Without the intellect/comic genius of Iron Man, the sheer power of the Hulk nor the godly status of Thor, it would be incredibly easy to make Captain America's story a boring one. His second soiree outside of the Avengers ensemble however is Marvel's strongest solo-hero story yet.
To set the scene, Steve Rogers (Evans) is adapting slightly better to life in the present day after 70 years on ice. All is not well though, the Cap't is tired of being SHIELD's, as well as Director Fury's (Jackson), "janitor". In spite of this the Captain is shown the latest SHIELD innovation; operation insight. A system of ardent anti-terrorism is a bit too close to the bone for Rogers, as his moral compass is once again telling him that a climate of fear is not what he fought for all of those years ago in WW2. However it is the shadowy world of SHIELD itself that becomes the crux of the story and as a result, Rogers and Romanov (Johansson) are forced on the run.
Throw in a few genuinely surprising plot twists and the finale pits, in no particular order; good
guys, bad guys, bad guys pretending to be good guys and bad guys who may just be good guys. All of this is played against the back drop of aerial battle royale not dissimilar to the middle salvo of the Avengers. The visuals are stunning in this set piece as they are throughout, with the most encouraging thing being that the Russo brothers were not overly reliant on CGI and mass destruction; a criticism that became 'Man of Steel's Achilles' heel. The addition of the 'Falcon' (Mackie) to the Evans-Johansson axis is another strength of the film, although he does feel suspiciously like the 'Patriot' in Iron Mans 2 and 3.
The irreverent brand of humour that has defined Marvel films is once again pitched just right here. Unsurprisingly, the butt of the jokes are usually the Capt and his lack of popular culture knowledge. However, it seldom feels forced. The chemistry between Romanov and Rogers is another huge strength and is a brilliant progression from the Avengers film. Whilst the only somewhat annoying aspect is the constant use of new-age technology to get the protagonists out of trouble the redeeming factor is that the beating heart of the film is a man who is firmly old-fashioned. This contrast is perhaps what makes the film so entertaining as you have a tussle between morality (Rogers) and self dubbed 'Realism' coming from the views of Fury and a thoroughly entertaining and duplicitous turn from Robert Redford as Pierce.
There are genuine thrills, spills, twists and turns in this film, which is testament to a writing team who have covered so many plots in recent years. The 'Winter soldier' himself comes as almost an intriguing sub plot to the film but does give the franchise room for maneouvre and a plot line to pursue. This summer is huge for Marvel; proven titles like X-Men and The Amazing Spider Man will be expected to deliver. However the sizeable gamble on the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' meant that this opening film of the year had to be a success. Simply, it does more than that and after the film's barnstorming finale, there is a tangible feeling that this particular Marvel universe has progressed and changed irreversibly. Therefore Captain America's second outing is smart, well paced, action packed, funny and excellently balanced. It looks like the old ways are indeed the best.
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