Captain America The Winter Soldier is my most watched current film of 2014.
In a rare example of comic book characters being true to the source material, CATWS combines Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting's terrific storyline and tweaks it with a dash of Jonathan Hickman and Brian Michael Bendis villainy.
I could go on for hours about how perfect Chris Evans, Sam Mackie and Sebastian Stan are in their roles, but what made this sequel all systems go for me are the villains.
SPOILERS follow.
After Nick Fury has Black Widow steal S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence during a routine rescue op, Captain America finds himself sucked into the plot when that intell makes Nick Fury a marked man. From there, Cap, Black Widow and new pal Falcon slowly unravel Hydra's master plan. A serious wrench is thrown into the mix as Cap realizes everything he thought he knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. and his greatest failure are lies.
The Baddies in this fast-paced thrillfest are the best the Marvel Cinematic Universe have conjured. Without Johann Schmidt, Hydra has grown into something far more dangerous and insidious. Inciting every global conflict since the Korean War, these nefarious serpents infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. decades ago. Those who refuse to let Hydra do their dirty work meet their demise at the hands of the shadowy Soviet assassin, The Winter Soldier.
You all know who the Winter Soldier is, yet, even with that information the reveal is so well done, it trumps Brubaker's shattering reveal in the source material.
The story is an expert tweak on superb comic stories and Robert Redford's wonderful 70s spy thriller, Three Days of the Condor. Three Days recently aired, and it was the first time I'd seen it since CATWS's release. I could clearly see a lot of Cap's storyline mirrored in Condor's tale.
I was very reluctant to see this theatrically since the Winter Soldier is my favorite Marvel character of the past decade. I did not want to see him screwed up. Going in with my expectations low resulted in my head exploding Scanners-style. The fight scenes are incredible: the highway fight is the most exciting hand-to-hand battles I've seen in recent cinema. I love that we see Black Widow finally being Black Widow and the Olympian agility of Captain America. Still, this film would not work without heart and thanks to Chris, Sam and Sebastian we get tons of this. Captain America remains a perfect moral center even when everything else falls around
Marvel's Cinematic adaptations can be hit or miss (much like their comics), I will gladly watch any Captain America led film as long as the quality remains this high.
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