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'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' flies high in plot twist, action
(Walt Disney Studios)Itâs hard to tell which character is the worst in an action movie: an undefeatable opponent or a sentimental villain
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(Walt Disney Studios) (Walt Disney Studios)
(Walt Disney Studios)
It's hard to tell which character is the worst in an action movie: an undefeatable opponent or a sentimental villain.
No spoiler intended, but Marvel diehards could have guessed from the title that the 'Bucky Clause' will be invoked the second installment of Captain America: The First Avenger.
Comic readers already knew that Captain America and the Winter Soldier were 'frenemies' in long standing, with a shocking origin story.
But that's just a minor complaint.
Winter Soldier is the action directorial debut of the Russo brothers (TV comedy series Community and Arrested Development) and can even make skeptics believe that Captain America can hold his own on screen.
The film, screened in 3-D, was shot with as little computer-generated imagery as possible ' making it more amazing and leaving viewers with a feeling that they were in the thick of the action.
Rated PG13 due to violence and gunplay, the movie is a string of breakneck-speed sequences. The car chase scenes and a one-minute-plus fight in an elevator are both worth a mention.
And for the first time in Marvel movie history, we can feel the fear coming from the lead characters and, from the sound effects in the fight scenes, sense that they faced real danger.
In the film, set after the intergalactic battle that almost destroyed New York in The Avengers, the world has been a more dangerous and problematic place, with airborne mega-drone strikes looming.
To justify Project Insight to the World Council, the argument of 'to build a better world you need to tear the old one down' was uttered repeatedly by S.H.I.E.L.D. architects and executives over the course of the movie's two hours and 16 minutes
Such talk resonates with the foreign policy of George W. Bush, making the movie clearly American, not only because of the product placement for stalwart brands such as Chevrolet and Harley Davidson.
The movie begins with S.H.I.E.L.D. ramrod Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), whose superhero power is probably survival, suspecting schemes, evil plots and backstabbing inside the über-spy agency.
He trusts no one ' not even longtime friend and boss Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), the council's secretary ' in a decision that costs him blood and more body damages.
Trust is the last message he passed to Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who when we first meet him in the film is (again) catching up with the modern world after spending decades frozen in suspended animation.
Now, Rodgers has to grapple with the task and put the world back in order as only Captain America can do.
He teams up with the defected Russian spy Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Veterans Anonymous counselor Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who makes the perfect wingman for Cap.
The chemistry between Rogers and Romanoff is apparent in their snarky banter over trust, friendship and the reason why Rogers hasn't dated anyone.
As the most wanted person at S.H.I.E.L.D., Rogers has to get back to his old uniform, which he snatches from the Smithsonian Museum (guarded by Marvel creator and one-time Captain America comic scripter Stan Lee in a cameo) and gets entangled in a close-range fight with the formidable Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).
The twist-laden movie has many pluses that made it a better Marvel movie. During the end credits, don't leave your seats: The movie gives hints about Joss Whedon's upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron and features the first appearance two more heroes from the Marvel bullpen: Quicksilver and his twin sister, the Scarlet Witch.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Producer: Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Cast: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders
Running time: 136 minutes
