Okay. Phase II of the MCU/Infinity Saga got off to a rough start. Iron Man 3, while not without its highlights, was a big downgrade from the previous two movies. Thor: The Dark World had some good moments involving Thor and Loki; however, it was also a rather unimpressive affair with a forgettable villain. The momentum was heading in a downward direction. Could Captain America avert course with his second movie?

Pros

Fun action scenes
Quality acting from the cast
Deeper political and emotional themes than you would expect in a Captain America movie

Cons

Main plot doesn’t quite work in a post-Avengers universe
Evil AI blows itself up?
Suspension of disbelief required

Plot & Thoughts

Captain America, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), is working for or alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. as he and Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) hunt down international terrorists and protect the “free” world from potential threats. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is overseeing the new S.H.I.E.L.D. initiative, which involves launching three new helicarriers with the capabilities of surveying massive swaths of the country and eliminating threats instantly. Rogers expresses his concern over this plan to Fury, as he views it as something of a freedom-infringing effort that is headed down the dystopian path to fascism. Fury ultimately decides it’s probably worth moving ahead, but his uncertainty about things and his usual intense skepticism cause him to delay the launch for the purpose of giving the whole program another scrutinous review. Before Fury gets into the details, however, he’s attacked by unknown forces, including a mysterious soldier who seems to be able to go toe-to-toe against a super soldier like Captain America. Steve Rogers soon finds himself on the run as he seeks to expose those responsible and stop their nefarious plot.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the weakest entry in the Captain America trilogy for a few key reasons. However, I still thoroughly enjoy this movie and consider it to be one of the better entries in Phase II, even if its main plot can be taken apart with relative ease. Why? Once again, a lot of my appreciation for this is due to the characters and my bias toward Captain America. It also happens to have some fun action sequences and espionage to satiate that spy-thriller interest. It’s more Jason Bourne than James Bond, but having a story in which Captain America is uncovering secret government plots and squaring off against his best friend turned HYDRA assassin super soldier sounds like a fun time to me. Before we get to the things I like about The Winter Soldier, however, let’s address the negatives because they’re all related to each other—SPOILERS ahead.

First of all, the plot asks demands that you suspend your disbelief and not ask questions. Even though this is a superhero film adapting characters and stories from comic books, I don't think you should have to turn your brain off to enjoy a superhero movie, so I’m going to ask some questions. Why did the Nazi AI that was hidden away in a secret, abandoned military base launch missiles at itself, just as an attempt to blow up two people who found it and who were on the run? Where are the rest of the Avengers or Tony Stark to help with this existential threat of a massive, evil government entity that is about to create massive killing machines capable of wiping out thousands of people in seconds? How is it that these massive supercarriers, which have countless systems and mechanisms built into them in order to accomplish their goals, are able to have their targeting system undone by swapping out single USB drives? I know I’m being a little hyperbolic, but it’s still a ridiculous scenario to have the once-revered S.H.I.E.L.D. turn out to be their arch nemesis, HYDRA, and to have been that for decades. It’s a big shock that this would be the case, and I like how this plays with Captain America’s beliefs, but the implementation of this is clumsy and not really believable. Had the HYDRA infiltration been more of a sleeper cell as opposed to the entire entity, I would have been able to accept it a little more, but not that much. Having such overt weapons by a covert agency that plans on committing a mass murder event is a little hard to believe. Never mind the instances in which the laws of physics are stretched or ignored because you could argue with terms like “super soldier” and “vibranium,” but whatever.

The main plot also happens to hinge on a rather rash and unintelligent plan by the villains. The events of the movie kick off when Nick Fury is attacked in the street while traveling in his reinforced SUV. The big villain of the film, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. (aka HYDRA) and only answers to a committee of individuals who aren’t physically present at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Up until he is attacked, Fury has little reason to believe that his lifelong friend, Pierce, had any ill will towards him, even if Fury is one of the most paranoid characters in the MCU. If Pierce wanted Fury eliminated when he started to question their initiative, rather than attack him in a public location with a bunch of soldiers, while he is in a vehicle you would surely know is reinforced to withstand extensive firepower, would it not be smarter to have just called him into an office and shot him without witnesses? Attacking him in the streets of a city and then sending the Winter Soldier to clean up the mess actually creates a bigger mess. This unintelligent decision is required for the plot to happen so that Captain America and Black Widow had a trail to follow, but there could have been ways to have gotten to that trail with a little more logic and grace.

All those negatives about the plot aside, I still like The Winter Soldier. The action and fight sequences, while plagued by shaky-cam, still manage to be rather fun and exciting. Everyone who has seen this movie still talks about the “elevator” scene to this day, and for good reason. The interactions Steve has with everyone demonstrate more and more how he remains a steadfast and consistent individual who refuses to compromise on his morals, and how that continues to put him at odds with the rest of the modern world. While it’s not really a character arc, because Steve Rogers’ opinions and morals remain consistent across his trilogy, each film demonstrates how Rogers fits less and less into modern times. As a result, he is willing to go against the rules or sometimes forced to go against the law because his values and morals demand it. In a lot of ways, I think this movie helped elevate the character with audiences as a cool superhero because of his rebellious actions against government agencies. The same can be said for Black Widow, who is set up during the opening action sequence to potentially be untrustworthy, until she more than proves her worth and loyalty to her fellow Avenger. Having her work alongside Rogers further adds to the feel of a modern espionage movie. It’s a shame she never got her own movie…

Lastly, The Winter Soldier introduces one of my favorite characters of the Infinity Saga. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is a great addition to Captain America’s team. Mackie brings a lot of charisma to the role, and the character is immediately likable for his dedication to volunteer work for veterans and his loyalty to Steve Rogers. The chemistry that Makie shares with the rest of the cast brings great energy to his scenes. Just the opening scene in which his character is introduced, as Steve Rogers passes him again and again during a running routine, immediately gives personality to Wilson as he gets frustrated by Rogers saying, “On your left,” each time he passes. While Marvel would go on to utilize the character in a way that I don’t agree with, Sam Wilson’s presence in this and future installments of the Infinity Saga works well to make him a memorable and likable character.

TL;DR

While Phase II of the MCU got off to a rocky start, it recovers rather well with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The plot isn’t quite as tight as the first or third CA movie, and some of the action could benefit from less shaky-cam and quick cuts, but it still manages to be a fun ride from start to finish. It further exemplifies why Captain America is a great hero and leader of the Avengers while pitting the character against personal and existential enemies whom he once called allies.

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