Just a few months ago, Marvel released Thor: The Dark World, and a few months before that, Iron Man 3. Both opened to critical and commercial success and kept Marvel Studios alive during Phase 2, but neither really brought out the glory days of Phase 1 with smash hits like Iron Man and the universally beloved Avengers. Now the third film in Phase 2 and ninth in the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe marks the halfway point of Phase 2, but does it revitalize the massive franchise or just prove once and for all that Marvel's magic has peaked at the end of Phase 1.
When Marvel was starting to disappoint viewers with its previous two movies. Both were fine and definitely worth a trip to the theater, but were underwhelming and flawed, hardly living up to the standards of the Avengers. The studio needed a movie to pull out to show that it wasn't a one time fluke and excitement was not high when that movie was Captain America's, probably the most boring character on the roster of Earth's mightiest heroes. But Marvel took the B-List hero and made a movie that not only helps the franchise, but stands as one of the greatest in the series.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is more a political conspiracy thriller than superhero film, taking a step back from the sci-fi of Thor 2 and bringing the story literally down to Earth. The story revolves around Captain America joining SHIELD but discovering the infiltration of old enemies within the organization he has allied himself with and has to deal with this in the form of his newest threat, the Winter Solider. The story is perhaps the most complex and mature of all Marvel movies, examining political corruption and the values of an average citizen, not just in America, but in the entire world. The plot is intelligent and the dialogue well written. It lacks any of the memorable action or fight scenes of a true superhero film , which is a downer for any movie goer hoping for a fun summer action thriller with spectacle to entertain. It's not anything mind blowing special effects-wise but instead tells a mature and well written story. The film shows Marvel is diverse in what it can do from the explosions of the Avengers to the terrorism of Iron Man 3 to the sci-fi action of Thor 2 to finally a political film like Captain America 2.
Despite being dubbed as a Captain America film, it included more than one protagonist. Chris Evans returns as the titular character and really nails it in his acting. However, the problem remains that despite being in such a well-made film with a great actor playing him, the character of Captain America just isn't interesting. He's bland and too perfect, being a natural leader who makes the right call all the time. Captain America's biggest flaw is having no flaws. Marvel also had a missed opportunity to make the character interesting. The concept of Steve Rogers being a man in a different time could have made a fascinating subplot for character growth, but was unused and wasted potential. Black Widow is another protagonist of the film, being an Avenger herself, allowing her to be more than a supporting character. What makes Black Widow interesting is her mysterious background and personality. It is also worth noting that she has appeared in just as many films as most other Avengers, but lacks her own series. Instead, she pops up as a guest star in various movies, all around the cinematic universe. It is probably because of her scattered appearances that she has a very mysterious background, one that could have been touched on in this movie. But the Winter Soldier fails in this regard like its predecessors, because it neglects to develop the Black Widow character. Maybe it's not fair to bash on this movie for it, since it is the job of the movies to focus on their titular character before a secondary one like Black Widow. However, as this film fails to even develop its own title character, it could have taken the responsibility of building a foundation for a Black Widow storyline that could continued to be explored in other films. Alas, Black Widow continues to get the shaft and in 3 movies, nothing has happened to her yet, which is a shame as she seems like a fun character who is acted splendidly. On top of two Avengers, this film introduces Sam Wilson aka the Falcon. Sam Wilson is perhaps the weakest character in the film. He has had no growth, no background, no story. He is just literally a person Captain America picked on the street to become his new best friend and later his sidekick. In costume, the Falcon has no inspiring - or frankly- even memorable moments. The Winter Soldier ass the villain is a great character, but not as a villain. He does have a story that is fascinating to see, though he has no menace or true evil. In fact, the real big bad of this movie is not a person, but an entire organization. This actually works as the strength of this movie is not its characters but its character relations. The relationships between character is excellent, from the playful banter between Captain America, the Black Widow, and the Falcon, to the heartfelt moments between Captain America and the Winter Soldier, making up for the mediocrity of the characters by themselves.
Marvel needed to bring the spark in its Phase 2 and it found it in Captain America 2. The story was excellent, but lacked in spectacle and character growth, though the latter was redeemed by the strong character interactions. The film not only stands strong as a political thriller, but shows Marvel is diverse in what it can do from the explosions of the Avengers to the terrorism of Iron Man 3 to the sci-fi action of Thor 2 to finally a political film like Captain America 2. It makes the moviegoer appreciate the variety of choice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing new appreciation for the franchise, making this the movie the one that Marvel needed to rejuvenate the series.
Captain America 2 earns a 8/10 stars.
