Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Where the Marvel Cinematic Universe has undeniably found its stride releasing hit after hit that not only speaks to most audiences but also critics, the early days of the cinematic universe were not so kind. Where there was the occasional hit, plenty of the early films featuring these now-iconic characters struggled to find their footing and mostly felt like generic comic book movies going through the motions of introducing a villain and having the third act conflict. 9 films into the franchise, finally a deeper purpose was found within one of the films with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Marking The Russo Brothers directorial debut with the MCU, Captain America: The Winter Soldier went above and beyond any other MCU film of the time not only creating effective and captivating action throughout its runtime but also an actually engaging story.
One of the best parts of the action within Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the diversity of it. With rapid advancements in CGI, this is one of the first MCU movies able to blend large scale CGI battles with grounded simplistic action never feeling dull or as if it is going through the motions. It also helps that each of the three main characters which often are the focus of the action scenes are given diverse fighting styles and weapons. While Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is given more traditional grounded fights, Captain America (Chris Evans) has his shield which is surprisingly fun and is used in interesting ways that give his action. a flair. Above the ground, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is racing through the sky often leading to the bigger CGI moments in battle which stands out from what is happening on the ground without feeling distracting. The actual set up and scale of many of the action scenes featured throughout the movie are also creatively built and have incredible control over the energy within the scene. Many of the action scenes within Captain America: The Winter Soldier are surprisingly quiet and intense, with the big loud battle being reserved until the end. This is easily some of the best action from the entire MCU and breathed new life into the series considering the big loud battle at the end formula was growing extremely dull by this point.
The villain of the film, simply known for most of the movie as The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is also really well built. The film wisely knows to use him sparingly, often showing him in the shadows actually building a sense of tension and importance to his character, two things most MCU movies fail to accomplish. Where his character would have been one of the best MCU villains alone, it is the reveal of who he is and how he impacts the character of Captain America that elevates not just him but the entire film to a higher level. Instead of just being a contrived villain with maybe a few references to the wider universe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier serves a huge purpose in the character of Captain America who is adjusting to his new life in the modern era. This is not just some side plot of the film but rather one that is further explored and pushed through The Winter Soldier creating a captivating story that is engaging and even impactful.
The villain of the film, simply known for most of the movie as The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is also really well built. The film wisely knows to use him sparingly, often showing him in the shadows actually building a sense of tension and importance to his character, two things most MCU movies fail to accomplish. Where his character would have been one of the best MCU villains alone, it is the reveal of who he is and how he impacts the character of Captain America that elevates not just him but the entire film to a higher level. Instead of just being a contrived villain with maybe a few references to the wider universe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier serves a huge purpose in the character of Captain America who is adjusting to his new life in the modern era. This is not just some side plot of the film but rather one that is further explored and pushed through The Winter Soldier creating a captivating story that is engaging and even impactful.
From a technical perspective, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is also near flawless. With the diversity of the action, the camera work easily could have become confused and weak but the film constantly understands what it is going for in every shot leading to some impressive cinematography Trent Opaloch which adds to the dynamic energy of the action scenes. The score from Henry Jackman is also one of the most memorable in all of the MCU. Not only does it just sound unique, again never going through the motions, but it subtly builds musical cues and pieces of score that later comes back to add to the impact of scenes specifically with the character of The Winter Soldier which feels very similar to movies like Wonder Woman and Star Wars. The one major flaw within the film is some of its screenplay coming from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Where the film does a great job building the character of The Winter Soldier, it takes a much lazier approach explaining some of its more major reveals using large blocks of exposition which stick out like a sore thumb. It also sadly fails to capitalize on the "Trust No One" element of the film as Captain America has to figure out who he can trust once S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised. Instead of really playing into this the lines are drawn rather quickly and it feels like the one element of the film that failed to reach its full potential.
Even with these minor issues, Captain America: The Winter Soldier goes above and beyond the majority of other MCU films becoming not just a great movie in the franchise but a great action thriller in general. Nearly every element of the film from the directing to the score stands out as memorable and the film overall is just captivating. It has audiences on the edge of their seat and at the same time stands out as a solid film on its own but is even better when put into the context of the overall MCU. For those who think comic book movies can only be one thing, this is a great film to watch especially for those who like other tense action films.
Even with these minor issues, Captain America: The Winter Soldier goes above and beyond the majority of other MCU films becoming not just a great movie in the franchise but a great action thriller in general. Nearly every element of the film from the directing to the score stands out as memorable and the film overall is just captivating. It has audiences on the edge of their seat and at the same time stands out as a solid film on its own but is even better when put into the context of the overall MCU. For those who think comic book movies can only be one thing, this is a great film to watch especially for those who like other tense action films.