Captain America teams up with Black Widow to uncover a conspiracy at the highest levels of government while also meeting an old friend who’s become a killing machine.
Where Captain America: The First Avenger felt like a 1950s war movie, The Winter Solder feels like a 1970s spy thriller, just with a lot more exploding flying ships. While some MCU films have aimed low and avoided heavier thematic elements, the second solo outing for Captain America goes for broke, and wins. The story is complex, but makes sense and is easy to follow. Steve Rogers goes through substantial changes, and lets us examine the meanings of freedom, safety, and tyranny, though him, and how these three things overlap in uncomfortable ways. The movie does all that while delivering an almost excessive amount of action and slipping into buddy movie mode from time to time. It also introduces a new hero in Falcon, as well as two of the better villains.
I didn’t think Marvel could pull off one good Captain America movie. Two was a shock. It seems, with good writing, clear directing, and the right star, an old fashioned hero can work in his own time, and in our times, commenting on both.