Captain America: Winter Soldier After Action Report
This review will assume you’ve seen the movie, so I won’t be giving a general plot summary but Wikipedia does a good job of that. This will be more of a ‘bullet-points’ review and how it relates to us today. BTW, I’ve seen the movie twice now.
This is one of the few films that I actually looked forward to seeing ever since I heard about it. I liked the first film despite some flaws, and especially liked the character of Steve Rogers (aka Capt. America). First off, Winter Soldier isn’t as much a sci-fi film as it is a political, conspiracy thriller with a touch of Bourne (think massive government surveillance tracking you). It is more intense (action wise) and dark compared Captain America #1. There are a lot of relevant topics addressed in the movie that are currently being debated. This review will mainly focus on these current, relevant topics that are nodded to in the film.
But first the list of cautions:
-Light language
-Tight clothing (less immodesty than the first film)
-Intense action violence and lots of it (lots of adrenaline)
-Some hollywood style tactics (okay, okay, but you have to reload a magazine now and again)
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I like the way they developed Cap’s character, he’s finding he doesn’t quite fit in with the world as it is and is at odds with it, especially in regards to what freedom is (this is seen in his conversations with Nick Fury and ‘The Falcon’). When shown the massive pre-emptive strike capabilities of SHIELD he argues “this isn’t freedom, this is fear”, and “I thought the punishment came after the crime.” He’s used to following orders, but now he views orders with more caution (which is what current military and law enforcement should be thinking as well). The filmmakers actually brought in the topics of surveillance, drone usage, wire-tapping, whistle-blowers, pre-emptive strikes (including against American citizens), freedom vs. security and concealed carry into the film on purpose.
-The quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin about trading liberty for security is almost quoted word for word by the BAD GUYS! Take heed, America.
-I thought it was funny how Cap rolled his eyes when Nicks tells him his room is tapped.
-Hopefully people will recognize that what might seem like a good thing is very bad in the hands of the wrong people. Don’t give too much power to the government.
-What HYDRA was doing in the film is what socialism and communism are doing to a certain degree in America today. Going underground over decades and infiltrating (i.e. public schools, media, Obama, etc…).
-Also, as a side note I thought it was funny that the SWAT teams in the movie looked eerily similar to the Nazi HYDRA soldiers in Captain America 1; masked and everything.
-What I really enjoyed, is not only did Captain America take out HYDRA, he also took down SHIELD, an organization which I never liked (although cool) in the Marvel movies anyways.
-Agent Romanoff leaked everything similar to what Edward Snowden has done.
-There’s one non-romantic kiss, using a public display of affection as a disguise during an E&E (escape and evasion); actually kinda comical.
-I also appreciate Rogers relationships with women (and the lack thereof). Even though Black Widow is this super tough super-spy, I counted at least 4 times that Captain America pushed her aside (or down) out of harm’s way to save her. Shows who is supposed to be protecting and fighting on the front lines. And he visits his ‘girl’ even though she is old and frail and takes care of her. I thought it it was actually a very sweet scene.
-I liked the heli-carrier launch technician who decided to disobey the order to launch (and the so-called mutiny that happens afterward)
-Interesting tidbit: Nick Fury’s father did concealed carry.
-Interesting tidbit: When the satellites start targeting people, somebody in the top of Stark tower is targeted; very quick shot. Not that I’d mind too much, though… :)
-Personally, I liked the realism of real weapons in the firefights compared to space guns. And despite being a superhero film, I did see some reloading and firearms locking back empty. Nice realistic touches.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite Marvel film to date, and one of my top favorite films in general.
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1 comment:
I agree with you. I have been looking forward to this movie since the first one and was very impressed with the movie. All the relevant topics of discussion that were spurred after the movie which actually have play on what is going on in our world today. The fact that they show that even though "SHIELD" is a well meaning organization that it is corrupt from the inside. It is a mirror of what is happening in our government today and is sad.
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