CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER — Spoiler Discussion and Review
(This is a spoiler discussion of the movie. If you want to avoid those, make sure to check out Mily’s spoiler free review.)
I've known for a long time that Captain America: The Winter Solider was going to be an insanely good movie. There was no doubt that I was going to be happy with what Marvel delivered, and I was still blown away by how incredible the movie was! It blew away my expectations. Captain America: The Winter Solider is the best Marvel movie that has been made so far. It's even better than The Avengers, and I freakin' loved The Avengers! I thought it was going to be all downhill from there, but that hasn't been the case at all. Marvel just keeps making better movies.
I didn't want this movie going experience to end. I love movie where the audience gets involved and there is cheering and clapping during the movie watching experience. I sat near a little 8 or 9 year old boy dressed up in a Captain America costume, and seeing his reactions during the movie was almost as entertaining as the movie itself.
I was actually kind of shocked by the violence in the film. Not that it was a bad thing because it wasn't. It was awesome! There was so much death and destruction in the movie that I was actually surprised that Disney let a lot of that stuff slide. I won't go into details but people do die in very brutal, jaw-dropping ways. I know fans are going to love seeing that stuff. It's not done distastefully though, there were a lot of bad guys in the movie and they just needed to die.
Then there are the action sequences… wow. The action in this movie is so badass that it breaks the badass scale. The action is non-stop, with one scene after another of pure adrenaline greatness. It's hard to believe that this movie came from a Anthony and Joe Rosso who are known for their comedy. Speaking of which there is a solid amount of humor in the film as well which in its own way matches the magnificence of the death, action, chaos, and destruction.
As much as Marvel showed off in all of the trailers, TV spots, clips and featurettes for the film, I do have to say that Marvel managed to keep a lot of the plot points in the film hidden. There were a lot of surprises for me while I watched the movie. And yes, like Marvel president Kevin Feige previously teased, this movie forever changed the Marvel cinematic universe, and it's going to be really interesting to see how they deal with it from here on out. It was fun experiencing all of the twists and turns.
As for the cast of the film, everyone was fantastic! I really enjoyed the Falcon, and I hope that Marvel brings him back for some more adventures. It will be a shame if they don't implement him in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Black Widow once again stole my heart though… damn I love watching her kick ass on the big screen. Thank you Jon Favreau for casting Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2, because she's such an amazing actress who is truly perfect for this role. I'm excited about seeing her character develop even further.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier gave me the ultimate happy high. There's no reason that any of you should not see this movie. You will love it! Anyone that doesn't like this movie just doesn't like being entertained, because this is pure awe-inspiring entertainment!
SPOILER DISCUSSION:
One of the main things that I want to talk about is the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by Hydra since the beginning! We had an idea of that when a rumor hit the internet that Robert Redford's character was really Red Skull. That is not the case in this movie, but he was basically the head of Hydra. However, I do believe that Red Skull is still alive in the Marvel cinematic universe, that he is still secretly running Hydra groups, and that he will be back in the game for Cap to fight in Captain America 3.
It is pretty crazy that S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists, and when our heroes brought it down, the first thing I thought was, "What are they going to do with Marvel's TV Show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D?" The organization has been destroyed, and they can't really be S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. I do love how S.H.I.E.L.D. is up to what happened in the movie though .
One of my favorite surprises was seeing Dr. Arnim Zola from Captain America: The First Avenger return. Zola was Red Skull's lead scientist, played by Toby Jones, and I thought it was really cool how they brought him back by having his brain downloaded into a bunch of computer servers. I'm pretty confident that this is the Clairvoyant in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It made me think of the upcoming Johnny Depp movie Transcendence, where Depp's character's brain is uploaded onto a server. Zola created an algorithm that can predict what people will do, where they will be, and where their allegiances lie. With this information, Hydra planned on killing millions of people for "the greater good," as they would say in Hot Fuzz. It was a great plotline, and the main reason why Captain America was hellbent on destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. once and for all.
I also enjoyed Black Widow's story arc. Everything she ever did, bad and good, is now out in the open for the world to see. I'm really curious to see her story continue. It doesn't look like the government knows what to do with her. We know she'll be back in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and that it will continue that story arc, but I really would love to see it lead into a solo film. She deserves it. Black Widow has become one of my favorite characters in the Marvel cinematic universe.
With the post-credits scene of Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. The Winter Solider, going through Captain America's Smithsonian Museum exhibit, I'm confident that he is on the road to becoming a good guy who could take over for Steve Rogers once Chris Evans is finished playing Captain America. Evans has said that he is looking to give up acting when his contract is done so that he can focus on directing. We also know that Sebastian Stan has a 9-picture deal with Marvel, which is a lot longer than Evans' deal. So there's a good chance he could end up taking his place.
As for the mid-credits sequence, it was extremely cool seeing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. These two characters are going to be a freaking rad addition to the Marvel universe, and I can't wait to see what Joss Whedon is planning for them in Age of Ultron.
So much happened in Captain America: The Winter Solider the Marvel universe will never be the same. It's evolving and evoking something even better!