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Captain America: The Winter Soldier


firedude750
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I saw this movie Friday, and I LOVED it. I've been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a while now, and I venture to say this is the best one yet. The action scenes were fantastic, the plot was intense, the villain was handled well, and the impact on future MCU movies is exciting to speculate on. What are everyone's thoughts?

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Definitely better than Avengers.

A smart movie with themes that are relevant to what's happening in the world today. Great action and acting, and really develops the characters without compromising who they are. This is the best MCU movie yet.

This is what I was waiting to see. 10/10 will watch.

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More or less what I expected from an MCU movie. Fun, well-acted and well-written. Riddled with plot holes and devices, but so entertaining and engaging that you don't really notice or mind them. Hell, I've forgotten most of them.

The allegory was a bit heavy-handed, "zomg drones r nazis!" and "the surveillance-state is fascism!" but I feel it actually served the story well, since Cap was an equally heavy-handed antithesis to the "establishment" that the movie was trying to break down.

In fact, "heavy-handed" is how I'd describe the whole movie, but it was not really a bad thing. I find that Winter Soldier pulled off heavy-handed exceedingly well.

IMO, Avengers was a more entertaining movie, The First Avenger was a more tightly knit story, and I don't think Marvel can ever recapture the innocent wonder of the first Iron Man, but I really like how they're fleshing out their cinematic universe.

I'm particularly excited for how Agents of SHIELD handles the fallout of Cap 2. The show has been good, but not great, meandering along for a while now, and this could just give Agents the kick it needs to start going somewhere.

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I could not be more pissed off right now. So I made a point not to spoil myself and avoided ads and trailers. When I went into the theater, I was spoiled right away by a featurette about Falcon that precedes the feature film. Yeah, cuz it's not like the film goes out of its way to gradually reveal aspects of Falcon's character (or even the Falcon name) or anything. That was bad enough, but it got worse: a promo for the S.H.I.E.L.D. tv show also played before the film, talking about the rift within the organization (again, not a major plot point in the movie, right?) To top it off, a guy behind me blurted out every major plot point seconds before it happened on screen. Why do I bother going to the cineplex?

So more on topic: movie was kinda boring. I was expecting more time-displacement moments from Cap to lighten things up or make him more interesting. What I got was pretty much another lead-in movie, kind of like The First Avenger.

EDIT: What amused me is that The Winter Soldier's role in the movie is pretty much the same as Tron's role in Tron Legacy -- to provide an excuse for the film's title to exist.

Edited by JH Sounds
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What amused me is that The Winter Soldier's role in the movie is pretty much the same as Tron's role in Tron Legacy -- to provide an excuse for the film's title to exist.

actually "winter soldier" is a phrase invented by Thomas Paine to refer to the soldiers who wouldn't 'quit' being soldiers when it became difficult (as opposed to the "summer soldiers" who'd join up for the revolutionary war but then drop out shortly)

the title "the winter soldier" actually refers to captain america himself

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I could not be more pissed off right now. So I made a point not to spoil myself and avoided ads and trailers. When I went into the theater, I was spoiled right away by a featurette about Falcon that precedes the feature film. Yeah, cuz it's not like the film goes out of its way to gradually reveal aspects of Falcon's character (or even the Falcon name) or anything. That was bad enough, but it got worse: a promo for the S.H.I.E.L.D. tv show also played before the film, talking about the rift within the organization (again, not a major plot point in the movie, right?) To top it off, a guy behind me blurted out every major plot point seconds before it happened on screen. Why do I bother going to the cineplex?

So more on topic: movie was kinda boring. I was expecting more time-displacement moments from Cap to lighten things up or make him more interesting. What I got was pretty much another lead-in movie, kind of like The First Avenger.

EDIT: What amused me is that The Winter Soldier's role in the movie is pretty much the same as Tron's role in Tron Legacy -- to provide an excuse for the film's title to exist.

i don't always post about how much i hate spoilers in movies, but when i do, i make sure to have a bunch of unannounced spoilers in there

sigh

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Definitely better than Avengers.

A smart movie with themes that are relevant to what's happening in the world today. Great action and acting, and really develops the characters without compromising who they are. This is the best MCU movie yet.

Gotta agree wholeheartedly, although I thought The Avengers was close behind in second. They're really trying to do two different things, and they accomplish both well: Winter Soldier was a spy thriller (albeit a bit light on the "thrill"), a deep, meaningful movie exploring modern issues and the role of the state in security and controlling of our lives, whereas The Avengers is a have-a-lot-of-laughs, fun romp in the field with lots of explosions, lasers and witty one-liners. They both accomplish exactly what they set out to do; Winter Soldier just barely edged The Avengers out in accomplishing its goal as a movie.

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Saw it yesterday. Loved the hell out of it. I guess I can use the cliched phrase "was on the edge of my seat"...

This movie kicked the absolute ass of DC's last two efforts to make "realistic" and "timely" superhero movies. Easily. It has an actual coherent plot that successfully ties in the relevant stuff/philosophy without it being the sole end-all be-all of the story (unlike Dark Knight Rises), and kept the characters as their characters in a realistic world and plot (unlike Man of Steel, which was also pretty much nothing plot-wise).

It was funny, after Avengers I was saying "man, a spy movie in this universe would be amazing!" and...I got it! :-D

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the title "the winter soldier" actually refers to captain america himself

conspiracykeanu.jpg

...but nah, I don't buy that.

i don't always post about how much i hate spoilers in movies, but when i do, i make sure to have a bunch of unannounced spoilers in there

sigh

Well, I preceded my spoilers by saying "I was spoiled right away by..." If only the theater and the guy behind me had been so kind. Anyway, I watched the film again (this time it was technically impossible for anyone to spoil me) and I enjoyed it. It's pretty much in a different genre than the other MCU movies, largely a political thriller with a little spy-tech mixed in. I think my initial boredom came from my own expectations of what the film would be, since my mind was coming off of Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.

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actually "winter soldier" is a phrase invented by Thomas Paine to refer to the soldiers who wouldn't 'quit' being soldiers when it became difficult (as opposed to the "summer soldiers" who'd join up for the revolutionary war but then drop out shortly)

the title "the winter soldier" actually refers to captain america himself

Having pretty much forgotten about Paine since I last studied him in high school, this is a connection I never would have made myself, so thanks for this interesting tidbit.

SPOILERS:

It also might have a connection to the Winter Soldier Investigation, which was an attempt to publicize Vietnam war crimes. I don't think there's an extremely solid comparison between the corruption of SHIELD and traditional war crime, but it could be said that both are acts of evil performed in the service of "the greater good", certainly in the eyes of Redford's character and the other heads of HYDRA they were the good guys doing what was necessary.

It definitely adds another layer to the film on second thought.

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I'm at least 95% sure that the title has nothing to do with Captain America himself.

I really think you guys are over-thinking the title. It's just named after the Winter Soldier himself...he's not exactly a new villain in the Marvel Universe. Any of the "connections" that Bleck or anyone else has pointed out are probably just coincidence or maybe inspirations for the Winter Soldier's code-name. Or maybe, they just went with it because it sounds badass and fits with him being a Soviet assassin.

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I felt that Silvestri's score to Avengers remains the best MCU score -- though admittedly, it had more work to do than the others as well since it joined disparate characters with differing themes across various musical genres.

Music the Captain America: Winter Soldier wasn't as memorable, save for when it quoted the original Cap film. It's a great film nonetheless though, and I think it does a fantastic job of expanding what's possible in the Marvel world.

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I'm at least 95% sure that the title has nothing to do with Captain America himself.

I really think you guys are over-thinking the title. It's just named after the Winter Soldier himself...he's not exactly a new villain in the Marvel Universe. Any of the "connections" that Bleck or anyone else has pointed out are probably just coincidence or maybe inspirations for the Winter Soldier's code-name. Or maybe, they just went with it because it sounds badass and fits with him being a Soviet assassin.

The original idea behind the Winter Soldier in the comics is almost certainly derived from those ideas, so why wouldn't those themes and motifs have been inspiration for the movie?

If those themes and ideas hadn't been present in the movie, I guarantee we would have had a different villain and a different title.

I think people underestimate how much thought goes into the subtext of these stories and scripts. I hardly find these connections tenuous enough to call it "overthinking".

Anywho, that's the end of my little rant as a film student/aspiring screenwriter.

I felt that Silvestri's score to Avengers remains the best MCU score -- though admittedly, it had more work to do than the others as well since it joined disparate characters with differing themes across various musical genres.

Music the Captain America: Winter Soldier wasn't as memorable, save for when it quoted the original Cap film. It's a great film nonetheless though, and I think it does a fantastic job of expanding what's possible in the Marvel world.

I thought Silvestri's Avengers score was rather mediocre. I've found most of the MCU scores to be entirely unremarkable. Thor 1 had a couple good tracks, and only one memorable tune, while Thor 2 was similarly solid but unexciting. I remember none of Cap 1, and I felt like Cap 2 was good at the time, though I can't remember a single melody from it to save my life.

In my opinion, the only really great MCU score was the first Iron Man. It was catchy, it was memorable, it had character, and it felt to me like quintessential Iron Man.

Edited by ArmadonRK
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I felt that Silvestri's score to Avengers remains the best MCU score -- though admittedly, it had more work to do than the others as well since it joined disparate characters with differing themes across various musical genres.

Music the Captain America: Winter Soldier wasn't as memorable, save for when it quoted the original Cap film. It's a great film nonetheless though, and I think it does a fantastic job of expanding what's possible in the Marvel world.

I can't remember any music from The Avengers. In fact, I can almost never remember any music from films unless it was a main theme like Star Wars or Pirates of The Caribbean or if it was a licensed song they included on the soundtrack.

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I haven't seen a Marvel movie since "Iron Man 3," but I want to see the second Thor and CA ones. I love how they all get connected, yet remain their own tale as well. Sucks having to wait for the new CA to hit DVD though, since it's been getting rather good reviews. But, that's the price you pay when you can't hit a movie theater in my area without taking out a loan first :lol:

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Bleck is actually very right

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The Winter Soldier is introduced in the comics as a brainwashed Bucky who was taken from the wreckage of an exploded rocket and modified with Soviet bionics. He spends the next 20-30 years doing wetwork and soldiering and having no other sense of self outside of his abilities as a soldier until he is sent on assignment to kill Cap

This is explicitly juxtaposed against Captain America, who himself has no way of fitting in with the America he returns to outside of his work as a soldier, which he throws himself into alongside the Avengers to make up for his inability to do anything else in his new present

Hero/Villain pairs in Marvel Comics are nearly always extreme mirrors of each other

Edited by relyanCe
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i really enjoyed this, although i was a bit confused by one thing that came back way too often to ignore. when thor hit cap's shield in avengers, it did what 'vibranium' was supposed to do and nullified the impact completely (like when he used to get shot, the bullets would drop to the floor). in this movie, though, how come when people punched him in the shield, he got knocked back? there shouldn't be any impact force on the metal.

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i really enjoyed this, although i was a bit confused by one thing that came back way too often to ignore. when thor hit cap's shield in avengers, it did what 'vibranium' was supposed to do and nullified the impact completely (like when he used to get shot, the bullets would drop to the floor). in this movie, though, how come when people punched him in the shield, he got knocked back? there shouldn't be any impact force on the metal.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that he had braced himself against Thor's hammer swing in The Avengers, and in this movie he hadn't done so? That is quite the inconsistency, I wouldn't have noticed that.

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