to my great surprise, Winter Soldier has been met with outstanding critical acclaim as well as love from us regular plebians. After Captain America: The First Avenger, and his appearance in The Avengers, I had just about relegated Cap to the same trashbin as Superman in my head. Too cheesy, too hard to identify with and, ultimately a mediocre character. But after the sterling reviews from essentially everyone, I wanted to go see the latest flick. My good buds James Potter, Zachary Greve, Josh Nichols, Anne Marie, Ryan Girard and Jay Frericks provided me with exactly that chance fortunately (Kudos to Zach for getting me a ticket, you rock). As soon as the movie started, I quickly realized it was a different kind of marvel flick more in line with The Punisher in terms of grit and violence. Yet, had alot of refinement and thriller aspects. It felt like a spy thriller\action movie with a surprising amount of gravitas, blood and bullets. This was much appreciated. The movie pits the old school ideals of Captain American, which can often come across as campy and cheesy if not handled correctly, vs modern day ends justify the means surveillance state mentality of big government (NSAs PRISM scandal was a common thread here they tugged on). This resonated strongly with me, because it didnt paint Captain America as some outdated relic they had to phone in because of necessary plotlines. He became more of a symbol, something that I could get behind, of what America should be. What it once was. It asked the hard questions Where are we going? Do the ends really justify the means? and What are you prepared to do about it?. Those of you who know me closely understand how critically I rate this subject. Therefore, all of this was incredibly exciting to me, because it really tapped into his unrelenting views. The personal beliefs of a man who started the Civil War era of Marvel history which pitted him against the likes of Iron Man over the issue of liberty and personal freedoms. It also helped that, like the original movie, they tried to give Cap a serious uniform that was not ridiculous (like that spandex crap from The Avengers). He looks like he means business this time around, putting his suit on a similar level as Nolans Batman. I also enjoyed the revival of the age old Captain America villain (which I wont spoil here), but just like in the first movie it made me appreciate Alpha Legion from W40K mythos all the more. Finally, the threat represented by the titular Winter Soldier was tangible to Cap. All of the fight scenes, even against trash mobs, felt brutal and visceral- but when the Winter Soldier was on screen shit got real. His acts of ass kicking coupled with his music (plus, you know, the bionic arm) really exuded a terminator vibe. He was an all around extremely satisfying character... My few complaints were that he really didnt get much screen time and, despite the arm, I dont think he is technically superhuman. Id have also preferred if it were revealed that he had taken some kind of super soldier serum equivalent, because it would make his threat to Capt a bit more convincing- but as it was this was a thought that was in the distant back of my mind. Oh, and I hate his real (nick)name which is far too goofy, especially when juxtaposed against The Winter Soldier which is bad ass. Acting heavy weights Robert Redford, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Im mad as shit Jackson were present for the majority of this flick, and were naturally superb. In particular Redford, who rarely fails to impress, delivered a very engaging character that really fit nicely. His pedigree in the genre, like Spy Games with Brad Pitt, made him feel at home within S.H.I.E.L.D.. Id give the movie an all around score of 9/10, it was awesome. Though I still dont know why it carries the title of The Winter Soldier because while he was prominent and the physical threat in the movie, it was not about him. Whatever, its still a damn awesome name attached to a friggin cool character. Go see it. Edit: Also, the soundtrack fricken rocks.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 15:59:50 +0000
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