The second Captain America film also feels breathtaking and effortless. While it's filled with its fair share of CGI effects and stupendous action pieces, the movie has the advantage of simply taking off from where it's predecessor left off. Admittedly, while great and fun, the first flick lacked humor and, while having to go through the paces of "setting things up" -- (re)introducing the hero and famed sidekicks and villains -- the climax felt a bit rushed.
The sequel is confident and has enough room to give solid stories to each main character from top down. Steve Rogers struggles with his role as a superhero, born into the "greatest generation" but now living/serving in the modern world where enemies are not all simply supervillains, the line between good and evil is blurred. Those enemies could be the very ones charged with protecting America and the world but may have their own hidden agendas.
There's more humor, particularly with geeky/pop cultural references that you can't help but laugh at. That's amazing given that this movie is also darker than it's predecessor, and arguably the most violent of the Marvel PG-13 films. I'm thinking, considering all the gun play and the climax, the total body count of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" isn't off-the-charts like DC's "Man of Steel" but it's stunning.
It's a Captain America movie and Chris Evans serves the part well, but it's not his vehicle. The well-paced film, in its unique ways, gives Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie a chance to shine. And given his real-life politics, Robert Redford revels in an intriguing, pivotal role. As for the action scenes --well, if you get physically sick from deliberately jerky, close-up camera maneuvers (think "Saving Private Ryan"), this isn't for you, especially if you sit in the front row of the theater. It is meant to make you feel that much closer to the violence, immersed in it. One scene involving Nick Fury only reminds me one of the best action sequences of the 1990s, in "Clear and Present Danger." You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Post "Avengers," "Iron Man 3" and "Thor: The Dark World" each have more pros and cons, but admittedly, while entertaining, IM3 ended up being all over the place. Not IM2 all over the place, but close. "Thor 2" was fun but felt silly at times...silly not in the best way even for a comic adaptation. Here, Captain America deals with a much more grounded, Earth-bound yet equally serious threat to the world. Seemingly, more than just lives are at stake. Principles and reputations of whole countries, governments, are, too.
Then there's the real fun...the possibilities that "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" helps to reveal in the ever-expanding Marvel Comics-movie universe. Marvel Studios has a brilliant game plan, as famed characters begin to pop up and develop, and references are uttered (or even seen slightly), whetting our appetite for lies ahead in future Marvel films. This happens in "The Winter Soldier" and even currently in the story arc of ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Even as X-Men and Spider-man movies presently operate in studios different from the mainline of Marvel movies, cameos and lines (usually during the end credits) make one's inner geek more excited for what the tomorrow holds in the Marvel cinematic universe. And it makes you wonder what the hell is happening at Warner Bros./DC Comics. One last thing: I do want a hellicarrier for my birthday.
