Marvel Studios hits it out of the park again.
'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' has been billed as the studio's attempt at a '70s political thriller, and that's what it is, in a superficial sense. SHIELD, the ultimate espionage and law-enforcement agency, has been compromised, and it's up to Captain America (Chris Evans), on the run from his own government, to figure out who to trust and who to blame.
Ultimately, it's a little too light and silly to really work as a gritty spy movie, and it stretches disbelief a little too far to generate real paranoia. (Put it this way — if Garry freakin' Shandling is in on the conspiracy, there's no way Nick Fury wouldn't know about it already.)
So 'The Winter Soldier' is not exactly 'Three Days Of The Condor' (despite the welcome presence of Robert Redford), but what those genre trappings do is add flavour to the film and help to separate it from the crowded field of superhero flicks.
It's a unique trick that Marvel has pulled off time and time again — the original 'Captain America' is a superhero movie that doubles as a World War II movie, the 'Thor' films are fantasy epics, and the upcoming 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' is a sci-fi adventure. If you're going to pump out at least two of these things a year, you have to keep them fresh, and Marvel has found a way of doing that.
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Where 'The Winter Soldier' really shines is as an action movie, pure and simple. Superhero films often struggle to translate the kineticism of the comics to the screen, but the intense fight scenes and inventive set pieces crafted by directors Anthony and Joe Russo here are beyond reproach; they're expertly choreographed sequences that rank among the best we've seen to date.
For that matter, The Russo Brothers are the movie's biggest surprise — fans of their television work know they're deft hands with comedy, but aside from those paintball episodes of 'Community', there really isn't anything else in their filmography that indicates they could helm an action movie this well.
The Winter Soldier, a Soviet urban legend in the flesh, is a compelling villain, ramping up the tension every time he appears. I won't spoil the quasi-mystery of his identity here (most fans already know it, but the reveal is handled well in the film), but fans of the Ed Brubaker comics in which he originally appeared can rest assured that the character is well handled and that there's plenty of nods toward the expanded role he eventually plays in those stories.
Evans impresses once again in the title role, and the supporting cast is fully fleshed out with faces that will be familiar to most viewers (like Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, Sam Jackson's Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill and Toby Jones' Arnim Zola) and plenty of 'new' characters that will be familiar to hardcore Cap fans.
Everyone pulls their weight, especially Anthony Mackie as The Falcon — I fully expected Mackie to be an annoying sidekick, but he ends up being one of the highlights of the film.
There are plot developments here that will have major repercussions on the Marvel cinematic universe (and a massive impact on 'Agents Of SHIELD', if anyone still watches that show), but you could argue the film plays it a little too safe in the end.
After all the talk of conspiracy and infiltration, it all comes down to a fairly formulaic fistfight between clear-cut good guys and bad guys — but if anybody can solve their problems with punching and one-liners, shouldn't it be Captain America?
Despite its flaws, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' will thrill fans and maybe even win over a few new converts with its winning blend of action, humour and suspense.
It'll certainly hold down the fort until the next 'Avengers' movie, anyway.
4/5
'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' will be released on Thursday April 3.
