To understand why the second Captain America movie is so important, one must first review the history of the superhero movie. From 1951’s Superman and the Mole Men, there have really been two major subgenres beyond the generic superhero movie: excessively campy films and brooding, dark movies; the latter is the more common superhero film variety in the modern era and was popularized by Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie starring Michael Keaton.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the first mainstream superhero film to belong to a third subgenre: a crossover with another movie genre (in this case, it’s spy thrillers). In its fashion, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is more revolutionary than Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy in that it will gives superhero movies a new direction to pursue in the future, another dimension they can add to increase the depth and appeal of their story.
It’s really, really hard not to like the movie—it’s got plenty of action, solid acting, and a gripping plot with a healthy dose of conspiracy. It manages to do all of this without being very dark, deftly balancing humor with the conspiracy theory-fuelled story. This doesn’t have The Avengers’ Whedonesque comedy or the aforementioned Batman trilogy’s darkness and grit—it strives to be something in between, a fun almost-summer flick with drama and gravitas aplenty. It even manages to get some commentary on the NSA and the Patriot Act in amidst the slew of plot twists (be warned: if you don’t pay close attention during this movie, you won’t know what’s going on). Captain America: The Winter Soldier carries this off effortlessly, easily making it the superhero film to watch this year.
Chris Evans outdoes himself with his performance here; he manages to transform one of the stiffest characters in The Avengers into a lost soul who isn’t quite sure what he’s fighting for anymore. Scarlett Johansson also reprises her role as Black Widow, adding depth and wry humor to the vicious assassin’s character. Her performance demands its own spinoff movie. Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie provide solid performances as Nick Fury and Sam Wilson, and Robert Redford is absolutely brilliant as Alexander Pierce. Maximiliano Hernandez does a great job bringing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character Jasper Sitwell to the big screen. Sebastian Stan is absolutely terrifying as the titular villain—it’s hard not to be paralyzed by fear whenever he’s on screen. Most of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe villains haven’t actually specialized in combat—they’ve all been intellectuals who use lackeys to do their dirty work. The Winter Soldier is rarely ever seen outside of a fight in the film—he’s a remorseless, cold-blooded killer, which represents a nice change of pace.
Like The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier indulges in two post-credits scenes: one in the middle of the credits and one at the very end. It is highly recommended that you watch both of them.
