samuel L Jackson has his biggest and
most important role as Nick Fury and also gives his best performance as this
film gives his character depth and while some of his actions are questionable
you understand why he is making them. He also is involved in a big action
sequence which was well shot and built up very well.
Robert Redford and Anthony Mackie are
welcome additions to the cast. Redford plays a SHIELD Senior Leader and brings
a lot to his role, while Anthony Mackie is great as Falcon. He is funny and
also shows that he belongs to be right in the thick of the action. His winged
suit is also a nice use of technology.
The rest of the cast including
Sebastian Stan, Frank Grillo and Cobie Smulders do well in their roles,
especially Sebastian Stan showing a transformation of character from his last
appearance and shows that he can be very diverse with his role.
The 3D is well used in the action
sequences and the special effects are very good and with the mix of special and
practical effects the film benefits from this and also adds something different
to the film.
Overall I loved the film as it is a
game changer and is probably the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
other than universally favourite: Avengers Assemble. The film has a lot going
for it and everything was executed well and I look forward to seeing more
superhero films like this.
Also look out for a great Stan Lee
cameo and wait until the end of the credits as you may miss a scene or two…
Rating: *****
