There's something interesting about a midnight screening. Perhaps it's the exclusivity - being the first one to see a movie, being able to call it before anyone else, and when they ask the next day you, bleary-eyed and proud, can stand up and say "Yes! I have seen that movie!". Perhaps it's the silence as you step out of the cinema and realise it's nearly three in the morning - the one time of day you can see a movie and the sky looks pretty much the same when you leave as when you went in. Perhaps it's just the fact that it's midnight - it's always been a pretty special time.
Whatever the reason, I expected something special out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And I can't say I was disappointed.
The film opens well, introducing the character of Sam Wilson and re-establishing Steve Roger's easygoing, friendly nature outside of his suit. Captain America has been one of my favourite heroes since I saw The First Avenger on DVD (I never did go see it in the cinema), and Chris Evans shone as the star-spangled super throughout Avengers Assemble. He was a different kind of hero, not tortured by his past but confused by our present, and his openness and honesty are what connected with me the first time round. We see it again here as he laps Wilson for the fourth or fifth time and, as the paratrooper is catching his breath in the shade of a tree, performing an easy back-and-forth banter with him. It shows how relaxed Rogers is as a character, he takes everything in his stride, and that makes for an interesting clash as he dons the stars and stripes and leaps out of a helijet for his next mission.
It's the scene we've all scene from the trailers, and it's even more impressive in full; a teaser was released which showed the raid on the S.H.I.E.L.D cargo tanker in a reduced capacity, and the extra scenes really tie it together and make it an exhilarating action scene. The whole stealth sequence leading up to the fight between Cap and Batroc the leaper is intense and fast-paced, and it shows that Rogers isn't one to mess around when he's got a mission - he dispatches enemies in one or two hits, his kicks propelling them through the air until they collide with railings or fall over the edge of the ship. Which makes Batroc even more impressive, as he keeps up with Rogers and even lands a few impressive hits against him. It's a shame, really, that he doesn't have more of a hand in the whole movie.
Sorry, spoilers I guess. But you really went to see The Winter Soldier for two things, didn't you: First, the titular Winter Soldier, who most of you ought to know by now is not Batroc the Leaper; second, Scarlett Johansson in that catsuit again. Yowzah.
After the opening (in which S.H.I.E.L.D secrets are revealed which don't entirely please Rogers - I'll do a whole summary tomorrow, in a big spoileriffic post) we begin to see Rogers as he is after the events of AA; he's still the hero he used to be, but he's far more cynical, jaded. He's seen the things S.H.I.E.L.D are capable of and he knows they aren't to be trusted, but there are those he's close to within the organisation - the conflict is clear, and the stage is set. So it's no surprise when he goes on the run as a fugitive against them (that's not a spoiler, it was in one of the trailers).
And I think that's the problem with The Winter Soldier. You see, it plays like 2001: A Space Odyssey crossed with the Bourne franchise, but it's all very formulaic. As the movie goes on you know x isn't dead or y is really a bad guy, you know who's going to turn out good and who's going to turn out evil; the only surprise comes in the form of a left-field Big Bad and the mysterious Agent 13. For all that it's a good movie - there are a lot of fun moments, and the opening establishes both character and foreshadowing incredibly effectively - it's a very unimaginative one, and the only thing which keeps it going is Anthony Mackie in a CGI flight-suit and the hopes that, sometime before the last ten minutes, Bucky and the Cap (as if you didn't know; everybody's been saying it on the internet for months) will team up and take down the bad guys.
Overall it's a good movie, with some stunning fights and some great cinematography, but it really could have benefitted from a more imaginative scripting team.
Oh, and before you go: stay for the first end-credits scene, but don't wait for the final one. It's ultimately unsatisfying and adds nothing to the film, whereas the first one is a great teaser for the upcoming Age of Ultron and adds a couple of new villains to the mix.
So that's Captain America, in short. The shorter, rantier spoileriffic blog post will be up tomorrow, because there are something I can't say in this one which really need to be said.
Adieu!
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