Movie Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Tonight I got to go see an actual blockbuster movie in an actual full-price, huge-screen movie theater! The last time I did that was over Christmas break, and I missed it so much. I'm glad I got to spend the extra time and money on a movie as awesome as Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The first Captain America movie was okay. I enjoyed it, it wasn't terrible, but it did kind of feel like they just threw it together in a rush because they needed to get everything set up for The Avengers. I didn't feel a whole lot of empathy for the characters, the conflict seemed kind of cheesy, and it seemed so short.

 But this movie made up for its predecessor's weakness. 

You know it's a great movie when you're fearfully looking at your watch thinking, "Oh no! It's only got 30 minutes left! But it's so awesome I don't want it to end yet!" 

This was just such a great movie overall. I had no idea what the movie was actually going to be about, and so the whole plot caught me by surprise and just swept me right off my feet. It was darker and edgier than the first movie, with S.H.I.E.L.D. highly involved, to give it more of an "Avengers" feel. 

The characterization was great. They set up the bad guy so well to make him a legit danger to the cast. He was absolutely brilliant. Probably my favorite villain in this whole Avengers arc so far. And they gave every other character a defining moment to establish their nature well enough to make you really care about them. Or hate them. Depending on the character. 

I was especially surprised with how much character development Nick Fury and Natasha got. It was great! I love how these Marvel movies are all just sharing their characters. Like, "Okay, we need another Captain America movie. Here, we'll lend you Director Fury and Black Widow to get you started. Just bring them back alive, okay? Okay! Have fun!" 

Speaking of which, apparently each director has his own idea of what Natasha should look like, because her hairstyle, hair color, and make-up change drastically between movies. 

See? I'm not the only one who noticed this. It's crazy how completely different she looks between movies. Maybe it's part of her character to routinely alter her appearance, just to throw off her enemies. But no matter how I cut my hair over the course of a few years, I NEVER change which side I part my hair. And look at her, going from left to right to middle like it's no big deal. That would drive me insane! Also her hair has gotten progressively straighter over the years. I'm curious to see what she'll look like in Avengers 2.

And actually, even her character seems to have changed a lot over time. In Iron Man 2, she was the sexy secretary who also happened to be a secret agent who could kick butt. In the Avengers, she was more deep-voiced and serious. Now, in Captain America, she's sassy and emotional. Again, is this just how she lives--changing herself to throw off her enemies? I dunno. It's definitely throwing me off. I don't really know who this character is anymore. 

But Nick Fury was expanded on a lot, and he had some really cool moments. 

The action was really well-done. The fun thing with Captain America is that there aren't superpowers to make the action over-the-top. Yeah, Steve is extra strong, and the Winter Soldier was extra strong, but mostly there was just amazing technology helping everyone out in fights. It was impressive CGI, and the conflict was realistic enough to really keep me on the edge of my seat. I wasn't sure if certain characters would actually die (if they were allowed to die--didn't they need to be in Avengers 2??). It kept me on the edge of my seat.

So I give it 5/5, and recommend that everybody see it. I hope this is just the first of many amazing movies to come this summer!

* BIG FAT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!* (Don't read past this point. Sarah, I'm looking at you.)

Am I the only one who could tell just from the trailer and movie poster that Bucky was the Winter Soldier? I feel like it was supposed to be this well-kept secret, and nobody told me ahead of time that it was him, but I already knew, going into the movie, that it was going to be Bucky. It's not like I've read the comics or anything. Maybe I just recognized the actor because I'd already seen him on Once Upon a Time. In any case, I'm just curious if this was supposed to be a secret or if everyone knew this before they saw the movie. I feel like at least fans of the comics already knew.

Even knowing it was him, though, I had no clue how he had gone from Steve's best friend in the 30s to some super villain in the 2010s. THAT was an interesting surprise. Poor Bucky's story was heartbreaking. I'm glad that they left it unresolved until next time. This is a storyline that needs some serious attention, not a quick fix. 

I think this awesome fan-made Harry Potter quote says it best: