Captain America: The Winter Soldier
MCU, congratulations on another great outing. I do believe I love Cap even more now than I did before.
First of all, I love the way Chris Evans plays Cap. There's not even a hint of cynicism in his portrayal, which is perfect, since Cap hasn't got a single cynical bone in his body. When he discovers he's been betrayed in any way, he's hurt. Natasha (why did it not occur to me before what a great foil she would make for him?) expects to be told half-truths, untruths and outright whoppers and takes them in stride. Not so with Cap--though, it must be emphasized, this does not make him stupid. He sees the attack in the elevator coming and doesn't hesitate to disable the guys he's fought alongside. But still, Cap looks for the good in everyone he meets. There's a sweetness and innocence about him, even with all he's seen and done. It's something you just don't see in cinema these days, not without a heavy dose of winking-at-the-audience, and Evans doesn't wink. He's found a truth in Steve Rogers and plays it straight, and it works. He won't always be a "specimen", but if he nurtures his talent, I have a feeling he'll have a comfortable place in Hollywood for years to come.
Natasha--like I said, terrific foil, and I'm really pleased with her role in this movie. She gets nearly as much screen time as Cap and basically serves as co-lead. Her skill set is in some ways the opposite of his. She has to walk him through dissembling, losing himself in a crowd to avoid detection. That doesn't come naturally to him. Never did, even before he became a super-soldier. Cap's honest; Natasha, by training and probably nature, is not. Pairing up with her enabled him to evade detection and discover the truth behind SHIELD and HYDRA.
And he affects her, too. Like so many people, she seems to want to live up to the good he sees in her. She's able to open up to him about how it feels to have gone straight, only to find out the bad guys have been using you anyway.
Meanwhile, Sam fills in a different foil position, that of a combat vet who's still recovering from all he's seen and done, much like Steve himself. Sam and Steve fall into an easy camaraderie, and it gives Sam the impetus to get back in the game. You can't tell me he didn't miss his wings. Anthony Mackie and Chris Evans had great chemistry, and I'm looking forward to seeing them in CA3. Also, Anthony Mackie, apropos of nothing, needs to play Sanya in The Dresden Files.
As for the plot, well, they went there, they really went there. The Winter Soldier, cool a concept as he was, wasn't the actual villain here. HYDRA discovered a nasty little secret in the human psyche: We'll fight tooth and nail if you try to drag us away to prison, but we'll create our own dungeons and lock ourselves in if you convince us what's on the outside is bad enough. How much freedom are we willing to trade for security? That's a question we're all asking lately.
Anyway, I was left with a lot of what the kids call "feels" and went looking for fic. One of my favorites was about Sam: Wings. Spoilers for the whole movie, of course.
First of all, I love the way Chris Evans plays Cap. There's not even a hint of cynicism in his portrayal, which is perfect, since Cap hasn't got a single cynical bone in his body. When he discovers he's been betrayed in any way, he's hurt. Natasha (why did it not occur to me before what a great foil she would make for him?) expects to be told half-truths, untruths and outright whoppers and takes them in stride. Not so with Cap--though, it must be emphasized, this does not make him stupid. He sees the attack in the elevator coming and doesn't hesitate to disable the guys he's fought alongside. But still, Cap looks for the good in everyone he meets. There's a sweetness and innocence about him, even with all he's seen and done. It's something you just don't see in cinema these days, not without a heavy dose of winking-at-the-audience, and Evans doesn't wink. He's found a truth in Steve Rogers and plays it straight, and it works. He won't always be a "specimen", but if he nurtures his talent, I have a feeling he'll have a comfortable place in Hollywood for years to come.
Natasha--like I said, terrific foil, and I'm really pleased with her role in this movie. She gets nearly as much screen time as Cap and basically serves as co-lead. Her skill set is in some ways the opposite of his. She has to walk him through dissembling, losing himself in a crowd to avoid detection. That doesn't come naturally to him. Never did, even before he became a super-soldier. Cap's honest; Natasha, by training and probably nature, is not. Pairing up with her enabled him to evade detection and discover the truth behind SHIELD and HYDRA.
And he affects her, too. Like so many people, she seems to want to live up to the good he sees in her. She's able to open up to him about how it feels to have gone straight, only to find out the bad guys have been using you anyway.
Meanwhile, Sam fills in a different foil position, that of a combat vet who's still recovering from all he's seen and done, much like Steve himself. Sam and Steve fall into an easy camaraderie, and it gives Sam the impetus to get back in the game. You can't tell me he didn't miss his wings. Anthony Mackie and Chris Evans had great chemistry, and I'm looking forward to seeing them in CA3. Also, Anthony Mackie, apropos of nothing, needs to play Sanya in The Dresden Files.
As for the plot, well, they went there, they really went there. The Winter Soldier, cool a concept as he was, wasn't the actual villain here. HYDRA discovered a nasty little secret in the human psyche: We'll fight tooth and nail if you try to drag us away to prison, but we'll create our own dungeons and lock ourselves in if you convince us what's on the outside is bad enough. How much freedom are we willing to trade for security? That's a question we're all asking lately.
Anyway, I was left with a lot of what the kids call "feels" and went looking for fic. One of my favorites was about Sam: Wings. Spoilers for the whole movie, of course.