Film Review | Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Marvel Studios movie machine is one of the great success stories of 21st century entertainment. After spending years sub-contracting their trademark comic book properties – such as Spider-Man and the X-Men – to big Hollywood studios, with Iron Man (2008) they boldly decided to go their own way. If it was a risk, it’s definitely one that has paid off.
They had a master plan, of course, and it came in the form of Avengers Assemble (2012), the superhero-super team action bonanza which brought together a fistful of Marvel’s heavy-hitters – most of which had already been introduced to worldwide audiences via previous, standalone films.
It’s a move that mimics the source material: back in the 60s, Marvel pioneered the concept of all their characters living in the same interconnected universe. It makes for a more immersive experience – there’s something appealing to the idea of various superheroes being ‘friends’ and sharing the same space – but it’s also, essentially, a killer marketing move: you have to read/watch nearly everything Marvel puts out to keep abreast of the ongoing story.
But more than anything, the film adaptations worked because Marvel understood just how jaded contemporary moviegoers are, and saw it fit to inject a wry sense of humour into their action-packed blockbusters. And Iron Man was the perfect prototype: starring Robert Downey Jr as the cynical industrialist-turned-superhero Tony Stark, it was a swaggering, often tongue-in-cheek summer film that managed to charm even an older audience that wouldn’t go for superhero films by default.
Captain America, on the other hand, was always going to be harder sell.
Originally a propaganda-fuelled superhero (first appearing in print in 1941, he fought Hitler in the original comics), the patriotic super-soldier belongs to a generation where unironic jingoism was perfectly okay.
Still, ‘Cap’s first post-Marvel Studios cinematic outing (2011’s The First Avenger), with Chris Evans in the title role (civilian alter-ego: Steve Rogers) managed to be a fun-enough WWII period romp, whose potentially retrograde trappings were justified by the fact that it remained, at the end of the day, a vacuum-sealed period piece (albeit one with a present-day coda).
Its sequel, The Winter Soldier – competently directed by the unlikely team of Anthony and Joe Russo, the siblings behind the cult TV comedy Community – perhaps necessarily takes a darker turn.
Having been cryogenically frozen and resurrected in the present day, World War II super-soldier Steve Rodgers/Captain America has become the erstwhile leader of The Avengers – a team of superheroes mobilised by defence agency SHIELD with the help of its leader, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Struggling to adapt to the morally compromised times, Rodgers becomes the victim of a conspiracy mushrooming within SHIELD itself. After their only ally within SHIELD is murdered, Rogers and fellow agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) are forced to go on the run.
Determined to get to the bottom of the conspiracy, the duo have no choice but to charge into it head-on, with no helping hand in sight. But can they survive what appears to be their enemies’ secret weapon: a ruthless, apparently indestructible fighting machine going by the name of The Winter Soldier?
The best thing about this sequel is that it’s a superhero blockbuster masquerading as an espionage thriller.
(It’s actually tempting to flip that comparison over, but the – persistent, and expected – barrage of trademark Marvel one-liners and mega-explosions would render it slightly ridiculous.)
It’s an expert move that gives us a different kind of Marvel adventure while also sliding in some topical elements: bit of NSA here, bit of Wikileaks there. And although SHIELD collapsing in on itself like an inexpertly baked sponge-cake so quickly and suddenly may be slightly hard to swallow, the development raises the stakes very, very high – upping the tension and keeping our heroes busy.
The Russo brothers also turn out to be highly efficient action directors, a skill they show off with panache during the Winter Soldier sequences in particular.
The titular antagonist is framed as a bona-fide threat in each shot he occupies: strutting over (inevitably) battle-ravaged highways with a bionic arm, he’s accompanied by unnerving music at every turn, and every punch he throws feels heavy and calculated.
Though he felt like a piece of well-chosen stunt casting, Robert Redford may just be the weak link here. Taking on the role of senior SHIELD leader Alexander Pierce, he was clearly cast to further reinforce the link to vintage espionage thrillers such as Three Days of the Condor (1975), and judging by his stilted, sluggish performance, he didn’t feel particularly motivated to actually instil his character with the necessary gravitas.
But of course, you won’t care. ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ is a cliché that may as well be tailor-made for Marvel Studios produce. The machine is well oiled as ever here, so may well just sit back and enjoy the ride… while waiting for the inevitable Avengers sequel all the while, of course.