Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Back in 2011, Marvel released the first Captain America movie (it grossed $175 million domestically, and is reviewed here).  Then, Cap appeared in 2012's The Avengers, a huge hit which grossed over $600 million domestically.  This year, the Captain was big in his second solo movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Could he duplicate the success of The Avengers?

In short, no- it's hard to gross $600 million- in fact, only 4 movies have ever grossed over $500 million.  But, Cap 2 was extremely well-received by fans- so much so that some claimed it was better than The Avengers.  It fared better in theaters, too ($260 million).  Thus, it was with much anticipation that I sat down to view it last night.

In The Winter Soldier, we see Steve Rogers (Captain America) learning the ropes of living in the 21st century (remember, he was frozen for about 70 years).  He continues in the employ of SHIELD, the organization introduced in many prior Marvel movies, featuring Nick Fury at their head.  SHIELD sends him and Black Widow (also in prior movies) on a mission to save hostages on a hijacked ship.  There, they recover data that implies something is amiss- and it could have worldwide consequences.  As they look to uncover the true situation, they enlist the help of a new ally- Falcon- and encounter a deadly new foe: the Winter Soldier.

It's hard to say more about the movie without major plot spoilers, so I'll end the summary there.  Cap 2 has a more somber tone than Cap 1, and features plenty of plot twists and surprises, with implications that span back through several movies- a lot happens to the interconnected Marvel movie universe here.  On that front, I understand why people liked it.  The fighting sequences and effects were also amazing- much superior to Cap 1, and perhaps even The Avengers.  That said, I wasn't as enamored with this film as the general populace.  Some of the surprises seemed unnecessarily coincidental, which diminished them in my mind.  Some plot/character development seemed rushed, perhaps the consequence of telling such a big story in just over 2 hours.  In the end, I liked it- but I didn't love it.  Better than Cap 1?  Yes.  Better than The Avengers?  In some small ways, but not overall.  If you plan to watch other Marvel offerings in the future, I'd watch this due to its importance in the overall story arc, and you'll probably enjoy it.  Just prepare to look past a few flaws.

Rating: B+