Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Robert Redford, Hayley Atwell
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Special Features: Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel, Audio Commentary, Making-of Featurettes
2014 has secured Marvel as one of the most bankable film studios on the planet, with the immense success of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER and the current attention GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is enjoying in multiplexes as we speak. As the ninth endeavour for Marvel Studios, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER had a lot to live up to. However I can safely say that, not only did the film exceed expectations, but Marvel have revolutionized the genre once again. The narrative utilizes that trademark comedic style to compliment the scripts more dramatic beats, but it also tells a contemporary, relevant and most importantly believable story. This is something that the studio has not explored fully since 2008’s IRON MAN, and it feels refreshing. Steve Rogers’ second adventure as the modern day man-out-of-time capitalises on 21st century fears of technology, surveillance, security and war. Beautifully weaved into our hero’s own personal experiences, CAPTAIN AMERICA THE WINTER SOLDIER also manages to contrast his life as a WWII soldier, with that of a post-Afghanistan veteran suffering from some form of PTSD.
That’s a lot of narrative material to work with already, and that’s not including the multiple other characters that are squeezed into the film. Astonishingly however, the Russo brothers manage to achieve the (almost) impossible and merge these plot elements together to form one of the finest superhero outings to grace the big screen so far. Anthony Mackie is a very welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sam Wilson aka Falcon. Wilson provides some much needed comic relief throughout and it doesn’t undercut the narrative, but instead helps enhance it on more than one occasion. Mackie is also extremely convincing in portraying a multi-layered character suffering from the memories of his previous Afghanistan employment. This, coupled with the great on-screen chemistry he shares with Chris Evans, is no small accomplishment given their relatively small screen time together.
Evans demonstrates his underrated acting talent as the down-to-earth, honest-to-god good guy Steve Rogers. If there was ever any doubt that his casting for the role was perfect, then this film will certainly extinguish any of those lingering thoughts. On top of that, the chiseled star’s acting ability can also be measured by the fact that his real-life personality appears much closer to his FANTASTIC FOUR alter-ego Johnny Storm. However I digress, Evan’s shares the screen fantastically (pun intended) with his equally-talented co-stars Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan and Cobie Smulders. Stan shines particularly bright in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, largely due to his unfathomable ability to convey such strong emotions and facial expressions, despite having less dialogue than The Terminator. Unsurprisingly, there are very few things that I can fault in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. One of which is of course that the lovely Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) doesn’t get more screen time, I mean who doesn’t love Maria Hill? And the other being that everyone’s favourite archer Hawkeye is nowhere to be seen. Although his absence throughout the entirety of the film is set to be explained in Joss Whedon’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON next year, so I suppose I can’t complain too much.
This superb superhero thriller also looks beautiful in High Definition, and is easily worth every penny of the DVD upgrade to marvellous Blu-ray. In terms of special features, the set doesn’t boast anything overly impressive, however I would strongly recommend the blooper reel for 10 minutes of pure hilarity. Although, I was disappointed to find this release doesn’t have the ‘Marvel One-Shot’ that they’re famed for. Hopefully, the Blu-ray release of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY later this year will compensate for our mini-movie craving after the brilliant extras we have seen recently (such as IRON MAN 3’s ‘Agent Carter‘).
Overall, Marvel Studios have managed to exceed expectations again with an intelligent, suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat political-thriller that evokes real world fears and issues, in one of the most engaging entries to the genre. With some truly stunning action sequences, captivating performances and an equally affective score to go with it, it seems that the First Avenger has cemented his place as one of cinemas most popular action hero’s. On a side note, both post-credits scenes will have you Googling sequels immediately after viewing them. All I will say is…roll on AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON because next April can’t come quick enough.
[usr=5] CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER is available on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD from 18th August, courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.
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