With not only the first Captain America but also The Avengers, and it’s franchise to live up to, Winter Soldier had pretty high expectations. While it was a great movie on it’s own right some parts left room for improvement.
The pacing started slow then picked up rather suddenly with the action scenes which made the majority of the film, and made it hard to get into the movie; although the main reason the movie fell short of it’s somewhat hyped expectations was the fact that nearly every scene that wasn’t action packed, left you wanting more.
The movie seemed to be a character study of Steve Rogers as he tries to reconcile the world he left behind and the one he now lives in, and struggles with the fact that the morals and principles he once stood and fought for are compromised in the modern world, and finds himself working for S.H.I.E.L.D. where things like morality are not as cut and dry. While the movie delivers in this, showing as Captain America tries to stick to his code of conduct and remain the honorable man he’s known to be, it also leaves you wishing it would delve deeper.
The moments of dialogue feel short and fleeting and only seem to scratch the surface without exploring the characters in depth. Granted at two hours eight minutes, the movie’s already fairly long but one can’t help but wonder if a bit more character development would have hurt.
Despite this, Winter Soldier is a solid movie. Chris Evans once again owned the role of Steve Rogers, portraying perfectly both the idealism and the determination that make up the core of the character. The same can be said for Samuel. L. Jackson, who played the role of Nick Fury and did not disappoint. As a weathered agent as well as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Jackson’s character provides a foil to Steve Rogers, their verbal interactions were some of the best in the movie and portray two sides of an argument as to how much people are willing to sacrifice for the greater good, and how long ideals last when put in a position of power.
The movie also shed some light on Fury as it touched on why his ideals differ so much from the good Captain’s, delving a bit more into his past. As Jackson’s character comes under attack from the ominous assassin The Winter Soldier, the audience was treated to seeing Nick Fury in action, as he along with Captain America and Natasha Romanov, (Scarlett Johansson) are put against the very organization they fight for as a threat from the past reappears.
The melancholy of Evans’ character was also a big and very well portrayed part of the movie, Some of the scenes involving the captain’s past such as showing his old army buddies and Peggy, were some of the most heartfelt ones, as it drove home the point that all of the characters that we met in the first movie, every person from Steve Roger’s life, has now moved on.
Other high points included the appearance of Sam Wilson AKA Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, the camaraderie between his character and Steve Rogers as fellow soldiers and friends gave good development to both characters and lent some reprieve from the ongoing trials the characters were put through.
All in all Winter Soldier was an overall good movie, and definitely worth putting on your summer list. While it might not have lived up to it’s predecessor, which in truth no sequel ever does, it came fairly close. It will remind Marvel fans why they are a part of the fandom and blow away everyone else even if they haven’t read one comic.