Ninja and Pirate

Okay so Captain America: The Winter Soldier is out in theaters and even if you haven’t seen any of the other Marvel movies, The Winter Soldier is worth it. It is a spy-thriller movie that is pretending to be a superhero movie and does both with pinpoint precision.

It does have it’s flaws, with it’s message being a bit heavy handed and a few camera control issues (I really can’t wait for shaky cam to die a painful death) but what it does right really outshines any negativity. Falcon, who, let’s face it, was always a bit of a relic in the comics, has been rehashed for modern times and it was done brilliantly. Gone is Redwing and his bird speaking ability. He traded those in for the much more effective super power known as ‘that dude has two guns’. There are also numerous little nods and references to the comics and the Marvel Universe slipped in for the fanboys and girls, including the flawless re-imagining of one of Cap’s goofiest jumpin’-jack villains and a game-changing appearance by a certain cleverly reinterpreted camera-headed baddie.

Overall it succeeds as an action movie with some impressive pulse-pounding sequences (each action scene has a few imaginative stings to keep each fight fresh and new) and as a high-stakes spy thriller. We always know what is at stake and what can be lost, even if we don’t always know who the bad guy is.

On the downside, a few more comedic jabs would not have gone amiss and I do wish that we got to see a bit more of distrust aimed toward Widow, especially on Sam’s part. If anyone really got the short end of the stick, it’s the titular Winter Soldier. He is executed in such a way that I can only really compare him to Bowser. Yes, he is not in it as much as he could be, but when he is on screen he is, without a doubt, the biggest threat and absolutely commands the attention of the heroes and the audience in general. He is the dot on the exclamation point of every scene he’s in.

To wrap up: wonderfully done, though not without a few nitpick flaws. It is without a doubt my favorite Marvel movie that’s not called “The Avengers”. So I’d recommend seeing it. Anyway, that’s enough plugging. Can I have my money now, Disney?