By Kevin Rogers
Editor-In-Chief
Steve Rogers, the super soldier better known as Captain America, and his indestructible shield are back in theaters for perhaps the strongest superhero movie to ever grace the big screen.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also encompasses the Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and Avengers franchises. It’s the direct follow up to 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.” That film, directed by Joe Johnston, was a campy action-adventure in the style of “Indiana Jones,” pitting Rogers (Chris Evans) against laser-toting Nazis.
“The Winter Soldier,” directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, is a darker, more political affair. In this film, Rogers and a small group of allies do battle with a more-grounded enemy—namely the entire international security apparatus.
After being frozen for 70 years post-WWII, Rogers pays his bills by working for S.H.I.E.L.D., the Washington, D.C.-based spy organization that has been the glue for Marvel’s movie universe. But Rogers, raised on “liberty and justice for all” and “innocent until proven guilty,” finds himself clashing with S.H.I.E.L.D. brass over the organization’s cynical worldview and shadier tactics.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows him “Project Insight,” a trio of airborne gunships with the capacity to locate and eliminate would-be terrorists before they can act, Rogers is appalled. He likens the program to “holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection.” Fury argues the program of preemptive strikes is a necessary evil to maintain order in an increasingly chaotic world.
But S.H.I.E.L.D. is not all it appears to be. While Fury believes “Project Insight” is intended to protect the world against villains, his superior, World Security Council Secretary Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), has wider-reaching goals for the program.
The action kicks up with an attempt on Fury’s life at the hands of the terrifying Winter Soldier, a brainwashed version of Rogers’ war-time buddy Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
In the aftermath, Rogers and Natasha Romanoff A.K.A. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are named traitors and flee Washington to discover the true purpose of “Project Insight” and figure out what’s gone rotten in the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. They’re joined by Samuel Wilson (Anthony Mackie), an Iraq veteran and Veterans Affairs counselor, who is well-trained in a prototype winged flight suit as the heroic falcon.
The Russo brothers, known for their directing work on the television comedies “Arrested Development” and “Community,” make a masterful leap to this big-budget political thriller. The film provides plenty of brutal hand-to-hand combat, car chases, gunfights and high-flying action; it has some of the best action sequences in the entire comic book movie genre. Unlike the monsters, aliens or robots of other superhero movies, Captain America and company battle humans. It makes the action more grounded and the stakes seem higher for it.
But it’s not just eye candy; the acting in “The Winter Soldier” is phenomenal. Evans plays the straight-laced Rogers with sincerity as he makes his case for individual freedom. Mackie is a welcome addition to the franchise, bringing humble courage and smart wit to his turn as Wilson. Alongside their more virtue-driven allies, Johansson and Jackson bring strong performances and a bit of moral ambiguity to the mix. Veteran actor Redford plays the ambitious Pierce with smug charisma.
However, the strongest performance comes from Stan as the all-but-silent Winter Soldier. The brutal assassin has few lines, but Stan carries his character’s tortured life through his eyes and facial expressions. He’s a terrifying warrior, complete with a cybernetic arm, but he’s an absolutely tragic villain. Thus, the battles between Rogers and the Winter Soldier are both brutal and emotional, as Rogers tries to reach his lost friend.
Perhaps the film’s greatest victory is its debate between the risks of freedom and the oppression of total security. The Russo brothers told political magazine Mother Jones last week that “Project Insight” was inspired by President Obama’s drone campaign against terrorist cells in the Middle East and North Africa. And though the film was shooting during Edward Snowden’s revelation of the NSA data collection program in summer 2013, the debate over government surveillance in the real world is mirrored on screen.
The film, through Rogers, takes a side in the debate. Rogers is often told he needs to change his view on freedom to survive in the 21st century. Rogers rejects this notion, nearly sacrificing himself to protect the world from the tyranny of total security. In many ways, Rogers stands opposite to Batman in the 2008 film “The Dark Knight,” where Batman concludes he needs to violate the privacy of an entire city to bring down the villainous Joker.
While “The Dark Knight” is widely considered to be the best superhero film of all time, “The Winter Soldier” gives it tough competition because of its more positive outlook, coupled with consistently strong performances and solid action sequences. Beyond “The Dark Knight,” “The Winter Soldier” is easily better than anything else in the genre.
Marvel Studios revealed this week that it would open “Captain America 3” (to be directed by the Russo brothers) against Zack Snyder’s yet-untitled “Batman vs. Superman” project on May 6, 2016. If “The Winter Soldier’s” critical success and strong opening weekend ($96.2 million) are any indication, the good captain is more than ready to compete with the D.C. Comics heavyweights.
rogerskd10@bonaventure.edu
