Yeah, I reviewed Captain America: The Winter Soldier when it was first released in cinemas. But, for someone who likes to keep details as vague as possible for people who might not have seen the film, I was a bit restricted in that review. So, in the build-up to The Avengers: Age of Ultron, I figured that I'd delve more into the details here. If you haven't seen the film, please check out my non-spoiler review here. From here on, there be SPOILERS!
For everyone else, let's delve into the surprises and delights that The Winter Soldier has to offer.
Right from the opening, directors Anthony and Joe Russo prove that they were sublime choices. This is because they open on a quiet, human note which quickly introduces the key relationship between Steve Rogers AKA Captain America (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Both of these men have had similar experience on the battlefield and both men have lost their 'wingmen' (or so they think), making them two common souls. The dialogue between them is perfect, and Mackie is instantly likeable as Wilson. When Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) enters and delivers a wonderfully dry line, you really get the impression that the Russo brothers, along with writing duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who have experience in the MCU from writing Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor: The Dark World), really understand and appreciate these characters.
This opening scene also allows us to get comfortably re-introduced to Steve's character and Evans's beautifully judged work in the role before we're thrown into one of many first-class action sequences, as Steve, Natasha and the STRIKE team (the latter led by Frank Grillo's Rumlow) launch a rescue mission to recover a SHIELD ship which has been hijacked by mercenary Georges Batroc (Georges St-Pierre), who have also taken prisoners including Agent Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez). Once Cap gets on board that ship and starts dispatching goons left and right, you can tell that The Winter Soldier is going to be one of the more brutal titles in the MCU. Cap smacks guys with his shield (easily one of the coolest superhero accessories) in numerous ways, knees one merc in the head to the point of unconsciousness and even impales one guy's hand with a knife. But, as with every other action sequence in the film, one of the things I love about the action in this film is that the Russo brothers, Markus and McFeely give every involved character something to do. While Cap is wiping out the opposition on deck, Natasha is securing the engine room to make sure the pirates can't flee and Rumlow and his team take down the pirates holding the hostages. The moments of quiet intensity, such as when Rumlow's team position themselves outside the room where the hostages are and wait for Steve's order, mixed in with the vicious combat shows that the film-makers are aiming for more of an action-thriller vibe rather than an action-adventure vibe. After the rescue of the hostages and a brilliant fight scene between Cap and Batroc, the scene ends on a note of angry uncertainty between Steve and Natasha when he discovers that she has her own individual mission to retrieve SHIELD files from the ship's mainframe, which neither she nor Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shared with Steve. This shows an uneasiness between the two characters which proves important in their relationship as it progresses through the film.
After finally being shown SHIELD headquarters the Triskelion in a wonderful overhead shot. We see that the relationship between Steve and Fury is just as uneasy, if not moreso, as the one between Steve and Natasha. This scene is brilliant in showing both Steve and Fury's viewpoints; Fury has been through enough in life that, while he wants to protect people, he doesn't trust them very much (the story about his grandfather illustrates this nicely). Steve, on the other hand, trusts people to do the right thing until they prove unworthy, at which point he'll deal out justice. When Fury reveals Project Insight (a plan to use newly engineered Helicarriers to "wipe out a lot of threats before they even happen"), Steve is understandably perturbed. I really like the references to The Avengers here, such as how Tony had a role in the new turbine design of the Helicarriers after his nerve- (and armour-) shredding experience and how Fury is doing this as a way to appease the World Council after the battle in New York. Steve rightfully shoots Fury down over the idea, saying that Fury is "holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection". Even when Fury tries to draw Steve into his camp by comparing what he's doing with the sometimes nasty things Steve and co. did back in the 1940's, Steve retorts that "we did it so that people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear." This scene ends on the perfect note, with Fury telling Steve that it's time to accept the world as it is and Steve flat-out refusing. This is why I adore the character of Captain America; he will always look for the best in people. Sure, he will fight, but only when he knows who he's fighting and why.
The scene of Fury and Steve arguing over their views of the world beautifully leads into the 'nostalgia' sequence as Steve takes a walk down memory lane through visiting the Smithsonian exhibition for his adventures (adding a poignant edge to Natasha's first lines) before visiting his long-lost love Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). These scenes are beautifully done; I particularly like the moment where Steve looks at a memorial for Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), as it gives a brief reminder which will be important for later. Henry Jackman's score is also wonderful here, evoking the heroism of Steve's actions while also embracing the undercurrent of pain and melancholy which Steve is experiencing. The real tear-jerker is when he visits an older Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Their conversation is emotional enough (and the make-up and visual effects used to age Atwell are stunning), but the reveal that Peggy is suffering from dementia adds a real gut-punch that doesn't dissipate after multiple viewings and which makes me teary-eyed every single time. This is one of the many reasons I love this film; there are genuine characters who you can care about. Sure, Steve has his bad-ass powers and his shield, but he is still a human being as are those around him. The fact that Peggy was one of the founders of SHIELD is also important.
But there's little time for emotional re-connection, as Fury starts realising that something is awry when he is unable to access the information which Natasha retrieved from the Lemurian Star. This is when we meet Alexander Pearce (Robert Redford), as he tries to calm down the World Security Council. The Council is comprised of Singh (Bernard White), Yen (Chin Han), Rockwell (Alan Dale) and Hawley (Jenny Agutter); you might recognise Han as Mr. Lau from a little comic-book film called The Dark Knight, Dale is the third actor to appear in both the Australian soap Neighbours and the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3's Aldrich Killian) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Agutter's Hawley is the only council member to have made an appearance in both this and The Avengers (fun little facts). Anyway, Fury asks Pearce to try to put Project Insight on hold until he can find out why he's unable to access the information, to which Pearce agrees as long as Iron Man stops by his niece's birthday party. This little scene immediately establishes that Fury and Pearce have known each other for a long time, something of importance later.
This is easily the most involved role Nick Fury has had in a MCU film thus far. After another spot-on scene between Steve and Sam, as Steve sees Sam talking to soldiers trying to adapt to every-day life, Fury even gets a solo action scene. This is something he's never had before; sure, he was involved in some of the action scenes during The Avengers, but that all happened as part of the whole, with many other characters having their own roles to play. Even his lieutenant Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), whom Nick contacts for undercover back-up in this scene, arguably got more of a individual action scene at the beginning of The Avengers. Here, as he find himself under attack from assailants disguised as police officers, Fury's on his own, which is part of what makes this scene so exciting. The escalation in this scene is riveting, as Fury finds the shields on his car dropping by the second thanks to machine-gun fire and a battering ram. But, as everyone knows, either Jackson or Fury is one to go down without a fight, and so just as the shield's going out, he lets rip with a machine gun and grenade launcher before making a break for it. The scene is incredible to watch, from all of the different camera angles to the humourous touches (air conditioning, anyone?) and the terrific practical effects work, the latter of which is a immensely refreshing touch in a universe mostly brought to life through CGI - the moment where Nick slams on the brakes and sends two of the pursuing cars into the path of a lorry is probably my favourite touch, but the first reveal of the Winter Soldier as he shoots an explosive at Fury's car and sidesteps at the last moment as it goes flying past is also a brilliant moment.
After Steve chats with his neighbour Sharon (Emily Van Camp), he finds Nick injured in his apartment. Warning Steve that SHIELD has been compromised, Fury gets taken out by the Winter Soldier with Sharon revealing that she is actually SHIELD Agent 13. Cue the amazing chase between Steve and the Soldier which ends with the former's signature shield move being blocked and returned by the latter. Following this, Steve meets Pearce for a little chit-chat concerning Fury's last words right before his death (Pearce mentions that his father was in the 107th, a platoon saved by Steve back in the 1940's - that's a important character point for later). After a brief moment when Pearce commends one of Fury's past decisions to avoid the stalling of diplomacy for direct and effective action to save hostages including Pearce's daughter (something which comes up later), the rest of the scene is basically a game between the two characters, with Pearce trying to get information out of Steve and Steve trying not to reveal anything. Pearce even reveals that Fury hired the pirates to hijack the Lemurian Star, although he changes the details to try and get Steve more on side. The dialogue here is fantastic and surprisingly real (Pearce's 'new world, old world' discussion is particularly memorable), ending with Pearce assuring Steve with implied threat that he will make anyone with information pay for withholding it...
Which is when the fit really hits the shan (so to speak). Steve goes down in an elevator as it is steadily joined by Rumlow and his colleagues, and both he and the viewer can tell something is wrong. The shots here are magnificently telling; a bead of sweat on a forehead, a hand readily resting on a weapon. The Russo brothers show that they really understand how to stage an action sequence. With the Lemurian Star, they built up the action brilliantly. With the Fury ambush, they gave little warning before the threat came out of left field. Here, they build up the tension to the detonation. And when everything goes off, it goes OFF. The fight scene in the elevator is one of the most impressive confined fight scenes I've seen in a long time (along with that first punch-up in The Raid 2). I have no idea how the film-makers did this, but it looks gloriously visceral with Cap pummelling his enemies any way he can, saving the best blow for last when he takes out Rumlow by slamming him into the roof of the elevator. This scene clearly reveals that both Rumlow and Sitwell (co-ordinating the attack on Steve from the main control room) aren't who they say they are. We then have a decidedly 'superhero' moment where Cap throws himself out of the elevator, plummeting through the roof of the Triskelion's lobby and smashing into the ground and then, after a little wincing and teeth-grinding pain, gets up and runs away. I used to have issues with this scene, as it seemed a bit over-the-top in its depiction of Cap's powers. But now I see the appeal of it; while the film is a political thriller with relevant themes, it's also a film where a 'super soldier' beats up evildoers. So I'm going to go ahead and say that this is an awesome super-powered moment, followed by another great moment of that ilk when Steve goes up against the Quinjet. Watching Steve systematically demolish the ship before walking away like a bad-ass is the kind of superhero spectacle we want to see nowadays, with Henry Jackman's triumphant score backing up tthe brilliance. It pretty much screams 'Steve against the system', as now SHIELD's on his tail.
This results in Steve and Natasha teaming up to find out what got Fury killed, and the relationship between the two is fantastic. When they first re-connect, Natasha realises that Fury hired the pirates to attack the Lemurian Star because there was no better way to get Natasha on-board to recover the mainframe information. The brief scenes between them in The Avengers were brilliant, but one of The Winter Soldier's greatest strengths is in their dynamic taking centre stage for most of the film. A wonderful scene which never really gets enough credit is when Steve and Natasha evade Rumlow and his SHIELD agents in a shopping mall. This is where Natasha's understanding of how to manipulate people for the best results shines through, as she instructs Steve on what to do to avoid being noticed by the SHIELD agents, such as making Steve kiss her so that Rumlow won't look their way to avoid being uncomfortable. While Steve probably could have handled the agents, Natasha does it in a way which draws little attention and puts hardly any civilian lives at risk. It's not always being able to throw the best punch which makes you a hero.
After a lovely bit of banter between Steve and Natasha, one which further cements Steve's optimism in contrast to Natasha's pessimism, we finally get to their location; the army base where Steve was trained prior to his transformation into Captain America (the moment where he envisions his younger, more feeble self is a nice touch). But we quickly discover that the signal which led them here was emanating from the networked mind of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones), Red Skull's second-in command from The First Avenger. This would be a big enough reveal; Zola seemed to be a morally ambiguous character who was frightened of the Red Skull's actions in that film, so his becoming a major villain here is pretty unexpected on first viewing; I wasn't aware of Jones returning for this film upon my first viewing, so seeing him again was a great surprise. However, that isn't the end of it, as Zola reveals that the Red Skull's organisation HYDRA survived and grew like a parasite within SHIELD. This is a great reveal, which strips away one of the secure elements of the MCU. That's a pretty ballsy move for the MCU. And, as always, it's great to see Toby Jones, and Zola is one detestable douche here, antagonising Steve about his failures. The fact that the death of Howard Stark, Tony's dad, was actually orchestrated by HYDRA is a fantastic touch, taking what has previously established and fleshing it out even more for the better. Another tragic touch is the fact that Steve put so much into SHIELD because Peggy was one of its founders. Now that HYDRA has warped the organisation beyond recognition, Peggy's work has been corrupted and Steve's dedication has been . After Zola has laid out that Project Insight is actually an algorithm born from his own mind, HYDRA attacks Steve and Natasha (destroying Zola in the process) and Rumlow calls in the 'asset' when discovering that Steve and Natasha escaped.
Following this, Pearce is finally revealed as the HYDRA leader within the Triskelion. I love the way that every villain in this film, bar Batroc, seems to emerge from the figurative shadows to truly reveal themselves, and this particularly evident with both Pearce and the Winter Soldier. In the kitchen scene between Pearce and the Soldier, the Soldier is LITERALLY in the shadows (which is thematically interesting since his true identity is revealed in his next scene and thus he emerges from the shadows). I really like the build-up to Pearce's eventual reveal. Based on his behaviour up to this point, it could be argued that he might not have been a villain. Sure, he ordered the manhunt for Steve, but Pearce's excuse that Steve withheld information about the death of Nick, his friend, is emotionally understandable. Pearce even asks the Council to call off Project Insight in the wake of Nick's death but, given that many have labelled Nick a 'traitor' and the fact that the World Security Council are a morally dubious bunch, this request is quickly batted aside. So, in that moment where Pearce first sees the Winter Soldier and they stare at each other, there's an uncertainty about Pearce's role. But he shows what a nasty piece of work he is when he orders the Soldier to kill Steve and Natasha before gunning down his housekeeper when she accidentally interrupts. Mentioning that his father was in the 107th platoon earlier only reinforces what a treacherous guy Pearce is. Steve comes to the same conclusion about Pearce while re-cuperating with Natasha at Sam's house. There's another lovely scene between Steve and Natasha where Natasha expresses her gratitude to Steve for saving her life and Steve confirms that she has earned his trust. When Steve and Natasha realise that Sitwell, whose presence on the Lemurian Star was suspect from the very beginning, may have some information about HYDRA's plans, Sam volunteers his help in apprehending Sitwell and taking down HYDRA.
The scene where Steve, Natasha and Sam kidnap and interrogate Sitwell is brilliantly done, including a sneaky Doctor Strange reference and that great cameo from Iron Man 2's Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) where he confirms his status as a HYDRA agent (making his campaign to take Tony's Iron Man armour away in that film more understandably evil). However, as Sitwell lays out HYDRA's plan to use Project Insight to determine who poses a present or future threat to them before wiping them out with the Helicarrierseliminate all people they deem a present or future threat (reflecting Fury's mission statement earlier) through the use of Project Insight and the Helicarriers, I do have one thought... What's their plan for Thor? I'm not sure if he popped up on HYDRA's list, but even if he did, I'm pretty sure he could survive most attacks they'd throw at him and he'd bring all of his powers down on the helicarriers for their mass genocide on the planet he's sworn to protect.
This scene leads into another stunning action sequence, as The Winter Soldier and his henchmen ambush Steve, Natasha, Sam and Sitwell on the highway. As far as bad guy entrances go, smashing through a car window and grabbing someone (Sitwell) before throwing them into the path of a lorry is pretty damn memorable. This leads to a street battle in the same vein as 1995's crime classic Heat, as the bad guys go all-out in taking down the good guys. The practical stunt-work is sensational, with the only obvious use of CGI being when Steve gets blown off the bridge. As I said before, what's great about all of the action sequences in the film is that every principal character gets something to do; while Natasha distracts the Winter Soldier to draw his attention away from a vulnerable Steve, Steve and Sam fight off his henchmen before Steve rushes to defend Natasha. Sam proves that he is a skilled fighter here, as he quickly dispatches two of the henchman, while Steve has typically cool moments such as reflecting the bullets so that he can take down one of the assailants. Natasha shows even more of her intelligence as she tries to outwit the Winter Soldier, but the human quality of the character shines through when the Winter Soldier shoots her and she hides, pure fear written across her face. This leads into the first real fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier, which is fantastic. This is an incredibly intense show-down with nearly every blow registering, ending on the reveal that the Winter Soldier is actually Bucky. Evans perfectly captures Steve's disbelief and pain to this reveal beautifully. When Rumlow's team apparently capture Steve and co., there are two more reveals. The first is that Maria is disguised as part of Rumlow's team, getting a cool takedown and some funny lines. The second is that Nick Fury faked his own death. I like the fact that the film-makers poke fun at how Nick surviving is a bit unbelievable when Nick lists off his major injuries and even misses one initially. A great touch is Natasha's reaction after Nick mentions that he didn't know who to trust. The scenes showing Natasha reacting to Nick being shot and 'dying' show that she has an affection for him, and the almost broken look on her face here when she feels that he considered her untrustworthy speaks volumes. Little touches like this are why Johansson is so perfect in this part.
Meanwhile, part of why the Winter Soldier is my second favourite MCU villain after Loki is shown in the scene where Pearce interrogates him after his fight with Steve. We really see the character's emotional torment here, as he struggles to remember who he was under the layers of manipulation from both Zola and Pearce. This scene is, much like Loki discovering his true past in Thor, crucial in helping us to emotionally connect with Bucky here. The performances from Sebastian Stan and Redford are perfectly judged, with Bucky trying desperately to understand his conflicting emotions and Pearce simply manipulating him to try and forward HYDRA's goals. This scene not only illustrates what a cold and cruel villain Pearce is, but how the Winter Soldier is a prime example of HYDRA's need to control above all else. And Bucky's howls of pain as Pearce's order to have him 'wiped' is carried out are truly haunting. People have complained in the past that the Winter Soldier isn't in the film enough (and especially not enough to warrant his name in the title), but I disagree. I think that the Winter Soldier leaves a spectacular impact in his scenes, and his presence looms over proceedings whenever he's off screen. As for his name being in the title, I think that this is meant to represent the clashing ideologies which both titular characters represent.
Cutting back to the SHIELD crew, Nick and Maria reveal their plan to take down the Insight Helicarriers by linking them together and having them fire on each other instead of the many 'threats' they'll otherwise target and wipe out. However, Steve and Nick once again clash when Nick's idea to salvage SHIELD is quickly shot down by Steve, who insists that 'everything goes'. I love this confrontation here, especially Sam's response when Nick looks to him for support. Since the level of corruption is still unclear, that's probably the best solution, and Nick reluctantly bows down. Following a emotionally revealing flash-back to more friendly and simple times between Steve and Bucky, we get to the final showdown at the Triskelion.
The build-up here is beautifully done, with Steve recovering his old war suit as a symbolic middle finger to HYDRA (and an accidental middle finger to Stan Lee's security guard) and delivering a fantastic speech to the SHIELD personnel. As with before, every principal player here gets at least one moment in the spotlight. Whether it be Rumlow showing his true colours to his SHIELD comrades, Agent 13 standing up to him, Maria directing Steve and Sam (and taking out assailants in an effortlessly cool moment), Natasha and Nick subduing Pearce and revealing all secrets through the internet (both SHIELD and HYDRA) and Steve and Sam trying to cripple the Helicarriers before Steve and Bucky have their final confrontation while Sam fights Rumlow, no one gets left out of the action. There are even fantastic moments of regular SHIELD agents trying and failing to hold back the HYDRA threat. For me, this final battle is one of the most epic and exhilirating finales of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The action is brilliantly shot and conceived through tremendous visual effects and occasional practical stunt-work (such as when the Winter Soldier first enters the fray). There are genuine consequences here. We see SHIELD agents being killed ruthlessly and we see Steve suffer some serious damage in his fight with the Winter Soldier. Speaking of the Winter Soldier, this is when we see him at his own vicious and arguably his most desperate. We see how precise he is in his fighting and killing style; he often tries to finish off his enemies in the most concise method possible. If he takes out an enemy with a prepped grenade, he'll throw that grenade into the nearest Quinjet, or he'll kick a SHIELD agent into the propeller of a Quinjet to take them both down. After all of the manipulation and trials he's been through, Bucky now only has his mission, which is to ensure that HYDRA's plans succeed. This means that the final fight between Steve and Bucky isn't just a battle of strength, but a battle of ideologies. These men both have beliefs; the real tragedy of Bucky is that it's not his belief, but one which he's programmed to follow. And boy, is it fierce. For a 'superhero' fight, this is pretty brutal, Steve gets shot, stabbed and pummelled to a near-pulp, while the Winter Soldier doesn't get away unscathed either; one of the most painfully real moments is when Bucky yelps like a kicked dog as Steve grabs and picks him up by the throat. That's followed by Steve snapping his arm and suffocating him until he loses consciousness. Yeah, Steve's victory here isn't easily won. But Steve doesn't give up, which is one of his most heroic qualities. There's a wonderfully judged moment where Steve is heading for the main console to complete the plan and, after shooting him twice to apparently no avail, Bucky drops his arm with a face that says 'how the hell are you still going?' And the emotional final part of the fight as Steve tries to make Bucky remember and Bucky struggles between himself and the Winter Soldier is terrificall done, ending on a hopeful note as Bucky saves Steve (after pummelling him a bit) and then disappearing like the ghost he is.
The climax of the film is fantastic in both resolving the film's conflict and setting up a conflict which could last for several films more. Most of the villains have been either apparently turned (The Winter Soldier), apprehended (Senator Stern, Batroc) or killed (Sitwell, Zola and Pearce), but Rumlow's still out there albeit badly scarred. While HYDRA has been revealed and their main threat unravelled, there are still HYDRA factions out there which pose a genuine danger. While Steve and co. managed to foil HYDRA's sceme, it ends with them splitting up on their own separate journeys (I especially love the fact that Maria went to work for Tony). I really like the uncertain ending here, as it highlights that not all bad guys can be taken down by one big battle. The post-credits scene is the biggest indicator of this, as we see Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) and his accomplice Dr. List (Henry Goodman, who has also appeared in Agents of SHIELD since) examining both Loki's sceptre from The Avengers, which they now have in their possession, and two test subjects; Peter and Wanda Maximoff AKA Quiksilver and Scarlet Witch (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen). This is set-up for Age of Ultron, and indicates that these two could either be great allies or threats - the final moment with Scarlet Witch shows that she could be a BIG problem. The final post-credits scene shows Bucky trying to re-connect with his past, something which could prove good or (as the ominous horror-like music suggests) bad.
Overall, I love Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In my opinion, it is one of the strongest titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It takes big chances within the universe, both through revealing the inner corruption of SHIELD and through clearly stating that not every enemy can be vanquished by one big show-down. HYDRA within SHIELD also revitalised areas of the Universe; if that angle hadn't come along and given Agents of SHIELD a new propulsive energy, the show probably wouldn't haven't got a second season. The direction is amazing (and really skilled since the Russo brothers have never helmed an action blockbuster before), the acting and characters are superb, the writing is top-notch and the action... Well, as I've said before, the action is amazing. If I had to look for problems, I would have to say that the character of Agent 13 was under-used and that I would have liked to see more of the final fight between Sam and Rumlow. Other than that, I have few issues with this film. It works as both a political thriller with material about surveillance going too far reflecting today's society and as a true superhero spectacle. I apologise for the length of this review; i's the first spoiler review I've done, so I've got to get some more practise in. But I hope you've enjoyed my opinions, nonetheless.
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