Captain America: The Winter Soldier review
I’ll put my cards on the table in my first film review for The Spalding and South Holland Voice – I’m a massive Marvel geek.
So, although Captain America’s latest outing is maybe a week older than I’d like, it still feels like the biggest film out at the moment.
And it’s safe to say that The Winter Soldier is Marvel’s best offering since 2012’s ‘The Avengers Assemble’, with the events of the 2.15hour epic likely to reshape their unique universe in a big way.
We find Cap (Steve Rogers to his pals), who is again played expertly by Chris Evans, a little lost in his ways as he adapts to life as the tip of S.H.I.E.L.D’s offensive spear.
Working with Marvel stalwarts Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Natasha Romanov/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), our hero just doesn’t feel like he belongs.
But when the world as he now knows it comes under threat, there’s no better man for the job of saving it.
What follows is a real powerhouse of a movie, which effortlessly flicks between the genres. At times you’ll feel like you’re watching a spy thriller, rather than the straight-up action blockbuster Marvel seem to serve-up with ease.
Of the new character additions to the Marvel juggernaut, Sebastian Stan’s genuinely terrifying ‘Winter Soldier’ (pictured) is the star turn.
While not wishing to spoil anything for you, there is more to mysterious suped-up assassin than initially meets the eye.
Other notable Marvel debutants are Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce and Anthony Mackie as Cap’s sidekick Falcon.
But it’s the character development of Rogers, Fury and Romanov that make this such a classic.
Despite his complicated back story, Captain America now feels like the most human of the Avengers, while Fury’s world is changed forever and a conflicted Romanov is left questioning her morality.
With The Avengers: Age of Ultron coming in 2015, I’m excited to see how Marvel now adapt their universe.
Watched at Peterborough Showcase. Score 4/5
Reviewed next week: The Amazing Spiderman 2