Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Apr. 5th, 2014 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amanuensis1My take on Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
(Non-spoilery stuff above the cut)
Okay, I thought there was one special effect that wasn't very good and there were a couple of elements I thought were underused, but, other than that? Damn, this was a terrific flick. This is the Captain America movie I've been waiting for, the one that would let me feel Steve Rogers on a gut level. Thirty seconds in I was saying, "I already love this movie," and five minutes in I was saying, "I really already love this movie," because, yes, at last, Steve Rogers. Cap. YES. I feel it now. I get it. The man who smells like fresh applesauce and freedom; I salute it at last. This is the Captain America I thought I was signing on for and this movie has made me very happy.
No secret that Marvel Phase Two hasn't been a hit with me so far; I thought Iron Man 3 was irreverent and kinda annoying and lacking any sense of threat, while Thor 2 was mostly dull. I tried not to get my hopes up too high for this one as a result but it just kept looking so damn good in the previews, I couldn't help but pin some hopes on it. I'm so glad this one hit the mark for me.
It really got me right from the opening (as the camera started to pan I said, "Here come some D.C. monuments, I betcha...oh, look, Washington Monument itself") and the raid on the ship that followed had me pointing my finger at the screen hissing, "This, THIS, this is the Cap film I wanted!"
I'm so happy with how hard-ass Natasha was--she was very much The Black Widow here, a solo operative who works with peripherals (rather than team members). Watching her in her element, and watching her find new comfort zones as her loyalties are forced to shift felt so very Black Widow. And I loved how she and Steve played off each other to become "I will always have your back" people. They had already been "I trust your judgment without asking questions" people in The Avengers and seeing them take this step further, yeah, loved it.
My favorite, favorite thing in the whole movie was the Smithsonian exhibition. I WAS CLUTCHING MY HEART THE ENTIRE TIME. OH. WHY IS THAT NOT A REAL THING I WANT THAT TO BE A REAL THING. (WITH GARY SINISE'S VOICE WHICH I THOUGHT WAS RDJ'S AT FIRST BUT THAT WORKS TOO, WORKS REAL GOOD.) The S.O. wasn't able to see the movie with me yet and I'm not spoiling anything for him, but I told him, "There is a scene not too long into the movie where you are going to CRY. Big, gulpy gooey man-tears." He totally will.
I loved the elevator scene--not the elevator fight, but the quiet talky Steve-Nick "Fury anecdotes about his grandfather the elevator operator" scene. Pure gold. The sort of scene that makes you yell, "I am so happy they kept this scene in the movie and didn't cut it to make way for MORE FIGHTING."
(But the elevator fight was great too, zero argument.)
For a movie subtitled The Winter Soldier, there wasn't all that much Winter Soldier in it, was there? I mean, there was a lot of him, but not in a "this is the main focus of the film" thing that a subtitle would suggest. They could more accurately have called this movie Captain America: America's Winter and been more on the mark. I'm thinking they thought there would be more of him in early drafts? I thought they used the Winter Soldier well nonetheless, such a terrific emotional wound point that kept coming back in larger doses, all that delicious angst sandwiched into what looks like hand-to-hand combat; yeah, right, whatever you wanna call it. I'd never even heard of the Winter Soldier before the MCU but this made me want to see more of him. And cuddle the hell out of his brainwashed broken bod. And imagine Steve doing the same.
I had been saying that if they didn't include the "Who the hell is Bucky?" line, the comics fans would go apeshit, and if they did include it, they'd also go apeshit. So, either way, apeshit. Glad it's a happy apeshit for 'em.
If I had come into this movie as a Falcon fan, wanting to see what they did with the Falcon, I would have been disappointed. I absolutely loved what they did with Sam Wilson as a character in the movie, but since this was Cap's movie, they deliberately downplayed the Falcon's super-heroics; grounding him as they did so that Cap could save the day alone would have upset me, had I been gunning for the Falcon to hold a piece of the film as large as Cap's. But I wasn't. And this wasn't an Avengers movie, where everyone does their part and nobody gets taken out of the action so that the lead can do his/her thing. So I enjoyed Sam immensely but if there are Falcon fans who feel disappointed I'll understand where they're coming from.
On the other hand Sharon was perfect. Nicely, nicely used to good effect in that smallish role. I feel very rah-rah about her character right now; something about the way Emily Van Camp brought her to life connected with me.
The one special effect that didn't work? Peggy's old lady make up was just wrong. Ninety-year-old eyes need a misty ring around 'em and her teeth needed to be way less perfect and, gah. It was just wrong wrong wrong.
If I hadn't seen stills from the movie I would have missed Natasha's arrow necklace--it's tiny and her hair kept hiding it--but I knew it was there and kept looking for it and look look it's not just there during the time they're undercover on the run but she's wearing it in the last scene she keeps it eeeeeeeeee. *clintasha hearts all over th' place*
Nick Fury And His Talking Car is my new favorite buddy cop movie. I could have watched that for an hour.
Am sad they made Sitwell a traitor and then offed him. He was a very affable traitor, I noticed.
Didn't love this as much as The Avengers but this is definitely the Cap movie I needed. THANK YOU.
(Non-spoilery stuff above the cut)
Okay, I thought there was one special effect that wasn't very good and there were a couple of elements I thought were underused, but, other than that? Damn, this was a terrific flick. This is the Captain America movie I've been waiting for, the one that would let me feel Steve Rogers on a gut level. Thirty seconds in I was saying, "I already love this movie," and five minutes in I was saying, "I really already love this movie," because, yes, at last, Steve Rogers. Cap. YES. I feel it now. I get it. The man who smells like fresh applesauce and freedom; I salute it at last. This is the Captain America I thought I was signing on for and this movie has made me very happy.
No secret that Marvel Phase Two hasn't been a hit with me so far; I thought Iron Man 3 was irreverent and kinda annoying and lacking any sense of threat, while Thor 2 was mostly dull. I tried not to get my hopes up too high for this one as a result but it just kept looking so damn good in the previews, I couldn't help but pin some hopes on it. I'm so glad this one hit the mark for me.
It really got me right from the opening (as the camera started to pan I said, "Here come some D.C. monuments, I betcha...oh, look, Washington Monument itself") and the raid on the ship that followed had me pointing my finger at the screen hissing, "This, THIS, this is the Cap film I wanted!"
I'm so happy with how hard-ass Natasha was--she was very much The Black Widow here, a solo operative who works with peripherals (rather than team members). Watching her in her element, and watching her find new comfort zones as her loyalties are forced to shift felt so very Black Widow. And I loved how she and Steve played off each other to become "I will always have your back" people. They had already been "I trust your judgment without asking questions" people in The Avengers and seeing them take this step further, yeah, loved it.
My favorite, favorite thing in the whole movie was the Smithsonian exhibition. I WAS CLUTCHING MY HEART THE ENTIRE TIME. OH. WHY IS THAT NOT A REAL THING I WANT THAT TO BE A REAL THING. (WITH GARY SINISE'S VOICE WHICH I THOUGHT WAS RDJ'S AT FIRST BUT THAT WORKS TOO, WORKS REAL GOOD.) The S.O. wasn't able to see the movie with me yet and I'm not spoiling anything for him, but I told him, "There is a scene not too long into the movie where you are going to CRY. Big, gulpy gooey man-tears." He totally will.
I loved the elevator scene--not the elevator fight, but the quiet talky Steve-Nick "Fury anecdotes about his grandfather the elevator operator" scene. Pure gold. The sort of scene that makes you yell, "I am so happy they kept this scene in the movie and didn't cut it to make way for MORE FIGHTING."
(But the elevator fight was great too, zero argument.)
For a movie subtitled The Winter Soldier, there wasn't all that much Winter Soldier in it, was there? I mean, there was a lot of him, but not in a "this is the main focus of the film" thing that a subtitle would suggest. They could more accurately have called this movie Captain America: America's Winter and been more on the mark. I'm thinking they thought there would be more of him in early drafts? I thought they used the Winter Soldier well nonetheless, such a terrific emotional wound point that kept coming back in larger doses, all that delicious angst sandwiched into what looks like hand-to-hand combat; yeah, right, whatever you wanna call it. I'd never even heard of the Winter Soldier before the MCU but this made me want to see more of him. And cuddle the hell out of his brainwashed broken bod. And imagine Steve doing the same.
I had been saying that if they didn't include the "Who the hell is Bucky?" line, the comics fans would go apeshit, and if they did include it, they'd also go apeshit. So, either way, apeshit. Glad it's a happy apeshit for 'em.
If I had come into this movie as a Falcon fan, wanting to see what they did with the Falcon, I would have been disappointed. I absolutely loved what they did with Sam Wilson as a character in the movie, but since this was Cap's movie, they deliberately downplayed the Falcon's super-heroics; grounding him as they did so that Cap could save the day alone would have upset me, had I been gunning for the Falcon to hold a piece of the film as large as Cap's. But I wasn't. And this wasn't an Avengers movie, where everyone does their part and nobody gets taken out of the action so that the lead can do his/her thing. So I enjoyed Sam immensely but if there are Falcon fans who feel disappointed I'll understand where they're coming from.
On the other hand Sharon was perfect. Nicely, nicely used to good effect in that smallish role. I feel very rah-rah about her character right now; something about the way Emily Van Camp brought her to life connected with me.
The one special effect that didn't work? Peggy's old lady make up was just wrong. Ninety-year-old eyes need a misty ring around 'em and her teeth needed to be way less perfect and, gah. It was just wrong wrong wrong.
If I hadn't seen stills from the movie I would have missed Natasha's arrow necklace--it's tiny and her hair kept hiding it--but I knew it was there and kept looking for it and look look it's not just there during the time they're undercover on the run but she's wearing it in the last scene she keeps it eeeeeeeeee. *clintasha hearts all over th' place*
Nick Fury And His Talking Car is my new favorite buddy cop movie. I could have watched that for an hour.
Am sad they made Sitwell a traitor and then offed him. He was a very affable traitor, I noticed.
Didn't love this as much as The Avengers but this is definitely the Cap movie I needed. THANK YOU.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 12:44 am (UTC)I think they had a ton of Redford in this movie instead of a ton of Bucky. Which was kind of weird. But I think we will see All About Bucky in Cap 3.
At least I hope so.
I adored Natasah in this movie, and when Maria took her helmet off in the truck I gasped REALLY LOUD. My son had to grab my arm to keep me from screaming inapproprieatley.
Can't wait to see it again.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 01:13 am (UTC)Good point! Maybe once they cast Redford they said, "We have to use him, it's Robert Redford!"
I thought Maria in the truck was going to turn out to be Fury! 'Cos I knew he couldn't be dead, he had one more line in the trailer. ^_^
I'm really looking forward to see this with the S.O. and watching him choke up in the Smithsonian scene.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 12:43 pm (UTC)Ahwell, I mostly just agree with you, I think. The Winter Soldier is a favourite comic arc of mine, and they did enough with it that I'm pleased - I look forward to see where they'll take Bucky next. (Yes, Cap 3 may well be a lot about him. And Cap 4 may be all Bucky.)
Natasha! \0/ This is all I have to say to her part :)
Oh, hey, and thanks for pointing out what it was that was wrong about Peggy's makeup. I couldn't place it, it just looked off.
And I just have to add that Iron Man 3 was such a disappointment to me. With 1 and 2 being some of my favourites, I was so let down! Thor: TDW was fun and entertaining and far better, so it perked me up a bit. But this, this one is definitely the cream of Phase 2!
no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 01:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 08:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-08 10:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-08 12:22 pm (UTC)As a non-American I initially had an instinctive resistance to a hero called "Captain America" - until I found out that he's not what Loki jokingly makes him out to be in Thor: The Dark World. (Something Chris Evans commented about doing that parody - that it was all he'd tried NOT to do for years.) Steve is a Good Man, and being Steve Rogers is what makes him a hero, not his title. Which he abandons when it's too constraining or plain in the way of his moral standards. So yeah, I love him now :) Because he's Steve Motherfucking Rogers.