Thursday, April 17, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 4 smiles


“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” part of the Marvel Studios universe, is easily one of the best (along with The Avengers). It successfully combines Cap’s WWII history and the present-day situations. The performances are good, the script (by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) is sharp, and the action sequences are superb. This new film is an espionage flick that harkens to the political thrillers of the 1970s. Having been thawed out of his post-war freeze and then commissioned as an Avenger, Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), is now working as a reluctant contractor for SHIELD, the global spy service run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). When pirates highjack a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean, Rogers and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are sent on what appears to be a routine hostage-rescue mission. It’s not, of course, as Fury has another, secret agenda for the operation: SHIELD has been compromised at a high level and he’s trying to find out how and by whom. SHIELD agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) has a small but important role and we’re introduced to former paratrooper Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and to Nick Fury’s boss, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). An important new friendship for Rogers begins and another from his past pays a crucial role in what unfolds.

Steve Rogers is ‘out of time,’ a man with a black –and-white disposition in a world of grays and encumbered by regret. Though he allows that the contemporary world has its advantages, he struggles to find his place. The political themes of the film, involving surveillance and governmental misuse of personal data, are more sophisticated than the usual Marvel fare. The film is set predominantly in and around Washington DC, with the 60-story SHIELD headquarters looming across the Potomac from the Kennedy Center although it was filmed in Cleveland and Los Angeles. Chris Evans has another solid outing as the All-American hero. Johansson takes an opportunity to prove her action chops with her expanded Black Widow role. But it’s Mackie, as Cap’s new friend, who steals just about every scene he’s in. Here’s hoping we see more of him in the future. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is taut, suspenseful and, on occasion, even sad. NOTE: There are two post-credit sequences so be sure to stay through all of the credits. 4/11/14

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