Fernando M., Here….
Marvel’s next adventure for beloved comic book icon ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘ is ambitious; a triumph in many respects, but perhaps falls just shy of reaching its full potential as a standalone film.
In this installment, Captain is back, slowly getting accustomed to life in the 21st century after having twice saved the world, and guess what, he has to save it again. “Winter Soldier” is one of the new antagonists introduced in the film, and though comic book fans may already know his back story, a neophyte film viewer might feel that the origin story for this character, who is obviously important to Captain, was quickly brushed over. With this film’s two hour plus run time, it may have been prudent to give a bit more heart to the film’s namesake.
Captain America, as a franchise, I mean, seems to play strongly on period piece filmmaking. The first installment was a hefty throwback to old school war films, WWII propaganda, and golden age American idealism. This time, we are so very close to getting a 1970’s spy thriller, especially with a very welcome Robert Redford to the cast. Unfortunately, the spy story was a bit more convoluted than the films of yesteryear; whether or not it was complex is a whole different story.
However, where Captain shines is in what Chris Evans does best. Evans is wonderful as Steve Rogers. He spends more of the screen time as Rogers than he does as the Captain, and it’s a good thing. Evans again captures the soul of a man with unbendable ideals, even when the world does not follow suit.
The action is also brilliantly executed. A combination of shaky cam and really slick sound editing make every punch, kick, clash, gunshot, and explosion feel incredibly alive. Actually, these scenes, the non CGI scenes in particular, are my favorite part of this film.
In the end, Captain America is a good film, although it missed a few golden opportunities, brushed on social commentary that could have been more thoroughly explored, and generally feels more like an episode in a TV series than it does as a self contained work. Still though, it is a good chapter leading up to the next real movie, “The Avengers 2.”
3.5 out of 5 STARS
– Fernando Martinez