Jade Izaguirre, Campus Carrier Entertainment Editor
As part of its post-“Avengers” series of sequels, Marvel released “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4.
Unlike the stereotypical 1940s Captain America storyline that can easily be summarized by Steve Rogers throwing a shield, yelling “’merica” and freedom ringing in the end, “Winter Soldier” is a multidimensional film that retells the adventures of Captain America in a way that keeps modern viewers entertained.
The story begins with Rogers on a mission to rescue a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship that has been hijacked by pirates. While he thinks he is the one calling the shots, he discovers that Agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) a.k.a. Black Widow is on a different mission, assigned to her by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).
Upset, Rogers confronts Fury about this, to which Fury responds by showing Rogers a secret underground section of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. There Fury reveals a secret weapons project that S.H.I.E.L.D. is working on. Rogers believes that the project threatens the freedom of every American, and Fury reassures the Avenger that it will only be used against terrorists.
While the overall plot is far from stereotypical, Chris Evans still portrays the old-fashioned Captain America. Simultaneously capturing the lovable all-American personality of Steve Rogers as well as the brute strength of Captain America, Evans yet again sets a new standard for Captain America on the big screen.
Later on in the movie, Fury finds himself ambushed by a group of cops while driving. This car chase scene is one of the most exciting of all the action scenes and leads to the introduction of Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Unfortunately, the battle between Stan’s character and Fury is relatively short (hardly a battle at all, really), and the exciting action from before comes to a screeching halt when Fury makes a predictable get away.
In the next scene, Rogers finds Fury in his apartment listening to a record player. Fury silently warns the First Avenger to watch what he says because they are being monitored. Suddenly, they are ambushed yet again by Winter Soldier. Nick Fury is critically injured by several bullets to the back. Struggling for life, Fury hands the Avenger a flash drive and tells him to trust no one. While the scene leads the viewer into thinking that an epic battle between Captain America and Winter Soldier is about to unfold, the scene is merely a tease and does not last long.
Rogers then goes on a mission along with Black Widow to uncover the information from the flash drive One thing leads to another and The Captain finds himself face to face with an enemy whom he thought died with Nazi Germany.
The plot overall is extremely well-written and has few dull moments. The movie satisfied my desire to see the inclusion of often-overlooked superheroes as well as tease at the next Avengers movie. While some scenes were predictable, the character development and the revelation of the mastermind behind the attacks alone are enough to make the movie worth watching.
Conclusion: Worth seeing in theaters.