Review: Captain America - The Winter Soldier (fourth-pass)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (3D) (fourth-pass)
Cert: 12A / 136 mins / Dir. Dir. Joe Russo & Anthony Russo / Trailer


[ FTR, earlier reviews are here, here and here, with a Cap-related post here ]

Now, it's not that I didn't enjoy Captain America: The Winter Soldier in any way, but I certainly found it to be the least super-heroic of the MCU's super-hero timeline so far; more of an action movie which happens to have genetically modified super-soldiers in it.

Bearing that in mind, I'd initially questioned the wisdom of placing it in the centre of a triple-bill between two far more outlandish flicks, especially when Iron Man 3 carries on the sardonic vibe of Avengers Assemble, and Thor: The Dark World ramps up the fantastical in a way which Cap2 just can't.

But to give the film its due, The Winter Soldier deals far more with the inner-workings of S.H.I.E.L.D. than any other movie in the series to date, and as such is certainly more relevant to the larger narrative (the post-credits scene also leads into Age of Ultron more neatly).

The story's not exactly po-faced, but Captain Rogers' disillusionment with present-day politics lends the film a more sombre tone which doesn't always sit comfortably with an audience familiar with the facetiousness of Tony Stark. But more importantly, the film succeeds in moving on the overall story (the lack of which is a criticism fairly levelled at some of the MCU's other movies), and I'll take Toby Jones any way I can get him. Even if that is as an annoyingly convenient plot-device masquerading as a ZX Spectrum.

Not as much fun as Cap's first outing but with much more to say, The Winter Soldier seems to be Marvel trying to grow up, before (thankfully) thinking better of it with Guardians Of The Galaxy...

If you're an existing fan of the series, yes.



As if you need ask…



Not quite, sadly.



I think it does, yes.



Not as much as you'd expect.



There bloody well is, yes.



The film stars Sam 'Windu' Jackson.







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