http://www.zbeardedone.com/z-reviews-captain-america-winter-soldier/ The Winter Soldier begins with an action sequence and I quickly come up against one of my few complaints with the movie: shaky cam. A “technique” that is used to make actions shots seem more frenetic...

1. Z Reviews: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
To preface my review I will begin by stating my expectations for this movie, to serve
as a frame of reference for my impression of it.
I enjoy movies of all kinds and I can usually find something to appreciate in even
very bad movies. I also enjoy being critical of movies, including the best ones; a fact
that doesn’t preclude an overall enjoyment of a movie. For myself, it adds to the ex-
perience.
My expectations for the new Captain America are not the same as the ones I had for

2. The Wolf on Wall Street, not just in content, but in quality. Which would seem to go
without saying, but that does not mean my expectations for The Winter Soldier
were low. To the contrary, my expectations were just different.
The Whedon Effect
If I were to base my expectations exclusively on the first Captain America, I would
undoubtedly be expecting less. The First Avenger was not terrible, but “comic book
movies” have come a long way in the three years since its release. The Avengers has
been released within that time and with the masses exposed to a Joss Whedon script
now even cheesiness is expected to have a certain level of polish and charm.
The real ultimate frisbee.
The Winter Soldier begins with an action sequence and I quickly come up against
one of my few complaints with the movie: shaky cam. A “technique” that is used to
make actions shots seem more frenetic, or often to hide bad choreography; which
makes its inclusion a little confounding. The shakiness to an extent masks how fast
paced and well choreographed the early fight scenes actually are. Thankfully this
was at its worst in the beginning and quickly improved to a tolerable level.
When it comes to Cap’s choreography there is a superb subtlety to his skill as a
fighter. Captain America is strong, fast, and resilient—but he was not always so.

3. His character did not spend a lifetime studying martial arts, nor did his means of
acquiring superhuman abilities in any way bestow upon him superhuman fighting
skills as well. He at first relied on his superior physical attributes and the skill came
through trial-by-fire experience.
This is well reflected in Cap’s utilitarian, no-frills fighting, which cannot always be
described as realistic, but manages to feel authentic within the context. More im-
portantly it is satisfying—which correlates to what The Winter Soldier managed to
do over and over again: satisfy. More than once I realized while watching that I, the
viewer, was being given exactly what I wanted at that given point in the movie. Es-
pecially commendable considering the movie did not succumb too much to pre-
dictability.
Shit gets real.
The Captain
Captain America, by name alone, paints a picture of the consummate über-patriot;
loyal and ever the unquestioning good soldier.
Which is not very compelling.

4. By placing the word “no” in Cap’s vocabulary the team behind The Winter Soldier
manages to add both depth and complexity to the character. A patriot without a
doubt, but not a blind one, this current incarnation of Captain America is not a yes
man, following the company line. He is more introspective, questioning himself
and his allegiances when it becomes necessary to do so. A character so uniformly
moral is usually flat and uninteresting, but here Cap comes across as dynamic and
relate-able.
The titular antagonist similarly appears initially to simply be an archetype; cold
(winter…), ruthless, unrelenting, cunning, and nearly unstoppable. Were this the
case it would still be well done as the Winter Soldier seems sufficiently sinister as
initially presented, but learning more about his sub-plot and where it may lead
makes him a compelling character in his own right. The other villains are standard
issue for the genre, and are fairly one-dimensional; though several do represent
a strong nod to the source material.
Exceeding Expectations
For someone who professes to be a critical movie-goer, this review has been awful
glowing, has it not?
To put it candidly: The Winter Soldier delivers exactly what is desired from it; epito-
mizing what a good theater movie should be. I didn’t analyze the delivery of every
line, or stay vigilant for plot holes, in the same way that I don’t sit in eager antici-
pation of a Matrix-esque shootout during a Paul Thomas Anderson movie.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier did not have to do much to surpass the origi-
nal, and with the slavering Marvel addicted masses, needed to do even less to be a
box office success. No one would have been surprised to find this franchise on
cruise control as Marvel rolls on toward The Avengers 2. Instead, we are treated to a
well-written, tightly paced, action-thriller that, like Iron Man and The Dark Knight,
can be held in judgement without the “comic book movie” moniker, and still be
found worthy.

5. This entry was posted in Movies, Z Reviews and tagged Avengers, Captain America, Chris Evans, Joss Whedon,
Marvel, Samuel Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Winter Soldier on 8 April 2014 [http://www.zbeardedone.com/z-re-
views-captain-america-winter-soldier/] .
2 Comments Z Bearded One Lori Hil1
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• Reply •
Mike Kinville • 14 hours ago
Great review. Now I've got to see the movie.
• Reply •
Z. • 14 hours agoMod Mike Kinville
Thanks. Definitely one to see in the theater.
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