There has always been a natural battle for the “best comic company” between Marvel and DC Comics. In fact, your decision sort of defines you as a person. However, when it comes to the big screen there really is no question who seems to have the greater handle on the comic book adaptions; it is most certainly Marvel. With the Avengers and the brilliant Iron Man among others, Marvel’s decision to keep their subject matter far more light-hearted certainly seems to be winning fans over.
Although Iron Man had been around, the first Captain America film really began to set up the Avengers, which in some ways was a difficult task. Given the back story to the First Avenger, the film really got bogged down with story and didn’t really start to kick in with action until the last half an hour. Captain America was a little too wholesome for audiences to really take to, his character was just far too nice but in terms of the Avengers themselves, his character fit in just perfectly.
When the sequel to the First Avenger was announced, many were concerned that the film may fall in to some of the problems with the original production. Would Captain America be able to hold not just one film, but two, as a single character? In hindsight, this was nothing really to be concerned about.
Following on from the first film, we meet Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, as he continues to deal with living in the modern world. After a fairly quick introduction, the action kicks in rapidly with Rogers being sent on a mission along with members of SHIELD to free hostages. However, there is more to the mission than meets the eye and Captain America soon discovers that he has been slightly double-crossed by Agent Natasha Romanoff (Johannson).
When he returns for his debrief with Director of SHIELD Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) he is let in on the secret mission that the organisation is working on. However, the mission severely compromises people’s freedom and with his protest, Captain America soon finds himself operating outside of SHIELD, attempting to find out the real cause for which the intelligence is being gathered. With his break away from SHIELD, Rogers find he must face his toughest enemy yet, the mysterious Winter Soldier.
Most importantly, this is in fact one of the best projects that Marvel has produced to date. It’s smart, action-filled with great characters, great performances and a great script. Marvel have ultimately proved that you don’t necessarily need to go dark to make a great action and superhero film with brilliant depth. The actual plot and theory behind it is so incredibly smart that you will be taken aback that this is a Captain America film. Gone is that wholesome image, although he still manages to hold on to his morals. This is the perfect progression for the character ahead of the Avengers sequel.
Chris Evans is literally perfect as Captain America, it would be hard to ever imagine that any other actor could ever fill that role of the superhero. Surprisingly, Scarlett Johannson is pretty good as the Black Widow and she fairly kicks a lot of ass along the way. In fact, the cast in general is perfect for their roles, including Redford who just looks like he is having a little bit too much fun.
The action is well-paced, brilliantly building up the tension throughout and, thankfully, the Winter Soldier does in fact have a fairly daunting presence. The action sequence on the ship at the beginning is a particular stand out and that shield of his really gets a great airing throughout.
Finally, the script, which is obviously influenced from the Joss Whedon Avengers, balances the hilarity perfectly with a pretty coherent political message.
Overall, this is some of Marvel’s best work. An absolute must-see.
