Official Synopsis
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
To be quite blunt and honest from the get-go, you really could not have built a better storyline for the Captain America sequel. Director Joe Johnston’s efforts with the first Captain America movie helped to characterize Steve Rogers and build him up as a very honorable soldier that just wants to do the right thing for his country and its people.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier puts the good Captain to the test with his loyalty to country and his loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D.. Presenting the dilemma that Captain America could be supporting a military force that has a ‘fire first, ask questions later’ mentality is a true problem for the character’s already setup persona. On top of this dilemma, he has to uncover a more sinister plot inside of S.H.I.E.L.D., which makes this more than just a typical Marvel film. Instead of a comic book storyline that you would find with Thor, Avengers or the outrageously cool Guardians of the Galaxy, The Winter Soldier decides to turn itself into a political thriller. That decision compliments the first movie perfectly.
Directors Anthony and Joe Rosso take a more serious tone with the sequel, as they start off everything right by having Captain America and his S.H.I.E.L.D. crew recapture a stolen cargo ship from French terrorists. The ship contains S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment and secrets. Just another day in the office turns into a bad day in the office when Cap discovers his cohort Natasha (Black Widow) backing up S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets in mid-fight before the terrorists can obtain it. Cap’s first chip of loyalty falls off at this point, and he comes back to S.H.I.E.L.D. demanding answers from Nick Fury on why he wasn’t told about Natasha’s mission.
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Again, right from the get-go the Russo’s drop the seed of distrust into the equation. Suspicion begins to grow between Captain America and Fury, and all of it starts adding up once Fury let’s Captain America in on what S.H.I.E.L.D. has planned for the world – armed air carriers that take out problems before they become problems. This creates a clear separation between Captain America’s values and what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing to try to protect the world from potential problems before they become bigger issues.
When the movie gets to this point, we find the Russo’s have put our hero in a bind. Should he choose to go along blindly with the S.H.I.E.L.D., or should he go against it and pretty much quit. This is heavy stuff that certainly could either tarnish Cap’s ‘honorable soldier’ image, if he supports it. The concern certainly seems valid in the movie and go against everything Cap has stood for prior to this film. In The Avengers he was the guy leading the charge. In Captain America, he was the All-American hero that stood for truth, justice…etc.. How the Russo’s and their writers treat this internal dilemma for Captain America is brilliant. They respect it, cultivate it properly and execute it perfectly.
Anyway, while Cap is toiling over his decision to be a part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. equation, Fury is unexpectedly attacked and eliminated from the scene by a ghost named The Winter Soldier. The mood of the story changes, as does Captain America’s suspicions about S.H.I.E.L.D., as he is told by Fury (before he exits stage left) not to trust anyone, even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Cap has to go figure out why someone from potentially the inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. might want Fury out of the way and what part The Winter Soldier plays in this story.
After this point in the film, this is what some magazine out in Hollywood would probably call ‘an intense non-stop thrill ride’.
Everything really gets turned up to ‘11’ in the action category. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new director, Alexander Pierce, becomes suspicious of Captain America, even to the point that he orders other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to hunt him down. Not only is Captain America trying to figure out who is behind the elimination of Fury, but now has to figure out why S.H.I.E.L.D. believes he might be part of the problem.
By the time you get to the end sequence, our hero has gone rogue, with the help of a couple of other super heroes in the mix, and the final battle is not only superbly done and beautifully revealing (with a tiny twist), but you’re pining to see the next Captain America film. Non-stop action in this one, folks.
In my opinion, this is the best Marvel movie made, at least at this point of the game. It has action, an intriguing storyline and it is something that doesn’t require a month of space to watch again. I have watched this film five times since receiving it a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t done that with any Marvel movies. I probably won’t do that with Guardians of the Galaxy, and I enjoyed the hell out of that movie.
The pacing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is great, the writing is nothing short of brilliant and the duo of directors deserves all the praise in the world for keeping all of this tight and right. Making this movie more than just a superhero flick is one thing, anyone can do that with any superhero. The Russo’s and crew made this movie into something everyone can enjoy without having to read and know the comic book characters. It’s a movie that is led by a dark tone, engages you every step of the way and ends up as a political thriller more than a comic book adventure. What more could you ask for in a Captain America film? If you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier, then I suggest you purchase it next Tuesday when it releases. You will not be disappointed with what it brings to the table.
As for the Blu-ray portion of this film, it’s nice. It fits right in with the rest of the Marvel Blu-rays. Not one single imperfection in the film’s transfer to HD. It did help that there were less effects this time when compared to the first movie. The tint and tone of the film is also has more of a modern feel to it, with a less yellow/rustic look that you find in the first Captain America. The Winter Soldier is contains more of a black/white tone with reds and blues coming through here and there. The cold tone of the story matches the way the film looks, which shines in this HD transfer. It’s a great example of a studio treating its property properly and making sure that every bit of story is captured gorgeously when coming to the BD format. There isn’t one example of bad compression or even the slight notion of color banding. Again, it’s a great transfer that is flawless.
The audio comes to you in 7.1 and the ratio of the film is 1.78:1.
As for the special features, here’s what you should expect:
– Commentary with Directors Anthony & Joe Russo and Screenwriters Christopher Markus & Stephe McFeely
– On the Front Line: An Inside Look at Captain America’s Battlegrounds
– On Set with Anthony Mackie: Cut the Check!
– Steve Rogers’ Notebook
– Deleted Scenes
– Gag Reel
The ‘On the Front Line’ featurette is pretty darn good. You get to see some intentions about the film during its production and during its planning. I found it fascinating how the Russo’s thought about Cap’s evolving style in combat and how it progressed from The Avengers. It’s impressive to see this train of thought about the film before production even began.
As for the other features, The ‘Cut the Check Featurette is annoyingly hilarious. Hope Mackie is featured in future Marvel movies, though I’m sure he’s going to show up in the third Captain America film. The deleted scenes are good, and the gag reel is gold.
Don’t pass up the audio commentary either. The Russo’s and writers really show they knew what the hell they were doing. Can’t wait to see them do their magic in the next film.