Marval Movie

Captain America The Winter Solider has the task of keeping MARVEL phase two on the solid path. I really loved Iron Man 3, and it did well despite some mixed reviews. I always seem to fall behind on the Thor movies, and I have been hyped as hell for the sequel to Captain America ever since I love him in his own movie and then in The Avengers. 

The movie picks up with Cap being a regular S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and getting into the swing of things in the modern world. He's been catching up on movies, TV shows and music that he's missed out on (Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man is next on the list). Also adjusting to the new way things work in this new time. Things are less true blue and morals and choices seem to blur more in the grey.

We get more of Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) this time and I don't just mean more of her kicking ass (although there is that). We get some character development and how she is with her guard down, with someone that she's been on a few missions with. She's quite fun and nice. However I have to say I didn't like her hair, straight and parted down the middle (not great). Along with her Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) the super-spy returns and now is the time when all those secrets and enemies he's built up over the years come to seek retribution. This seems like it's been a long time coming. For so long Fury has been the all-knowing, untouchable super-spy, now he's put in the line of fire.

As with any sequel we get a few new characters, the first is Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as a fellow veteran like Cap, that adds charm as well as some diversity to the Marvel cast. But also a piece of awesome gear that will be useful later on in the movie. Next is Alexandra Pierce, an old friend of Nick Fury and one of those office guys that has his hand in nearly every government secret. Pierce is played by screen legend Robert Redford, it is so awesome that superhero movies are able to attract such legitimate talent as these genuine movie icons. Redford of course does an excellent job.

Of course the other new character is the Winter Solider himself, and ow boy is he awesome! He has such a cool design, with mask and goggles, long flowing hair and a robotic arm, the perfect weapon to put Cap's shield to the test. But of course it is who is under the mask and how it ties into Cap that makes him an even more intimidating enemy.

Things don't go so well when it turns out the S.H.I.E.L.D. may be compromised and Cap cant really trust anyone. So it becomes a case of shield vs S.H.I.E.L.D. and a test for how much the shield and Cap himself can take.

For the people looking forward to Avengers two, as well as the other Marvel movies in the future there are some nice references implanted within the movie that could lead up to those. Some of them are seemingly throw-away lines and others are super subtle lines in the middle of some action that the average non-nerd will miss. But for us fully qualified nerds we pick-up on those and get pretty excited in our seats.

Our directors this time are Anthony and Joe Russo, who are most famous for directing the season two finale of Community. Now these two directing brothers get to play in the MARVEL sandbox and boy do they have fun. These guys know how to direct action, you can feel each and every punch, kick, shoulder and explosion that happens in the movie, but also it keeps a sens of bombastic fun. It is a just about perfect interpretation of Superhero action on the big screen.

The movies sound design is very impressive. All the hits and kicks can be heard with great clarity, every different thing to hit or bounce off Cap's shield has a different but also believable sound. There are even few times where I swear that I could hear the bones of his enemies breaking.

This is the MARVEL equivalent to The Dark Knight. Yes I said it. This isn't as good a movie as The Dark Knight, but it is a sequel that builds and is superior to the first movie in nearly every regard. It takes everything that was built and established in the first movies along with the character in general and truly pushes it to the test to see how well they hold up.

Something I wouldn't usually mention in my review but I feel I have to because they are so well done is the ending credits scene. They are right out of the Saul Bass school of ending credits and they are glorious. They move by with super smooth animation and each character is represented in a iconic visual. These are some of the best closing credits that I've seen in a movie in a long time, maybe the best I've ever seen.

With Iron Man three and now Captain America two, Marvel phase two is off to a great start. Captain America The First Avenger was my favorite MARVEL movie, aside from the Avengers. But now I think that The Winter Solider stands with that movie and might even surpass it.  

Rating: 4 stars out of 4