On Suspense [Review for Captain America: The Winter Soldier]

*Warning: Unmarked spoilers may follow. Viewer discretion is advised.*

Dear Alexander Pierce,

Do you know Dell Rusk? If not, you two should meet for coffee sometime. You might learn some things from each other, like how the Winter Soldier isn't actually 100% stable. If Dell Rusk doesn't exist in your universe, well, contact Kang the Conqueror (that's last name Conqueror, first name Kang). He ought to be able to take you into an alternate universe. 

Also, while you're at it, tell Mr. Jasper Sitwell that he should meet up with Hydra Propeller Guy who got shredded seventy years ago (you know the scene). I think we'll call it "The Tragic and Disturbing but Also Somehow Darkly Amusing Death Scene Club". 

Sincerely, 

A Concerned Fan

***

So, I recently got to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier again. And it was awesome. To give you an idea of how good it was, it was one of the few movies in which my "Oh my gosh" quotient went through the roof on the second viewing. Seriously, it's up there with The Avengers. 

It would be fairly hard to give a really good plot summary without giving out a bunch of spoilers, so I think I'll just jump straight into pros and cons. 

Good/Favorite Bits:

• Ah, where to start... well, first of all, characters. Steve Rogers is back (duh) and he's as morally upright and refreshingly good as ever. Alongside him is Natasha Romanoff, and the new kid on the block, Sam Wilson (a.k.a. The Falcon). Then there's the Winter Soldier, previously known as Bucky Barnes, and Nick Fury, not to mention Alexander Pierce and Maria Hill.
  The characters in this movie were great. Steve's problems with Fury's moral ambiguity were well-fleshed out, and his struggle with the Winter Soldier's identity was great. Agent Romanoff was also good. So was Alexander Pierce... really, everyone was good. 
• In relation to the above point, I'd like to give a special mention to actor Sebastion Stan, who portrayed Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier. His ability to portray emotion (or lack of it) through facial expression was amazing. Watch the post-credits scene and you'll know what I'm talking about. 
• The plot is quite snappy, though that means that the movie is also suspenseful and intense (see title). However, there are just enough calm, mostly-dialogue scenes to keep it from being exhaustively fast-paced. 
• The movie works well as a part of the cohesive Marvel Cinematic Universe. Agent Jasper Sitwell, who got one appearance in Thor and a few lines in The Avengers, has an extended role here. It's mentioned that after his "up-close look" at the Helicarrier's rotors, Tony Stark designed new repulsors for a second generation of Helicarriers (and those ships do feature prominently in the movie). Natasha Romanoff is here, of course, and when targets of the neo-Nazi organization H.Y.D.R.A. are listed, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, and Dr. Steven Strange are among them. Additionally, a mid-credits scene gives us appearances from Baron Strucker, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver--all of whom have been confirmed to be in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 
• The visual effects were awesome in this movie. The fight scenes, in particular, were amazing to watch, and I had such a time watching the Falcon with his wingpack. Additionally, the Winter Soldier looks almost exactly the way he did in the comics, particularly in the rooftop chase scene with Captain America, and that's quite an achievement. 
• And that about covers most of the movie, wouldn't you say?

Bad/Least Favorite Bits:

• So I have to ask: Where was Hawkeye in all of this? All Hades was breaking loose in S.H.I.E.L.D., Cap and the Black Widow were on the run, and near the end of the movie all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets were downloaded onto the internet... so where was Hawkeye? You'd have thought he'd show up at least after everything S.H.I.E.L.D.-related went viral. 
• Um... well, there was a lot of crashing-through-glass in this movie. That always sort of vaguely annoys me, because I know that it should be majorly hurting the characters and it's not. Generally I'm okay when it's, say, Captain America doing it, but when a normal person like Sam Wilson does it and isn't hurt at all I get kind of annoyed. In the back of my head. 
• And, well... hm... um... I kind of liked Fury with his eye patch, you know... What? No! I am not grasping at straws! Whatever gave you that idea?
• Yeah, I'm done. 

Conclusion:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was good. Very good. I'd go so far as to say it was on par with The Avengers (though it wasn't quite better). The acting and characterization was good, the dialogue was great, the plot was awesome, and the visual effects were amazing. So I guess there's not much left to say, except that I'm giving this movie four and a half stars out of five:

***

And that about wraps this blog post up! See you next time, folks!