Movie Review – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Opening this weekend is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the next big-budget Marvel comic book film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be released to the theaters.
Set a couple of years after the events in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier puts Captain America and the Black Widow against a powerful assassin known as the Winter Soldier. As they battle the assassin throughout Washington, D.C., the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. learn that there’s a much greater conspiracy at play, something that dates back to World War 2 and the events in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier stars Chris Evans in the title role of Steve Rogers / Captain America. Co-starring in the film are Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes / Winter Soldier, and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon. Also appearing in the film are Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) exercising one morning in Washington, D.C. While out running he meets Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a former Air Force special forces pararescue soldier who now counsels war veterans with PTSD. Rogers is still adjusting to living in the 21st century, and he’s been catching up on the history of the past sixty years as well as the changes in culture.
Suddenly Rogers’s cell phone alerts him to an urgent mission with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.). Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) picks him up in a Corvette, and they race away to SHIELD’s headquarters.
The mission involves SHIELD agents to rescue a SHIELD ship that had been hijacked by Algerian pirates. Leading the pirates is Georges Batroc (Georges St-Pierre),a.k.a Batroc the Leaper. The SHIELD team flies to the ship and Captain America is the first to jump out and land on the ship. He easily runs around the ship and takes out most of the pirates on the main deck. His colleagues arrive and help secure the rest of the ship. They locate the hostages and take out the pirates just as they’re about to start executing their prisoners.
Steve Rogers locates Georges Batroc, and the two of them have a lengthy hand-to-hand martial arts battle. At one point Georges accuses Rogers of always hiding behind his shield, so Rogers removes his mask and shield and then continues the fight. Rogers eventually wins the battle. Afterwards he discovers Natasha Romanoff copying files off the computers on the ships. It turns out that she had separate mission objectives.
After completing the mission, Steve Rogers meets with SHIELD Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) at SHIELD Headquarters, and confronts him about not being briefed on everything on the last mission. Fury claims that having the mission’s objectives compartmentalized reduced the risk of anybody leaking the entire mission. He and Rogers then board an elevator and descend underneath the headquarters building.
Inside of a massive underground hanger are three Helicarriers in the final stages of construction. These are more advanced versions of the Helicarrier that we saw in The Avengers. The engines have been upgraded along with the weapon systems. Once airborne, these Helicarriers will be able to stay in the air without needing to land and refuel.
The Helicarriers are part of Project Insight, a plan to preemptively eliminate threats. Using a system of spy satellites along with a database of targets, nobody is safe from the firepower and accuracy of the Helicarriers.
The concept of striking potential targets because of their parameters instead of their actions disturbs Steve Rogers. Back in his day they waited until somebody committed a crime before going after them. This newer concept eliminates them before any crimes are committed. Rogers believes that the presence of such security takes away people’s freedoms.
After meeting with Nick Fury and learning about Project Insight, Steve Rogers goes to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, and he sees an exhibit dedicated to Captain America. Inside the exhibit are a bunch of artifacts and information about the super soldier, from his best friend Bucky Barnes to the various uniforms that he wore in service. Also in the exhibit is a theater with more information, including an interview with his old flame Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
Back at headquarters, Nick Fury tries to access the files that Natasha Romanoff recovered from the SHIELD ship. The files are encrypted. What’s odd is that the encryption was something that Nick Fury allegedly authorized, locking himself out of the files. Obviously something very important must be in the files. The other problem is that since Nick Fury didn’t lock himself out of the files, it means that somebody else within SHIELD did. That means that SHIELD has been compromised.
While he’s driving through the city, Nick Fury contacts SHIELD agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and sets up a meeting. Suddenly he’s attacked by police officers. Fury’s vehicle is trapped and quickly surrounded by even more cops. Obviously the cops aren’t true police officers. It’s a strike team disguised as police. They use heavy weapons and wear down Fury’s heavily armored vehicle. Just as they’re about to smash through a window, Fury uses a mounted machine gun and fights back. He’s able to blast away a path and escape from the cops.
It’s a short victory as he leads the cops on a chase through the city. Nick Fury ultimately loses the last two police cars when they crash in an intersection. All seems well until the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) appears and uses an explosive to destroy Fury’s vehicle. Just before the Winter Soldier can eliminate him, Nick Fury uses a blow torch to cut a hole through the pavement and escape into the sewers.
That evening Steve Rogers returns home to his apartment. After taking a moment to chat with his neighbor Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Rogers notices that music is playing from his apartment. He sneaks in through a window and discovers an injured Nick Fury waiting for him. Fury shows Rogers messages on his phone, explaining that it’s not safe to talk as there are “ears everywhere.” He then communicates that SHIELD has been compromised and he cannot trust anybody. As Fury hands Rogers a USB drive with the encrypted files from the SHIELD ship, Fury is shot several times by an assassin.
Nick Fury sends out a mayday call for help and suddenly Sharon Carter bursts through the door. She says that she’s also known as Agent 13. As Sharon calls for an ambulance and helps take care of Fury, Steve Rogers grabs his shield and chases the assassin. He runs through buildings and finally catches the Winter Soldier on a neighboring roof. The Winter Soldier has exceptional speed and strength, and he seems to be a match for Steve Rogers. The assassin finally escapes off the side of the building.
Nick Fury is rushed into surgery, and Rogers, Romanoff and Maria Hill watch as the surgeons remove the bullets from his body. Suddenly Fury goes into cardiac arrest and the doctors are unable to save him. Nick Fury is dead.
The following day, Steve Rogers goes to SHIELD Headquarters to meet with senior SHIELD official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). Pierce wants to know exactly what Nick Fury told Rogers right before he died, but Rogers lies and says that Fury only told him not to trust anybody. Not believing Rogers, Pierce tells Rogers about how the Algerian pirates were investigated, and the evidence points to Nick Fury being the mysterious person who hired them to hijack the ship. Steve Rogers doesn’t want to believe that Nick Fury would do such a thing.
When Steve Rogers leaves Pierce’s office, Pierce brands Rogers as a fugitive because he’s withholding information. A strike team joins Rogers inside of an elevator and they attack him, but Rogers fights them off. More agents are waiting inside of the headquarters building, so Rogers uses his shield and breaks through the elevator’s window and lands outside. He then uses his motorcycle to escape into the city.
Rogers returns to where he hid the USB stick in the hospital, but it’s gone. Fortunately, the person who took it was Natasha Romanoff, and she’s right there. The two of them form a team, get disguises, and try to get the assassin who killed Nick Fury. To access the files on the USB stick they go to an Apple Store in a local shopping mall. Natasha is unable to get into the encrypted files, but she’s able to figure out where the files originated. Knowing that another strike team is hunting them in the mall, Natasha and Rogers use their disguises to elude them and make an escape.
It turns out that the files originated from an old military base in New Jersey. In fact, it’s the same base where Steve Rogers went through boot camp. He has a quick flashback and sees the skinny version of himself back in training. The current version of the military base has been abandoned for years. Still, something doesn’t seem right. Rogers notices an ammunition shed that has been placed too close to the barracks, something that would have never been authorized. Following a hunch, they break into the ammunition dump and discover a secret base. It’s also abandoned and doesn’t hold any clues. That is, until Rogers discovers a false wall that’s hiding an elevator shaft.
Rogers and Natasha use the secret elevator and descend into an even more secretive part of the base. In the underground chamber are rows and rows of ancient computers. It seems like a lost cause until Natasha sees a USB hub and sticks the USB card into it. Suddenly the computers come to life. Talking to them on a computer screen is the digital version of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). It’s not a recording of the scientist but his true digital form. Although his body died years ago, somehow the scientists discovered a way to transfer his intelligence into the computers back in the 1970s.
Arnim Zola reveals that HYDRA was not destroyed in World War 2, but it’s still very much alive and functioning today. HYDRA is everywhere including within the ranks of SHIELD. HYDRA’s mission is to use chaos around the world so that humanity would willing give up its freedoms in exchange for perceived safety and security.
Natasha receives an alert message and learns that a ballistic missile fired from SHIELD is heading right for their underground base. Zola taunts them, telling the two warriors that he was merely distracting them while SHIELD finished them off. Right before the missile strikes, Steve and Natasha are able to get into a hole in the floor and seek shelter. They survive the missile’s impact and then evade the strike team from SHIELD.
Knowing that SHIELD is actively hunting them in the city, Steve Rogers takes Natasha Romanoff to the home of his new friend, Sam Wilson. Sam overhears Rogers and Romanoff discussing their situation and how they need somebody to help them. Sam shows them his paperwork “resume” and recruits himself to be their new teammate. It turns out that Sam Wilson has more of a background in special operations than he originally stated. He used to use a “Falcon” winged-flight exoskeleton suit to literally fly through the air and carry out his missions.
It’s good enough for them. Sam Wilson tells Rogers and Romanoff which military base has the winged suit, and he officially joins their group.
A short while later, Sam Wilson helps Steve and Natasha capture SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez), a senior agent who happened to be one of the hostages on the SHIELD ship earlier in the film. He’s taken to the roof of the building, but he refuses to talk when Steve pushes him to the edge of the roof. He still refuses to talk, so Natasha pushes him off the edge. Falcon catches Jasper and flies him back to the roof where he tells them everything. Jasper reveals that Zola developed a data-mining algorithm that can identify individuals who can be future opponents of HYDRA. It analyzes everything from a person’s grades and colleagues to their voting records. It’s all compiled by the computer program created by Zola. The newer version of the Helicarriers will then target and eliminate those future threats.
The team then heads back to SHIELD headquarters, but they’re ambushed by the Winter Soldier. The team’s car is disabled, but they flee onto the roads and seek shelter. As the strike team continues to attack, the three warriors find weapons and start to fight back. It’s a lengthy gun battle in the streets of Washington. At one point Steve Rogers faces off with the Winter Soldier again, and the two warriors fight for a second time. The Winter Soldier’s mask eventually falls off and Steve Rogers recognizes the Winter Soldier as none other than his old friend Bucky Barnes. But Barnes was supposedly killed in World War 2!
Police officers suddenly swarm around the three warriors and they’re all captured. Instead of executing them in the street in front of news cameras, Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo), the leader of the SHIELD strike team, insists that they take them to a deserted alley. Steve, Natasha and Sam are placed in the back of a transport van and driven away. When all hope seems lost, one of the prison guards inside of the van suddenly attacks the other guard. It’s Maria Hill in disguise! She helps the others escape from the van just as they arrive in some back alley.
Natasha Romanoff was wounded in the gun battle with the Winter Soldier. She’s taken to a medical center for treatment. Before she’s treated, Natasha, Steve and Sam are taken to a room to see somebody. It’s Nick Fury. Although he’s seriously injured, he’s still alive. Nick explains that the doctors gave him a drug that slowed his heartbeat and faked his death. This essentially took him off the “grid” so he could continue investigating the people who infiltrated SHIELD.
Nick Fury has created a plan to stop Project Insight. What they need to do is infiltrate the three Helicarriers and replace a chip to override their satellite control. They need to change the chips on all three Helicarriers, otherwise the plan will fail.
At a secret bunker, the Winter Soldier is also being repaired from his battle injuries. He has flashbacks to his old life and how he was made into a super soldier, and this makes him angry and unstable. Guards are able to subdue him until Alexander Pierce arrives. The Winter Soldier asks him who that person was back in the battle because he looked familiar. Alexander refuses to tell him the man’s true identity. He then has the scientists wipe the Winter Soldier’s memory and “reboot” him.
The following day the senior members of the World Security Council arrive at SHIELD’s headquarters to celebrate the launch of Project Insight.
Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson also infiltrate the building. They know that the Helicarriers are manned by members of HYDRA. As far as the other workers at SHIELD, it’s not known who is HYDRA and who is really SHIELD. Steve Rogers (while in his World War 2 uniform — “borrowed” from the exhibit at the Smithsonian) uses the building’s intercom system to deliver a message to the employees, a message about resisting and doing what’s right.
His message works. When one of the workers refuses to initiate the Helicarriers, Brock Rumlow and other members of HYDRA try to take over SHIELD. This prompts a battle between the real SHIELD workers and those belonging to HYDRA. The Helicarriers are initiated and it’s up to Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson to swap out the chips.
After Steve gave his message over the intercom, Alexander Pierce takes the other members of the World Security Council hostage. He then reveals to them HYDRA’s plans. Once those Helicarriers reach their cruising altitude, basically nothing is going to be able to stop them. The first attack against the enemies of HYDRA will kill almost a million people within the first few minutes.
The river is temporarily diverted and three massive hanger doors open, revealing the Helicarriers. Their engines start and the flying warships begin to climb into the sky. Captain America and Falcon each take on a Helicarrier and ultimately switch two of the specialized computer chips. But they still need to reach the third Helicarrier, or their plan will fail.
Waiting for them on the third Helicarrier is the Winter Soldier. He attacks both Steve and Sam. Sam’s artificial wings are destroyed, and Sam is forced to parachute back to the ground. He’s out of the fight. Now it’s up to Steve Rogers to stop the Helicarrier and beat the Winter Soldier. The two warriors face each other again and have a lengthy battle inside of the flying warship.
Back at SHIELD, one of the members of the World Security Council suddenly attacks Pierce and disables him. The older lady turns out to be Natasha Romanoff in disguise. She then has Nick Fury enter the room so that he and Pierce can unlock SHIELD’s database of files. They unlock the database and Natasha is able to release the classified information about HYDRA to the general public. There’s a brief conflict and then Nick Fury shoots and kills Alexander Pierce.
On the third Helicarrier, Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier continue with their battle. Steve ultimately beats the Winter Soldier, but he refuses to kill him as they were once friends. He leaves the Winter Soldier and goes to replace the final chip. While he’s doing so, the Winter Soldier grabs a gun and shoots Steve several times. Steve gathers together his strength and manages to replace the final chip, removing the firing control of the Helicarriers from HYDRA.
At SHIELD, Maria Hill uses her computer to reprogram the Helicarriers’ targeting system. She has all three Helicarriers target each other and then open fire. Two of the Helicarriers quickly fall and crash into the river. The third Helicarrier, the one carrying Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier, crashes into SHIELD’s headquarters before landing in the water.
As their Helicarrier was being destroyed, Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier have one final fight. Steve refuses to fight back. He allows the Winter Soldier to beat him. Before the Winter Soldier strikes a fatal blow, Steve Rogers says a phrase that Bucky Barnes used to say in their childhood. This sparks a memory in the Winter Soldier, and he realizes his true identity. As the Helicarrier crashes into the river, Steve Rogers falls into the water.
Before Steve Rogers drowns in the river, the Winter Soldier pulls him to the shore. He leaves him and then walks away.
Shortly after the battle with HYDRA, Natasha Romanoff gives Steve Rogers classified information about the Winter Soldier. She had to call in a few favors to get that information. It details the history of Bucky Barnes as he was captured by HYDRA during the war and then how he was made into a super soldier.
Nicky Fury places all of his personal information into a container and then burns it. After all, he’s supposed to be “dead.” There’s even a grave for him in a cemetery.
Captain America: Winter Soldier ends in the cemetery as Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are standing by Nick Fury’s grave. Nick Fury arrives and tells them that not all of HYDRA was destroyed. He’s heading off to Europe to begin taking down the other members of the terrorist organization. Both Steve and Sam deny accepting his offer to join them.
Natasha Romanoff also appears and tells Steve that now that her personal information is now public, she has to create another alias. It’ll take some time for her to disappear back into society.
Steve Rogers tells Sam Wilson that he’s going to track down the Winter Soldier, and Sam agrees to help him.
Halfway through the credits there’s a scene in a HYDRA laboratory where Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) is analyzing Loki’s scepter. Inside of a prison are two prisoners: one person with superhuman speed, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson); and a girl with telekinetic powers, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
A final scene at the end of the credits shows the Winter Soldier at the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian. He goes through the exhibit and begins to remember his life as Bucky Barnes.
Stan Lee has a cameo as a security guard at the Air and Space Museum in the Smithsonian. He’s upset when he discovers that one of Captain America’s uniforms is suddenly missing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So is Captain America: The Winter Soldier a good comic book film?
Absolutely!
This is an outstanding film that is not only a great comic book film, but it’s a political thriller straight out of today’s headlines. It’s a film that involves both conspiracies as well as freedom. It addresses the issue of trading freedom for perceived safety and security, and how it can easily work against you.
In this film we see a Captain America who is tougher and deadlier than in the previous films. Now he’s also a martial arts master and can handle lengthy duals with hand-to-hand combat.
This is also a darker film with tons of violence and gun battles. Between the excessive battles, the HYDRA conspiracy, and the political theme, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is definitely geared towards the older crowds. The kids won’t find this film as enjoyable as Iron Man or The Avengers, or even Captain America: The First Avenger.
Marvel fans will find themselves right at home with this movie. The same is true for action lovers, and probably those who enjoy political thrillers as well. Throw in an evil organization from World War 2, and there you go.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – movie trailer
It’s always great seeing a character like Captain America not only having strong morals and values, but being able to kick some serious ass as well. In this film he delivers. As a whole, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a great film.
Treat yourself and go see this action-packed movie on the big screen. It’s worth it.
