Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo

Ratings (as of 4/12): IMDB - 8.3/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 89%

WARNING: THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS

Before watching the film, I came in with relatively low expectations because I wasn't a huge fan of Captain America: The First Avenger (the first installment of the Captain's series). By the way, if you haven't seen both films (the first and second Cpt. Americas) then I recommend watching the first before the second. This is because much of the plot of this new film makes key references to the first.

But after watching it, out of all the Marvel movies I've seen, I think this one is pretty up there. 

The first aspect of why this film is great is because of its star-studded cast. I believe the first Captain America movie did not do as well because there weren't that many stars to carry the film. Other than Chris Evans, the first had notable actors such as Tommy Lee Jones and Hugo Weaving. And that's pretty much it (no disrespect to the other actors of that film). This second film? Yes, they used most of the same characters from The Avengers, but there's Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson (playing a more integral role than the 1st), Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie, and...ah yes... the beautiful Scarlett Johansson.

How I Met Your Mother and Community fans, Cobie Smulders and Danny Pudi are in this movie too. It was pretty weird seeing them...because it doesn't matter, they'll always be Robin and Abed!

The Star Spangled Cast

Granted, just because a movie has a star-studded ensemble, it doesn't necessarily mean the film will be good. But the cast in this film was effective in that the audience empathized with the characters. For instance, when the mighty Nick Fury died, the audience became disheartened and Alexander Pierce was effectively a contemptuous antagonist throughout. Following Fury's death, I could not help but think "Man, of course the black guy has to be the first to die..." (I apologize for this stereotype, but that was honestly my thought). The other thought was, "Oh no...not Samuel L. Jackson! He's a Jedi and Coach Carter! He can't die!"

Samuel L. Jackson is a BAD dude.

The plot was very interesting as it contained many twists and turns. When the police were shooting at Nick Fury, I was very surprised. Then, you discover S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. Afterwards, you discover that members of Hydra have been working behind the scenes of S.H.I.E.L.D. all along. Oh snap. And they were the ones who planted the seeds of chaos throughout history (since WWII) to coerce people to turn to S.H.I.E.L.D. for protection, giving up their liberty in the process. They portray stark images of dictators like Hitler and Kim Jong Un to emphasize this shocking point. They also were the ones who killed Tony Stark's (Iron Man) parents! Double snap. 

That means North Korea and other totalitarian governments were influenced by Hydra? I don't know why, but I thought it was a bit funny to imagining Kim Jong Un whisper, "Hail Hydra..." like the Senator did in the movie. (헤일 하이드라?) 

I totally forgot who Hydra was until I saw their skull-octopus emblem thing.  

Hail Hydra

Perhaps the greatest twist in the film was the reveal of The Winter Soldier's (the assassin hired by Hydra) identity. When I saw his face, I was like..."Umm....Who the heck is that?" And then they showed flashbacks and I was like "OHHHH." Like I said, watch the first movie if you haven't yet. So yeah, The Winter Soldier is Bucky, Captain America's best friend from the first film. But Bucky's memory was wiped so he doesn't remember Steve Rogers. Indeed, the best-friend-turned-enemy-development further supports the film's effective storyline.

Visually, the film was great. Michael Bay explosions everywhere. CGI was good like all other Marvel films. I wish I had a car like Nick Fury's. The film also contains many humorous jokes and makes multiple references to other Marvel characters. For instance, Bruce Banner's (The Hulk) serum saving Nick Fury or Pierce's request for Tony Stark to come to his niece's birthday party. I wish Iron Man would come to my birthday party.

Here are some random thoughts and comments I had on various things regarding this film: 

• Loved when Danny Pudi appeared as a security guard and basically acted how Abed does.
• I don't know how Captain America's face wasn't pancaked and deformed after getting punched by Bucky's metallic arm multiple times. If his arm could make a dent in freakin' concrete...
• Out of all things, my friend Eric Chung points out: "There's no way the spaceships can fly that fast." I'd have to agree.
• After the Captain saves his friend from being crushed, the first thing Bucky does? Tries to fight him. What an a...
• Bucky regains some bits and pieces in his memory regarding Steve Rogers, but Alexander Pierce? He wipes his memory again. The thing I don't get is why Bucky agrees to this and doesn't resist. "Oh, sure! I'd be glad to let you electrocute me!" What the heck Bucky.
• Is there something going on between Captain America and Black Widow? What was that conversation at the end of the film? That kiss on the cheek even though she tells him to pursue his neighbor? Foreshadowing? The two did have some sort of chemistry when they were together. What about Hawkeye, Black Widow?
• I liked Anthony Mackie's character. You can argue anybody can fly the Falcon jetpack and he's nothing without it. But I mean, Captain America isn't as great without his shield and Batman isn't as great without his money and weapons. I hope he's in future Marvel films. I wish he becomes a Captain so he can go by the name of Captain Falcon. That would be awesome. 
• Pulp Fiction is my all-time favorite movie. So you can say I loved the engraving on his tombstone of:  "The Path of a Righteous Man" ~Ezekiel 25:17. Clever of Marvel to do that.
• For the post-credits scenes: I first honestly thought the scepter was Loki's. 
• Don't know who the super-twins are, but I guess they're Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch? Girl was freaky-looking.
• The second post-credit scene: That's it?
• Wait...BUCKY EVENTUALLY BECOMES THE NEXT CAPTAIN AMERICA?!

I LOL'ed when I saw this

Overall, I enjoyed this film which is partly why I wanted to write a review for it. Yeah, my reasons for why it's good aren't that strong but...Go watch this film. This is especially a must-watch as its story will likely be integral for future Marvel films, especially the next Avengers film. 

Score: 8.5/10