Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

[Ozymandias]

Meh.  Not bad, but certainly not the ohmyfuckinggodamazingcomparabletothedarkknight talk from some people that got me in the theater.  The Winter Soldier was cool, too bad hes only in the movie for like 5-10 minutes.

 

B-/C+

Edited April 5, 2014 by Ozymandias

[mcclaine]

Said it before: CATWS is not even in the same league of TDK. 

But if you compare this with Thor: The Bore Wolrd and Irobomination Man 3, this is Citizen Kane.

Edited April 5, 2014 by mcclaine

[MrPink]

Said it before: CATWS is not even in the same league of TDK. 

But if you compare this with Thor: The Bore Wolrd and Irobomination Man 3, this is Citizen Kane.

 

Bad news for Baumer.

[mcclaine]

Bad news for Baumer.

 

I mostly like/agree what he writes....

[Jandrew]

My spoiler free review. Please check it out. http://jaysonb593.blogspot.com/2014/04/captain-america-finally-hes-my-favorite.html

[Impact]

Captain America: Winter Soldier3PM IMAX (yep my 2nd IMAX film ever, CF was my first)Nearly sold outTrailers:Lucy: Um Okay. A bunch of what is this.TF4: Great reaction, looks pretty good too.TASM2: Good reaction, looks good.Godzilla: Silence up until the title came up-uncontrollable laughter then.X-Men: Some comments, look good.Maleficent: Some talking.Guardians: Some laughs and some I want to see that.Movie: Very good. 2nd best Marvel film (Avengers is the best still). Captain America is a great hero and love Black Widow, what a hottie. His new partner is great (Falcon). Some great twists, score was pretty good too. This was probably the most violent and dark of the Marvel movies (well I should say Avengers films). I really am waiting for CA3 now!A

[Cmasterclay]

It has some really great moments and is generally a very fun spy thriller, though it goes way too convoluted "let's shout/blow things up in multiple, confusing places!" at the end and it feels super conventional.Plus, Winter Soldier was very underutilized.  But the cast is awesome, it's funny without being too funny (hello IM3), and overall, it isn't ever not enjoyable. Probably the third or so best Marvel movie. But LMFAOOOOO at all the Dark Knight comparisons. It's just a good, fun action movie, nothing transcendent or "bold" like people seem to think it is thematically. 

[Magic]

It was fine. I don't see what all the fuss is about though. Pretty much agree with Ozymandias.

 

Maybe I'm growing out of these films a bit. I'm turning more and more towards premium dramas on television for my entertainment. They seem to deliver much more content, much better content and be able to back it up season after season. With these franchises you are lucky if you can get two good films in a row. Even then, the tent-pole definition of "good" and the cable drama definition are two completely different things. 

 

It's hard going from watching stuff like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, True Detective, Justified, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Mad Men (as I have been very recently), to watching these types of films. I'm not excited about them the same way I used to be. I'm not as easily satisfied as I once was. Those shows stick with you in a way that these films just don't.

 

I think I might be losing interest in film as a format too. It's not as rewarding as long-form storytelling. 

Edited April 5, 2014 by Magic

[Ent]

It has some really great moments and is generally a very fun spy thriller, though it goes way too convoluted "let's shout/blow things up in multiple, confusing places!" at the end and it feels super conventional.Plus, Winter Soldier was very underutilized.  But the cast is awesome, it's funny without being too funny (hello IM3), and overall, it isn't ever not enjoyable. Probably the third or so best Marvel movie. But LMFAOOOOO at all the Dark Knight comparisons. It's just a good, fun action movie, nothing transcendent or "bold" like people seem to think it is thematically. 

I do not think TDK trenscends the genre either.  It was the jocker show through and through with a wasted third act with Two face.

 

However, the one CBM movie that really trenscends the genre is Batman Begins wich is vastly superior to TDK. TDK is just more entertaining,  alighter version with subtle comic elements with the joker leading the show while Batman plays third fiddle after him and Harvey Dent.

 

BB introduced the dark, gritty, dramatic athmosphere that never existed before.  TDK followed the same formula but was lighter because The Joker is a cynical yet funny character who wasn't even going after Batman the way a generic straight up villain would, like a terminator or an Hannibal Lector.

 

So no, TDK didn't trenscends the genre at all, BB did.  BB is underated and TDK overrated in that prospect.  Juts like most people think Terminator 2 is better than Terminator 1 when the first one is superior and really revolutionized a genre.

 

I am not one to compare TDK to CAWS but i think those who have done it, especially the critics who have done it, firstly overate TDK which has taken the place of BB when it comes to revolutionizing/trenscanding the genren the mindset of people and second, used the comparison in a way to say CAWS like TDK (BB) has introduced something new to the genre.  Both are not typical CMB genres,  One is a crime thriller, the other is a political thriller mixed some elements of an action movie.

 

That's where i think the comparison lies.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Ent

[Adm56]

I'm really surprised that no one else is commenting on the overall gray-ness of the movie. I'll admit that it's a minor point...the film was otherwise enjoyable with some good to great action sequences (anything where Cap gets to really display his powers and the attack on Nick Fury stand out) but at the end I was almost cheering when a tree appeared...anything to get some relief from the lack of color in the film.

 

Basically between action sequences my eyeballs were bored by all the blank concrete on display. And SHIELD looked very low tech...I preferred their aesthetic in Avengers (or even Agents of SHIELD...despite how much that show sucks).  I realize it was probably intentional (the whole 70s vibe) but I think it was a bad choice.  Hell I would have settled for a vase of flowers in Robert Redford's office...too much of the movie takes place in that boring room.

 

Last summer I got to visit one of the sets for a major summer tent pole film and I was amazed at the amount of detail that went into dressing the set...I doubt much of would even register on camera but they do it anyways. Having had that experience I don't understand why you would intentionally go with sets that lack ANY detail. But once again I suppose their lack of detail IS a detail....it's just boring and seems lazy.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Adm56

[Adm56]

And while this may be a bridge too far this movie worries me a bit because when combined with IM3 it seems like we're finally seeing a bit of a trend (we'll see if it continues) where Marvel (like that OTHER comic book company) seems almost embarrassed by their costumes.

 

I was disappointed by the amount of time Tony Stark was actually in the armor in IM3 but at least you could say that they were maximizing the amount of RDJ charisma that was on display.

 

In this movie Steve Rodgers doesn't wear a mask and is fully visible at all times but he still spends 90% of the movie in his street clothes rather than his iconic costume. And while I understand darkening the shield for covert ops I wish they would have done away with that earlier...it only achieves it's normal iconic coolness towards the end of the film.

[Hatebox]

I've seen Phantom Menace about ten times.  I still have no idea what the plot in that film is.  

 

Don't worry - Lucas didn't know either.

[4815162342]

Huh? TPM's plot is pretty easy to follow.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Numbers of House Stark

[Hatebox]

Huh? TPM's plot is pretty easy to follow.

 

If you actually look into it beyond the surface it makes no sense, I assure you. AotC was even more convoluted, but this isn't thread for this discussion.

[4815162342]

If you actually look into it beyond the surface it makes no sense, I assure you.

 

And I assure you the contrary.

[Plain Old Tele]

Darth Sideous decides to take over the galaxy by manipulating the Nemoidians and Trade Federation into a blockade and invasion of Naboo, thus creating a crisis that will escalate and cause the current president to be deposed and him (as Palpatine) to be elected as leader of the Senate, while relying on the Jedi to stop the Nemoidians (because if the invasion was successful his plan is ruined, no?). Or something. It relies on all sorts of conveniences and retroactive conclusions, but I suppose you can wave those away because he's so far-sighted and strong in the Dark Side, right?Right? It's been awhile since I've seen it.

[4815162342]

Darth Sideous decides to take over the galaxy by manipulating the Nemoidians and Trade Federation into a blockade and invasion of Naboo, thus creating a crisis that will escalate and cause the current president to be deposed and him (as Palpatine) to be elected as leader of the Senate, while relying on the Jedi to stop the Nemoidians (because if the invasion was successful his plan is ruined, no?). Or something. It relies on all sorts of conveniences and retroactive conclusions, but I suppose you can wave those away because he's so far-sighted and strong in the Dark Side, right?Right? It's been awhile since I've seen it.

 

Basically, though he doesn't need the Jedi to succeed in anything. Them getting Amidala to Coruscant was a nice bonus that allowed for an immediate no-confidence vote against Valorum instead of a more slow and cautious political approach, but once Palpatine's name was put forward as a candidate to replace Valorum, what actually happened on Naboo (aka most of the third act) was actually irrelevant to his own endgame since the Coruscant politics were the key at that point. If Maul kills the Jedi and the Trade Federation wipes out Amidala, the Gungans, etc, the backlash against the Trade Federation only escalates further and he gets bonus sympathy votes in the Senate. And if the Jedi/Amidala succeed, then it provides a major rebuke to the Trade Federation that wipes out a lot of their political clout in the Senate and ensures the candidate they presumably back (the one from Malastare who is one of the three nominated including Palpatine) does not win the recall election.

 

It's a plan where all roads lead to victory, with just differences in the how and timing.

 

 

 

The EU provides some more detail about how Palpatine has his political connections all ready to go, but we know how Tele feels about the EU 

Edited April 5, 2014 by Numbers of House Stark

[baumer]

Where as ANH was about rescuing a princess. Lol

[Adm56]

Is there a Phantom Menace review thread?

 

Back to Cap 2....I thought it was pretty video gamey with the whole 'do this thing three times' portion of the finale. That sort of thing gets old enough when they use it to pad out video game lengths....I don't think it really added that much to the film.  Other than that and the fact that the whole evil plan was a bit far fetched even for a comic book was really the only thing that bothered me. Oh wait I forgot about the info dump in the abandoned bunker.....that was a bit jarring as well.

 

But at least the attempts to fuse modern political issues into this film worked better than the heavy handed terrorism and drone angle in Star Trek Into Darkness!

[Plain Old Tele]

STID, IM3, and CAP2 were all about the same to me in terms of contemporary politics.