Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an exciting thrill ride
Hulk, Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man – you name it!
Over the past few years, the love for superheroes has reached a major peak by becoming the dominating cinematic genre. Last Friday, the latest mammoth production in the comic book franchise hit theaters.
After last appearing in Joss Whedon’s hugely successful “The Avengers” (2012), Captain America is back in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” the sequel to “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011). "Winter Soldier" premiered on Friday.
Directed by the brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, known for “You, Me, and Dupree” (2006) and the sitcom “Community,” “Winter Soldier” takes place in modern-day Washington DC.
The film picks up with Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) whom we last saw as a conductor in the super spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D in the movie “The Avengers.” In this film we continue to see Rogers attempting to adjust to the contemporary world after having been defrosted from his cryogenic deep-sleep to which he was induced during World War II.
Rogers still carries a notebook in his pocket where he takes notes of what he has been missing in a rapidly changing world during his cryogenic sleep. A new character is introduced, Sam Wilson, a.k.a the mechanical-winged Falcon (Anthony Mackie).
Wilson has an important role in this movie as a supervisor to Rogers’ adjustment in the modern world. He helps Rogers deal with PTSD and realizes that he is facing a lot of problems that modern day soldiers confront as well.
But not long into the movie, Rogers starts facing new problems after S.H.I.E.L.D’s director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) becomes the target of an attack. ”You cannot trust everyone,” Fury tells Rogers. Rogers is now pulled into a deadly web of intrigue that is putting himself and the world in danger.
Along with his S.H.I.E.L.D colleague Natasha Romanoff a.k.a Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Wilson, Rogers must now fight a new batch of enemies known as the “The Winter Soldiers” who are trying to take over the agency and militarize the world.
With a strong script, and essential elements such as intense fight scenes, massive explosions and gun fights throughout the movie, “The Winter Soldier” turns out to be a 136 minute-long thrill ride that will leave audience members getting a deserved bang for their buck.
Surprisingly enough, this is the first movie Anthony and Joe Russo have directed in this genre.
When it comes to the acting in “The Winter Soldier,” it is impressively strong. The biggest highlight is Johansson, who plays the sexy and sharp fighter Romanoff extremely well. Evan’s performance as Captain America remained as believable as in the first movies. What makes the character stand out in this movie is the fact that he probably is the biggest "bad ass" - a 95-year-old fighter in the world thanks to cryo freezing.
Falcon is a welcomed addition who contributes some humor amid all the massive action scenes. Mackie's Falcon so convincing that the viewer can be certain there will be more of him in the Marvel film world.
The soundtrack also framed the movie well. Marvin Gaye’s "Trouble Man" could not have been used any better in a scene than when Wilson sits next to Rogers’ bed at the hospital after he is left gravely wounded in combat. Acoustic songs such as “Fallen” and “Countdown,” composed by Henry Jackman, helped increase the atmosphere and intensity.
As with most Marvel films, fans who check out "The Winter Soldier" should stick around after the end credits for an extra, added bonus that will not be spoiled here.