Review
New ‘Captain America’ film packs patriotic punch
April 17, 2014
Marvel Studios has managed to outdo themselves again with the all-American Captain wonderfully handled in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Steve Rogers is growing more and more accustomed to the modern world, though his skills as a super soldier are not getting old. After a mission that has caused him to question the modern methods of war and espionage, his boss, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, digs up some dirt that will change the organization forever.
With the two of them, along with Agent Black Widow, having uncovered a conspiracy that runs deep into the American government, they come face to face with the right hand of the conspiracy, the Winter Soldier, who goes on a spree of terror and destruction that may end everyone’s trust in S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America will need to muster up every skill he has honed in order to face this new threat, which hides an evil face he may be familiar with.
While I was not exactly jumping for joy at the thought of another “Captain America” film, I sort of knew from the start this was going to be a good movie. The problem I find with reviewing any kind of Marvel film is that it is almost inevitably going to be action filled, humor laden and well directed. This time, though, I will try to pick a new aspect to discuss of when talking about how great of a superhero movie I thought “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was.
The new “Captain America” film has a big difference from the first: Captain America is now fighting the good fight in modern times as opposed to World War II. Given this, the film uses this setup very well. A big focus in the film is the Captain’s conflicting feelings about spy work, shady dealings and all cloak-and-dagger situations. He finds that his greatest generation way of fighting and sense of duty is challenged by the new threats he is facing, that he will need to change his ways to fit this new war of conspiracies and secrets.
I found those moments discussing the Captain’s methods to be highly fascinating, along with the political commentary that was injected into the rest of the film. For a “Captain America” film the directors were kind of obligated to discuss American issues in it, and even that is handled in a well-mannered way. The film does not get too preachy as other superhero films like “Man of Steel” have, but it injects just enough commentary on weapons of mass destruction, fear as a weapon against nations and national security to make the movie mean something else underneath all the action.
For a superhero movie, that is about what you should expect from it today; tons of good, well-directed action set against an intriguing plot that has underlying messages and tones that will help the film stand the test of time. That is the exact effect “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” had on me. It was well acted, directed, written and had just enough of an underlying message to help me appreciate it more.
Plus, it is funny. The film perked my funny bone a bit more than previous Marvel films; maybe it was that one extremely well-placed “Pulp Fiction” reference in a movie that had Samuel L. Jackson, but I like to think that others will get a kick out of all the humor like I did. So go out and see “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” today if you are in the mood for fights, espionage, superheroes and twists and turns around every shadowy corner.
Ryan Funes is a lover of all things movie, TV, video games and stories and wants to become a television writer someday. In his spare time he enjoys hanging with friends, tapping into his imagination, and watching cartoons of all kinds.