Elevated by a cadre of worthy foes, this ‘Captain’ takes us higher. Hello moviegoers, it’s been a couple of years since his romp with the other Avengers, but the first Avenger – Captain America – is back to doing his own thing. Captain America, played again by (Chris Evans) whose civilian name is Steve Rogers, remains a man that is out of time as he tries to find balance since his post World War II reanimation. However, Captain is never out of place in this high-intensity high-impact political action thriller.
“The Winter Soldier” is set in Washington D.C where Captain can take trips to the Smithsonian Institution and blend in for the most part while he looks back at his past through “our” eyes. Well, that’s until he is summoned by the corvette black, leather clad Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (3 sweet potatoes out of four) Stars: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan; Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo; Genre: Action Thriller; Rated: PG-13; Runtime: 136 minutes; Opens: Friday, April 4, 2014.
Captain is called in to resolve the piracy situation of a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel which leads to the first of a number of well-choreographed fight scenes that promote the movie but don’t overstay their welcome. Sensitive data is recovered from the rescue mission, but the way things unfold has Captain questioning the real motives of S.H.I.E.L.D. Subsequent revelations shows that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised by HYDRA. That’s correct, a spy agency within the spy agency.
Anyway the sensitive information recovered leads to a hit on S.H.I.E.L.D. front man Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and this gives us our first look at the mysterious Winter Soldier who is played with unconscious precision by (Sebastian Stan). The Winter Soldier might be the diabolical opposite to Captain, but the two have more in common than you’d think. They are both fast and strong; they won’t be deterred, and they both put up one helluva fight.
Fury narrowly escapes and finds himself holdup in Captain’s apartment where he passes on the sensitive info to Captain while insisting that he trusts no one. A plot is unearthed that reveals a meta-data mining apparatus that aims to utilize S.H.I.E.L.D. assets to implement a new world order, but not if Captain can help it.
(Anthony Mackie) is introduced as the Falcon and (Robert Redford) as Alexander Pierce the other front man for S.H.I.E.L.D. Where Nick Fury deals more hands-on with talent and acquisition, Pierce is a corporate hawk who manipulates the “suits”. Redford brings a seriousness to the overall tone of the film. Pierce is a hardened individual who’s willing to push the boundaries of the political process which adds a level of intrigue and nuance to “The Winter Soldier”. Granted it’s the kind of thing that has been done before, just not this well.
Because of the nature of the material with “Captain America” begin a franchise that’s part of a larger franchise in ‘The Avengers’, there is a level predictability that wouldn’t allow me to give it a higher rating. Even so, this is a real solid well-executed movie. I give “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” 3 sweet potatoes out of four.
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