Much like Cineworld did for the Midnight Screening of Thor: The Dark World, they offered those seeing the Midnight Screening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier a chance to catch up on what they might have missed, by showing a double bill of Cap 1 with Cap 2. As a big fan of the first film I of course wanted to go two for two with the Captain. You can read my previous review for Captain America: The First Avenger by clicking the respective link, but do know that if I were reviewing it now it would get a much higher score as I have grown very fond of The First Avenger.
However, Cap one has had it's time in the glowing spotlight of my blog, and as such I am going to move swiftly on to the new, and very different Winter Soldier. Different primarily because it's set in the present day, but also because there is a lot more interaction here with a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest agents that you might be familiar with if you've seen a little movie called The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble in the UK). As much as everyone talks about Cap's (Chris Evans reprising his role of Steve 'Captain America' Rogers) friendship with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), most of his work in the war in the first movie was done alone. This movie sees Steve team up with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) for a mission to free S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are being held by terrorists on one of their own ships. Whilst completing the mission, Natasha hacks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database on board the ship and downloads information about her employers, which upsets Steve's sensibilities about doing the right thing and trusting those you work for. However, it seems Natasha was right to capture the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. files, as not long after this Director Fury (Samuel L Jackson) faces off against the mysterious Winter Soldier and Natasha and Steve find themselves on the run from the very organisation they work for. Will they discover what is in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files? Will they find out who the Winter Soldier is? You'll have to go and see the movie to find out.
As I mentioned above, if I were to review The First Avenger now, I have no doubt I would give it a higher score as it has become one of my favourite Marvel movies. The funny thing is that in the run up to the release of the sequel, a lot of people have said to me, "Oh I didn't really like the first one", which on the one hand is fine, because the sequel is entirely different, it's set in a different time, with the majority of different, present day characters. But if you don't like the character of Steve Rogers, if you don't like his values, or the old school way he has of solving problems etc, I still don't know if you'll find a lot to like in Cap 2. Thankfully for me, as I said, I love the first film, and I like the fact that Cap is old fashioned. I think it makes his movies a refreshing change from the norm.
In this instance I loved his team up with Natasha. I loved the dynamic of the two of them, I loved the way they worked together and the way they challenged each other. I loved the fact that there was no hint of romance between them, that they could be a man and woman and just be colleagues, who might someday be friends. After seeing Johansson trying to be a 'serious' actress in Under The Skin and achieving nothing other than getting under my skin, it was nice to see her do justice to a character she is clearly very comfortable with after 3 outings in her catsuit. She adds so many layers to Natasha's already intriguing background that you feel like you'll never really be sure who she is. But damn do you want to find out.
I also loved the addition of Anthony Mackie's Falcon Sam Wilson. And my only real complaint about the movie is that he isn't in it nearly enough. As if adding Falcon to the mix wasn't enough to widen the scope for the next movie, the story arc of the Winter Soldier has only melted enough to dip your little toe into, and as such I am excited to see what more we will learn from Cap 3 (already announced at the UK Premiere of Cap 2) and beyond. If Marvel can keep up the fantastic work they have put in at ground level then I can't wait to see what will be next.
Whether you are a fan of The First Avenger or not, you should see The Winter Soldier and make your own mind up as to whether there is anything here for you. I was not disappointed and I doubt you will be either. 9 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 25th March 2014
UK Release Date - 26th March 2014
Cast Overview:
Steve Rogers / Captain America ~ Chris Evans
Nick Fury ~ Samuel L Jackson
Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow ~ Scarlett Johansson
Alexander Pierce ~ Robert Redford
Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier ~ Sebastian Stan
Sam Wilson / Falcon ~ Anthony Mackie
Maria Hill ~ Cobie Smulders
Brock Rumlow ~ Frank Grillo
Jasper Sitwell ~ Maximiliano Hernandez
Kate / Agent 13 ~ Emily Van Camp
Peggy Carter ~ Hayley Atwell
Dr Arnim Zola ~ Toby Jones
Director(s) ~ Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer(s) ~ Christopher Markus (Screenplay), Stephen McFeely (Screenplay), Ed Brubaker (Concept and Story), Joe Simon (Comic Book) and Jack Kirby (Comic Book)
