The trend of bad Marvel movies was broken by its own symbol of hope, Captain America is one of the best movies to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.




Captain America The Winter Soldier released in 2014 as a sequel to Captain America The First Avenger. This time directed by the Russo brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, it brought Steve Rogers to the current time, now as an agent of SHIELD tasked with controlling out of control situations. Returning for this movie are Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and joining them are Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes returning now as the Winter Soldier and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson.

Taking place after The Avengers, this movie has a different tone than the other films that is very welcome. Since the Avengers, Steve Rogers has been working with SHIELD along with Natasha Romanoff where they do as they are instructed by Nick Fury. On a mission Steve Rogers finds out there was more to the mission than originally described to him, and he becomes more cautious of SHIELD and Nick Fury and the secrets he hides. When Nick Fury is attacked though, he tells Steve Rogers to trust no one and leaves him a USB drive that is encrypted. It is up to Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff as well as a new friend of Steve’s Sam Wilson to figure out what is on the USB drive that Nick Fury protected, and what he means by trust no one. All the while a figure from Steve’s past emerges in Bucky Barnes, who has no memory of his past and is now known as a ruthless assassin by the name of The Winter Soldier.

Captain America The Winter Soldier is one of the few Marvel Cinematic Movies thus far that can hold up on its own. It is also the only movie in the series to give an inside look into the operation of SHIELD itself. There are no dull moments throughout the film, as things go from tense, to exiting, as there is always something going on. The movie does a perfect way of showing the dangers that these characters are in, instead of telling it through exposition. Instead of saying that Nick Fury is in danger, they show up by having him show up at Steve’s apartment unannounced, playing music to drown out microphones planted in the house, and staying out of sight from any windows in a dark room. The tone of the movie sets itself in every scene and gives clues and details as to what is coming. One of the best scenes in this film is an elevator fight scene, in which Steve Rogers is attacked by several SHIELD agents in an elevator. Leading up to the attack Steve notices the people getting on board the elevator at different points are putting their hands on their weapons ready to attack or sweating due to fear of what is about to happen. Everything is laid out, and nothing of this movie comes suddenly.

To add to that, some of the best fight scenes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe are contained in this movie. While Captain America The First Avenger did a good job of showing how strong Steve Rogers is, this movie takes it to a whole new level. Watching Steve go blow for blow with different enemies, the impact can be felt, and it goes even further when you watch him effortlessly kick people across a room, or straight off of a boat while running around on missions. Every action sequence is excellently choreographed to the point of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats the whole way through. That’s not to say the whole movie is fight scenes, there are some emotional scenes as well as Steve is on the run and faces the consequences of SHIELDs action. Even when he is facing against Bucky, it is apparent he doesn’t want to hurt him, and even goes back to try and save him from death at one point for Bucky to still want to fight as he has no memories. The performance put on by the entire cast of this movie makes moments like that feel impactful, feeling sympathy for both sides.

Closing Thoughts

Captain America The Winter Soldier was my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because it gets so many things right. It is the kind of movie that can be watched by nearly anyone, and the plot is coherent enough to follow along and enjoy. Out of my favorite action and fight scenes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a handful of this are in this movie, and on top of that they are paced well enough a part that the movie doesn’t feel too packed or stretched thin in any way. Captain America The Winter Soldier is one of the few solo Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to have an impact on future films in the franchise, and due to the importance of it and just how good the movie is overall I highly recommend going back and rewatching it before going to see End Game.