Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – Review

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier is very entertaining with really great action and a nice tonal change of pace from most superhero adventure films. The film is about Steve Rogers (Captain America) still coming to terms with his place in the modern world, working for S.H.I.E.D. There is a conflict between his idealism and the manner by which S.H.I.E.D. wants to police the world (preemptively eliminating targets with huge flying gunships). Working with Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) on a recent op, Rogers uncovers a secret conspiracy within S.H.I.E.D., one that changes everything and makes Rogers and Romanoff fugitives from S.H.I.E.D.

There are two things that stand out about The Winter Soldier right away. It is very violent and plays much more like a serious political thriller (with a lot of action) than a superhero adventure film, especially for the first two acts before it bows to the obligatory massive action set piece in the third act. There are great twists and a plot that is actually interesting. This film does not have to merely make due on the strength of its good characters and visual splendors (though, it also has both of those too).

Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have completely changed the tone of the Captain America solo franchise, taking full advantage of Ed Brubaker’s great story (he also makes a cameo in the film). Captain America: The First Avenger is sort of hokey and is steeped in nostalgic charm, but that worked for that film (as it takes place during a different time with different values and realities). It succeeds not on its action beats (which are mostly boring) but on its character moments. The Winter Soldier has great action (maybe the best of any film so far in the MCU) and character moments. It is a superior, but different film. Paralleling the NSA, S.H.I.E.L.D. seemingly wants to monitor and control the people it is charged with protecting. The world is no longer about stopping evil in terms of a known entity like the Nazis or Hydra; good and evil being black and white. The world has digressed into a scary place in which evil is now potentially everywhere, hidden in plain sight, waiting to strike. Our modern world is one of fear and terror, and thus the Russo Brothers have adapted Captain America to be a beacon of hope and moral good in this world of grey.

Phase II of Marvel’s films has been so much better so far than Phase I. Each of the solo superhero films is better than any of the solo films in Phase I (personally, I rank them: Iron Man 3, The Winter Soldier, The Dark World, Iron Man, Thor, The First Avenger, Iron Man 2, and The Incredible Hulk). I also really like that each of the solo franchises has a different tone and style: Iron Man 3 feels like a classic 1980s/90s action film, The Dark World like a sci-fi/adventure fantasy, and now The Winter Soldier like a political thriller (similar to the Jack Ryan or Jason Bourne films, but with much bigger action sequences).

The Russo Brothers have a difficult narrative to manage with The Winter Soldier. There are many characters and the story has a lot going on. Like the best blockbuster directors, who need to balance the spectacle with the characters and story, the Russo Brothers create great character moments that fluidly exist within the bigger action sequences, which allows the film’s pacing to be rather tight and the narrative keeps moving forward; however, I am not sure younger viewers will quite find this to be the case. There are portions of the film that revolve around Rogers and Romanoff trying to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy, and these might play slower for young viewers (although, I am not sure this film is appropriate for those young viewers anyway, as again it is very violent, as Captain America certainly is not messing around). All the good action aside, the film really succeeds on the story work the Russo Brothers do with their characters. Maybe more so than any other MCU film to date (along with Iron Man 3, which is in some ways also a Tony Stark character piece), the narrative really digs deeply into its characters. The audience really gets to see behind the veil, especially with Rogers (and also to some extent Romanoff and Nick Fury).

MCU films still do not have great villains, however, outside of Loki (particularly when compared to The Dark Knight Trilogy). In The Winter Soldier, there is a hidden villain behind the conspiracy and then his henchmen, the most notable of which is the Winter Soldier (whose identity should not be a spoiler as it is obvious from any trailer, promo or merely looking at the cast list, but I will still treat it as one). The Winter Soldier as a character is fairly bland as he is basically a cold-hearted killing machine (he is essentially a Terminator), but that level of conviction is also kind of exciting, because the audience knows that this man will not hold up or stop coming, which in turn creates actual suspense when he engages Roger, Romanoff, et al. That said, I am hoping Joss Whedon can finally deliver another great villain into the MCU with Ultron.

The Winter Soldier is another example of Marvel’s dominance of superhero films in the present moment (as it has been ten years since Sam Raimi’s brilliant Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight Trilogy is at an end). Like each of the other Phase II films, The Winter Soldier is extremely entertaining, providing its solo character (or two characters, as it does feature two Avengers heavily) with his own great adventure, allowing the audience to become all the more invested in the MCU as a whole. And yet, it also works completely as a standalone political thriller that draws parallels to our own political climate.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: I was very surprised that Marvel hired the Russo Brothers to direct a big budget action film, as their CV was mostly made up of TV comedy like Arrested Development, Community, and Happy Endings (all good, but not big action things); and, their only feature film was You, Me and Dupree (which certainly does not inspire faith). Let me say: they did a fantastic job with The Winter Soldier. Their camera is always active in the scene, often creating interesting and exciting shots. I am very much looking forward to their work on Captain America 3 in 2016.

Composer Henry Jackman is no stranger to the superhero genre, having also scored Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class. With The Winter Soldier, he again delivers a score that works well with the tone of the film while also giving it an epic superheroy feel. It is good work, as usual. Trent Opalock (who shot District 9) brings a great grittiness to the cinematography, almost completely contradicting with the gleam of The First Avenger, which nicely juxtaposes the differences in the world Rogers knew and the one he now finds himself in. I think the look of the film is tonally right on. Production designer Peter Wenham (who designed The Bourne Ultimatum) also grounds the film very much in the real world (as much as it can be) with a very real feeling and looking world for Rogers and company to inhabit.

There are a lot of characters in the film, and yet they are all served well by the narrative and give good performances. I really enjoyed the cameos/small roles from Gary Sinise’s voice, Steven Culp, Branka Katic, Danny Pudi (yes, Abed got in there), Aaron Himelstein, Jenny Agutter, Garry Shandling, Callan Mulvey, Toby Jones, Maximiliano Hernandez, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Cobie Smulders (hoping these two women might show up in future episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and especially Hayley Atwell (who might be getting her own Marvel TV miniseries Agent Carter). Anthony Mackie, playing Sam Wilson/Falcon, brings a good foil for Steve Rogers to bounce off. Sam too is a good man returning from war a bit shaken, not really knowing what to make of life back in the world. Mackie plays Sam with a great sincerity that works very well in the developing of Sam’s friendship with Rogers. Sebastian Stan, playing the Winter Soldier, does a good job of looking heartless and cold, essential to the character. Robert Redford plays Alexander Pierce, a man who is at the top of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hierarchy with Nick Fury. Redford brings the right balance of politician and war veteran to the character, making him very believable. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, but he has never been better as the character nor had more to do (in terms of dramatic moments). Jackson is quite good in the film. Scarlett Johansson is also great as Natasha Romanoff. Her flirty work relationship with Rogers is so much fun and gives the film needed lighter moments amidst all the action and suspense. She is possibly the star of the film – that is except for the fact that Chris Evans is also wonderful as Steve Rogers. Evans has been good in other films and as other characters, but he is perfect as Rogers, a man who seems as wholesome as they come, but who is also not hesitant to carry out his mission (if he believes in it – which is what creates the tension in the film; he is a soldier, but more so a good man).

Summary & score: Captain America: The Winter Soldier is yet another great and entertaining film from Phase II of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. The action is strong and big and the characters moments are very satisfying, but mostly the film is just a good political action/thriller. 8/10 

TV Series of the Month – Kings

This month’s television series: Kings (2009).

Based on the biblical story of King David, this series is a modern day (alternate-universe) story focusing on a soldier David Shepherd, who after a heroic act on the battlefield is taken in by King Silas Benjamin as a symbol of hope. However, when it seems like the people love David more, King Silas fueled by petty jealousy lashes out at David. Can David bring peace to the kingdom ruled by the tyrannical king?

Kings was created by writer Michael Green. He also worked on Smallville, Everwood, and Heroes before getting his own series.  After the end of Kings, Green wrote the film Green Lantern and is currently working on the film adaptation of The Flash. The series features strong directing from Francis Lawrence as well.

The series has a fantastic cast. Ian McShane and Christopher Egan star as King Silas and David, respectively. Susanna Thompson, Allison Miller, Eamonn Walker (who is brilliant in the series), Sebastian Stan, Dylan Baker, Wes Studi, Macaulay Culkin, Leslie Bibb, and Brian Cox feature in supporting roles.

Kings succeeds on its wonderful performances (lead by the powerful and dynamic Ian McShane, doing work equally good to his on Deadwood) and great writing (the show has a very interesting religious aspect to it as well – similar to that of ancient Rome). It is very unfortunate that NBC decide to ax the show at the end of its first season leaving it without a proper ending. As is, it still works on a narrative level, as season one is for the most part self-contained, and is well worth checking out (there was not a better new drama in 2009).

Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD and Streaming

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) – Review

Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (hereby known as Captain America) is a lot of fun. Playing off the WWII era, its best attributes come from embracing the period – the war bonds, the bandstand music – it was an era of heroes and just works well with the Captain America story of a measly but tough guy who just wanted to do his part and becomes America’s greatest soldier. However, all that being said, director Joe Johnston (and Marvel Studios) decided not to stay within the period, instead allowing for advanced technology to make for (supposedly) cooler or more exciting action sequences, but the film lost a little of its power, emotion and era-appeal when its characters are running around shooting at each other with tech we do not even have today (and sure the source of the power is otherworldly and the tanks and planes and so on were scaled back to still somewhat fit the period, but it still hurt the vibe). But at the same time, maybe this tech was needed to make HYDRA and Red Skull the super villain it and he appears to be (I do feel stronger writing could have circumvented this however). Another issue is with the characters. While Steve Rogers is given a good amount of background and character work, all the other characters are very shallowly drawn, relying on cinema stereotypes and caricatures to inform the viewer on who these characters are, without any real emotional connection, which makes many of the dramatic moments weak. Even Johann Schmidt (Red Skull) is not given much, making their showdown sort of meaningless, relying purely on the spectacle to carry the scenes. Marvel Studios has done a good job of mandating that their productions be not only entertaining due to good action but also funny. Captain America is no different. There are a lot of great comedic moments that really (along with the Steve Rogers character) make this film work better than it otherwise should. Comedy, action and a fast moving tight narrative can often cure character and bigger narrative issues, and this is very much the case for this film. Johnston’s directing is good and bad. He gets enough right for the film to be entertaining, but some of the scenes just have a clumsy (if not goofy) feel and do not work very well. Johnston seems to try to stuff in too much (for example, I would have liked to have seen more of Captain America’s team, but there just was not time for that), only to keep the film rapidly moving forward (something many directors do, but only a few like J.J. Abrams can still get the character moments right). The lack of meaningful characters and character relationships is probably the films biggest flaw. The audience is watching the film, due to this, to partake in the spectacle and not as a part of the character(s)’s journey(ies). However, Captain America is still entertaining and enjoyable for the most part (just not great – it seems like every Marvel Studios film has a glaring flaw keeping it from being on the same level as stuff like Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: First Class, which are both dramatically engaging while still mostly keeping it light and fun).

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Joe Johnston has made one of his better films with Captain America. Like with The Wolfman, he gets the look and atmosphere right (for the most part, but again I wish it were more committed to being period) and yet he again does not give enough attention to the characters, which is the most important aspect of a film. He is more concerned with the action, look and pacing (given, pacing is very important as well) and the film as a whole (and really all his films) is ultimately negatively encumbered as the result. Alan Silvestri’s score is good, but really the best music work on the film comes from Disney composer Alan Menken (the Marvel-Disney partnership paying off), whose song is great fun. Cinematographer Shelly Johnson shoots just about everything Joe Johnston does, providing really good photography to his films. Captain America is no different. Production designer Rick Heinrichs (also working with Johnston again) does good work as well, but if only the design could have been more grounded in the period. The cast, mostly given little to work with, is quite good considering. Sebastian Stan, Stanley Tucci and Hugo Weaving give good enough performances to help shape Steve Rogers, but as principal parts in his life it is a shame their characters were not developed more. Dominic Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones are both wonderful and funny, while Hayley Atwell does a fine job portraying Steve Roger’s love interest and a strong female character. Chris Evans is the best part of the film however. He commands the screen and captures the character very well.

Summary & score: The film moves so briskly and without much depth, I just wish we had more time with Steve Rogers et al in the WWII period, but what we got was a fun and entertaining. 7/10