Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel's latest is the last Avengers film before the much anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron that will drop next summer. With the tremendous success of the Iron Man, Thor, and Avengers films, Chris Evans could don his uniform and recite Shakespeare and people would still go see it. Fortunately for us, first time action film directors Joe and Anthony Russo treat us to much more than that. I've been hearing things like "Best Marvel movie yet!" and "Better than Avengers!" but it's not that good. Better than the first Captain America? I'm not entirely sure. I was more impressed with the first than I thought I would be, and this time around has much more hype and expectation. It is however, more dark with sharper political undercurrents, and a more ominous setup for what's to come down the road. It's a trend that really started with Iron Man 3, continued with Star Trek 2, Thor 2, and now Captain America 2. Darkness. The hero's plight and struggle in the face of an overpowering adversity, and I'm guessing The Amazing Spiderman 2 will continue that current trending as well. Maybe the next round will bring us something new and original. At least here's hoping. The dark superhero films are depressing. But entertaining as hell, so the theatres will still keep getting my money. Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy or Superman vs. Batman will be a shift in a new direction. Here's hoping.

Captain America appropriately finds himself in Washington, DC, still recovering from his 75 year slumber. He's trying to catch up to modern society, but there's something that just keeps him in the past. Honor, chivalry, and bravery. It's a beautiful character trait, that he's still living during WWII and doesn't seem to understand the corruption in society. He's a natural leader, flawless in every way except for naivete. We meet some new characters, and some old. Anthony Mackie joins the cast as Falcon, a retired para-rescue jumper who links up with Rogers quickly. Scarlett Johannson's Black Widow is back, as is Sam Jackson's Nick Fury. Robert Redford brings some heavy acting credentials in the role of Alexander Pierce, a government executive who has his own agenda, and Sebastian Stan is back as Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. Bucky was saved by Hydra after falling off the train in the first Captain America, and creates an extra layer of inner-struggle to Steve Rogers as he tries to save his friend while fighting him at the same time.

The plot delves into government conspiracy and scope of power issues as SHIELD is creating a new weapon system that can proactively prevent crime by eliminating threats from a Star Wars type set of ships. Pretty cool, but also creates the moral dilemma that Captain America finds himself in the middle of. Allies and enemies are not so clear, and as the weapons system gets closer and closer to its launch date, Captain must decide who to trust.

Filled with little Easter Eggs, subtle clues that reveal what's coming down the Marvel pipeline, the universe expands even more. I find the magic starting to wear off, and am wondering how long people will continue to be enthralled by superhero movies. I've mentioned before the natural attraction by humans to the idea of heroes, but I'm glad that Marvel is starting to add new, lesser known characters to its universe. This summer's Guardians of the Galaxy will be awesome, as will Paul Rudd as Ant-Man next year.

The fight scenes are choreographed masterfully. Captain America is a hand to hand fighter, unlike so many of the other superheroes with special weapons or powers. Sure, he has his shield, but it's mostly for defense and he has the courage to take anyone on, even without an offensive weapon. There are a few scenes of special effects laden mayhem, and lingering is the age old question of "who pays for these intricate secret government construction projects?" I first thought that when I saw the Death Star, and continue to wonder with each film that has literally hundreds if not thousands of workers building something that is top secret and completely evil. But then again, I suppose realism doesn't jive with Marvel.

That's fine, because Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a pretty fun film. Chris Evans is as good in the lead as Chris Hemsworth is as Thor. They were both made for their respective roles, and are getting more than their share of time in the gym. Evans has long been a favorite of mine for pure action, and he's certainly made some questionable decisions in his career (see Snowpiercer. Better yet, don't see it). He's an All-American hero type, and fits the character to a T.

This is the first true blockbuster of 2014, and it's fun. Redford hasn't been in a role like this since... ever. His last fun mainstream hit was 2001's Spy Game, so he's been out of the action game for quite awhile, but it's nice to see him lighten up a little and do something a little against his usual actor archetype.

Scarlet Johansson is given quite a bit more screentime, but considering her pricetag, I suppose you would want to use her as much as possible ($20 million for Avengers 2). She's nothing more than tight pants and some clever one-liners, but that's her schtick, and it works. Sam Jackson gets a more meaty role, but I'm not sure it's warranted. I've always been a little leery of his credibility as Nick Fury. He hasn't impressed me much at all.

Unfortunately, Scarlet and Sam are all that Steve Rogers has. There's nobody else who can help him. And that's the weakness of the film. On the eve of destruction, with calamity all around, who does Captain America call? Not any of the Avengers, that's for sure. Maybe it's wishful thinking to keep blending the heroes from film to film, and it's fun to have cameos here and there, but there can't be this sense of isolation when it boils down to it. That's my biggest gripe.

Fun action, great fight choreography and special effects. The story is entertaining enough, and Chris Evans is great as Captain America. What more can you ask for? How about Mark Ruffalo? 8/10.