Captain America: The Winter Soldier is quite possibly one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At least to me. It has a healthy dose of Steve Rogers and Captain America (hellooooo stealth suit and sassy French), while also providing us with a blast from the past with the new and not-really-improved Bucky Barnes.
CA: TWS also introduces us to a new Marvel favorite: Sam Wilson AKA Falcon. With his sassy attitude, military background, and loyalty to Cap, he’s a great not-really-but-sort-of-a-superhero kind of friend. And as an added bonus, he’s a good addition to Nat and Steve’s splinter team after their separation from SHIELD.
The fight scenes in this movie were glorious, some of the best action-packed scenes that had me on my toes more than any other scenes in any other movie besides the first Avengers. And with the villain, we love an already secret organization with an even more secret evil sect who wants to kill heroes before they’re even heroes. Well, love in loose terms…
This movie also helps us get a closer look into Steve’s life now that he’s out of the ice and successfully taken up the mantle of Captain America. We revisit a sick and dying Peggy, who just causes all heart to break as she goes through a moment of dementia, and we visit Steve’s old training camp, where he remembers what it was like pre-serum. And of course, Bucky.
As one of the real stars of the film, Bucky Barnes’ backstory is both tragic and horrifying, as you realize he has practically been brainwashed, definitely by Nazi’s, to be a cold-blooded killer. He’s also missing an arm, which is just the worst. But he’s deliciously built and his whole clueless thing makes him like a cute but killer puppy.
It doesn’t help that at the end of it all, he seems to have regained at least a little bit of his memory back, of his life before he was this autonomous machine, as he pulls Steve to shore after the planes crash. It’s a small moment, but a moment nonetheless, of two Brooklyn best pals rediscovering each other.
Now I’m moving onto the third Chris in the Marvel franchise, Chris Pratt and his stint as Starlord. See you later!