The Buzz: Captain America
April 23, 2014
The whole superhero concept is nothing new. In general, people want to look up to someone who will inspire them, save the world, or at least satisfy their desire to escape the dreary reality. Because the standards are high for most comic films, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” falls a tad short of this criterion, but still manages to include a plot full of shocking twists and seat-gripping suspense.
The subsequent installment of the first film, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” picks up two years after the Battle of New York (from “The Avengers”). Captain America (Chris Evans), or Steve Rodgers, lives in Washington D.C., continuing his work for S.H.I.E.L.D. The beginning of the movie kicks off with him and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) embarking on a mission to stop the hijacking of a ship. Little does Rogers know that S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury has a hidden agenda for this mission. After a vicious ambush involving the enigmatic “Winter Soldier,” Fury tells Rogers that something is not right with S.H.I.E.L.D. and he must figure out what it is and put a stop to it, all while trying to evade the seemingly undefeatable “Winter Soldier.”
Though the plot seems standard, the fast pace and little twists in the storyline maintained my interest. However, I did find myself drifting off when the film began to complicate itself with an unnecessary amount of information that made it a more difficult to follow. The film was also lacks the humorous quips I was looking forward to. I would have loved to have seen more of 95-year-old Rogers from the 1940s adjusting to present-day.
Yet, jam-packed with action, the film kept me gripping my seat the whole time when a certain character was in a perilous situation, which was the entire movie. The action scenes kept my eyes glued to the screen, particularly during a fight between Captain America and the “Winter Soldier.”
The actors themselves were believable, not like the criterion for the one-dimensional characters is too high. Let’s face it: Chris Evans’ only job is to look buff for the cameras while Scarlett Johansson’s is to serve as a beautiful female counterpart (though with poorly- dyed red hair). Sure, Captain America is damaged but he is too guarded for the audience to emotionally attach themselves to him. However, I will admit that in some scenes Evans did a commendable job playing a character who reminisces about the past; I could not help but feel pity for him.
When the credits rolled, I must concede that I felt slightly underwhelmed by the movie as a whole. I felt that certain parts of the plot were far-fetched, even for a movie about a man in a tacky uniform with a wicked shield who embodied the American spirit during World War II. I ended up zoning out in the several parts of the movie. As an epic comic nerd, I felt that “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was not as great of a film as others. Nevertheless, it provided satisfactory action and plot twists that quenched my thirst for some intense, suspenseful, car-chasing, and hand-to-hand combat scenes.
