The Marvel movies have been a lot of fun. They are entertaining and light hearted. Moreover, Marvel has brilliantly casted each film. Accordingly, I went into Captain America: The Winter Soldier (“TWS”) with the expectation that it would be fun to watch. I did not expect to be blown away the way I was. Director Joe Johnston did an excellent job with the first movie. Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo take the sequel and Marvel to a whole new level. The film is incredible. Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson are great reprising their roles as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Nick Fury, and Black Widow respectively. I really like how the film builds on Rogers’s struggles to adjust to the modern world. He is from the 1940s. Accordingly, a lot has changed in the last 70 years while he was frozen and asleep. Naturally, it is a very difficult transition. The movie does a better job than I could have ever imagined linking the first movie to the sequel even though there is a 70 year gap. Ghosts from the past, friends and foes, play pivotal roles in TWS. It also introduces a couple of exceptional new characters: Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/ Falcon and Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. I also like how other minor characters from the Marvel cinematic universe and comics are cleverly woven into the movie. On the other hand, the Winter Soldier is a deceptive title for the movie. He is weapon for the real villain and rarely has any lines. However, he is a badass, super assassin and definitely adds to the action of the movie. While the film does justice to the comic book genre with a lot of great Easter eggs for fans, it is more than just a comic book movie.

Similar to the Dark Knight trilogy, it is a great movie that includes comic book characters. In my opinion, it is the first Marvel movie to do so and it makes it very exciting to think about the future Marvel has in store for fans. It goes beyond the usual Marvel comic book movie for a couple of key reasons. First, it is a spy movie where it is difficult to determine who the good guys and bad guys are until they are revealed during the story. As a result, there are a lot of unexpected twists that makes the movie intense. In addition, Steve Rogers is confused enough trying to adapt to the modern world. Not knowing who the enemy is only adds to the disorder in his mind, which makes it even more interesting to watch. Next, the movie does a brilliant job linking its plot to current issues: 1) individual privacy and the amount of information the government should be allowed to obtain 2) the use missile strikes with drones. It forces me to think about these debates in a way I never thought about before and makes me re-evaluate my stance on them. No other Marvel movie has even attempted it. While this element makes the film darker and more serious, it has enough humor and light moments to stay within the fun tone of the other Marvel movies. It is an excellent balance. Moreover, Captain America is the unconditional idealist. It is very intriguing to view these issues from the perspective of Captain America, who is also from the Greatest Generation from the World War II era when good and evil, right and wrong were more black and white.

The film occurs after the events of the Avengers. Captain America played his part in saving the world from the Chatiuri invasion during the Battle of New York. He joins S.H.I.E.L.D. to continue to serve his country and protect freedom. He works for Director Nick Fury and alongside Natasha Romanoff, also known by her alias as the Black Widow. Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson provide great performances again reprising these roles. Continuing from the Avengers, Steve Rogers is still trying to catch up on the last 70 years. Accordingly, he has a list of items to catch up on which includes world events like the Berlin wall or pop culture like Star Wars and Star Trek. His relationship with Fury is a complicated one. While he needs to assume that Fury is a good guy, Rogers does not really trust him. In the Avengers, Fury recruited Captain America to help but withheld information that S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to develop weapons of mass destruction with the Tesseract like Hydra did in World War II. Although Fury turned out to be a good guy, his duplicitous nature as the master spy makes Rogers uncomfortable. For example, Fury sends the Black Widow on side tasks during missions that Rogers is not briefed on. Rogers comes from an era when he knew exactly who the enemies are on a battlefield and that he needed to defeat them to defend freedom. However, things in the present and in Fury’s world are very grey and not the black and white Rogers wishes it is. For these reasons, Rogers cannot fully trust Fury. In Fury’s defense, he deals with a lot of sensitive information. Consequently, it is better that he does not disclose it to anyone so there is less risk of it being leaked to the public or the wrong people. On the other hand, Fury is able to completely trust Captain America which is a rare situation for a master spy that is skeptical about everyone and everything. As such, Fury is willing to share information with Rogers, when asked, to maintain his trust and keep him onboard with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Another person Fury has a lot of trust in is Natasha Romanoff. While she is former KGB, she has proven herself time after time since then to gain Fury’s trust. I would normally question the loyalty of a double agent. However, Black Widow has proven she is on the right side in Iron Man II and the Avengers so it is no longer a real concern for me. Regardless, it is always a thought in the back of my head that she could be a triple agent in a movie where it is very unclear who the heroes and villains are. Similar to her other performances in Marvel movies, she is a very strong female character. She is smart and a great fighter. Of course, Scarlett Johansson is one of the sexiest women on Earth which never hurts. Her relationship with Captain America is an interesting one. She has a mysterious, double life past and secretly runs errands for Fury. Accordingly, there is a lot of reason for Rogers to not trust Romanoff. However, she clearly cares about Rogers. She wants to help him get acclimated and rejoin the real world. For example, she always asks about Rogers’s personal life. She tries to nudge him into getting the courage to ask women out on a date. It is also very funny as she usually brings it up during missions. There is a lot of great chemistry and some sexual tension between Captain America and Black Widow on the screen. During certain moments in the movie, they are forced to pretend to be a couple to avoid detection and capture. It includes public displays of emotions such as kissing. Accordingly, it leads the viewer to wonder whether their relationship will be plutonic or romantic. The dynamics between Rogers, Fury, and Romanoff are great in the movie. There is a lot of superb dialogue and witty lines to keep the movie light enough to be fun even though the overall tone is much darker than any other Marvel movie.

The Russo brothers also do a great job linking the first movie and its characters to TWS. For example, they were able to incorporate a cameo from Hayley Atwell, as Peggy Carter, into the movie by showing clips of documentaries she filmed after the war to speak about Captain America and her life afterwards. It helps fill in the blanks of what happened to her after the war and the first movie. Moreover, Steve visits an older Peggy in the present. She is well over 90 years old and at the end of her life. Nevertheless, the movie does an excellent job with the conversation between Steve and Peggy. In a deleted scene in the Avengers, Steve has a file that confirms Peggy is still alive. Accordingly, I was very curious to see if he would seek her out and what they would speak about. In their conversation, we learn that Peggy was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. As a result, it is one of the key reasons Steve joins the organization and stays there despite his reservations about the secrecy. Moreover, she tells Steve that she has lived a full life and that she is sorry that he never got a chance to live his life. It is a very powerful statement because it perfectly displays how much Steve has sacrificed in his life. He was willing to die for the lives of others. He crashed the Red Skull’s plane into the Atlantic to stop his weapons of mass destruction. While he survives the crash, he still lost everything besides his life. After being frozen and awakening after 70 years, time has passed him by. Most of his friends have died and he never had the chance to have a life with Peggy. It is tragic if not cruel for a man who is completely selfless. Despite the pain from the cards fate has dealt him, he continues to serve without regret or spite. It really shows the special individual he is. These short scenes with Peggy display how the film weaves the first movie and its character into the sequel without trying to force the issue and do too much. Similarly, the movie flawlessly incorporates other characters and story arcs from the first movie into TWS’s much more significant story and twists.

TWS also introduces some excellent, new characters. The first is Sam Wilson, who is played by Anthony Mackie. We are introduced to Wilson in the opening scene of the movie. He is going on an early morning run in Washington D.C. In a comical moment, Rogers repeatedly passes him on his left while shouting “On your left” thus demoralizing Wilson as he is unable to keep up. Of course, it is a little unfair since Rogers is a super soldier. He unthinkably runs 13 miles in 30 minutes. Afterwards, the two chat and instantly bond. Like Rogers, Wilson is a military man. More importantly, Wilson is also a good man who currently works at Veteran Affairs to help other former soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. The chemistry between the two characters is a perfect bromance. They have utter respect for each other because they are both honorable men but also have no problem talking smack to each other. They provide a lot of great zingers between each other that is very entertaining to watch. In addition, Wilson’s alter ego is Falcon. As part of his tour in the military as a pararescueman, he had mechanical wings that allow him to fly like a Falcon. Of course, that background comes in handy in the movie as he jumps at the chance to be an ally to Captain America. Another strong, new character in the movie is Alexander Pierce. He is portrayed by distinguished actor, Robert Redford. He has screen presence and provides an excellent performance as Pierce, who is a key leader on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s World Security Council. I like that he resembles the original Nick Fury from the comics. In the film, Pierce is a longtime friend of Nick Fury and played a key role in helping Fury ascend to his position as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. For Fury, Pierce is one of the few people he trusts. If Fury cannot trust Pierce, he cannot trust anyone. Accordingly, Pierce is Fury’s representative and supporter on the council. The depth of their friendship is portrayed very well in the film. They also have one of the funniest exchanges in the movie. When Fury asks for a favor, Pierce agrees in exchange for a price: “You gotta get Iron Man to stop by my niece’s birthday party. Not just a fly by, he’s gotta mingle.” It is an excellent scene and another example of how the film is able to subtly drop references to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wilson and Pierce are great additions to that universe.

In addition, TWS does a fine job including minor characters from the other Marvel movies and comics. My favorite is Maria Hill with Cobie Smulders reprising the role from the Avengers. She is Fury’s second in command. More importantly, she is another one of the few people he actually trusts and knows he can rely on. Although she is only in the film for a short time, she has presence and makes a significant impact. Like Black Widow, she is a strong female character with strong leadership qualities. The movie also does a very good job acknowledging the comic book fan base by dropping in some minor characters from the comics (e.g. Georges Batroc and Brock Rumlow). I have been a Marvel fan my entire life but I did not know who they were until I read up on them afterwards. I like how they just fit within the context and flow of the film. I appreciate the directors dropping in these characters for comic book fans without disrupting the story for the rest of moviegoers.

Of course, I need to touch upon the Winter Soldier. While I assumed that the story would center heavily on the mysterious Winter Soldier. I am completely wrong because the movie has an incorrect title. While he is menacing and plays his part in spectacular action scenes, he has very few lines in the movie and is not an integral part of the overall themes of the movie. For anyone not familiar with the comics, his true identity may be a shocker. For comic book fans, we already know who he really is. The reaction to the revealing of his identity played out exactly as I thought during the showing I attended. While some in the audience were shocked by the Winter Soldier’s identity, the comic book fans had a chuckle as it was obvious to us. Nevertheless, the Winter Soldier is only an instrument of the real villains. The movie is thrilling because the true antagonists are revealed during the movie. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated and is compromised. Accordingly, I have no idea who to trust and not to trust. While I can definitely believe in Captain America, everyone else’s allegiance is up for grabs. I think I can trust in Nick Fury and Black Widow but I even have some doubts about them. For this reason, the movie is very exciting to watch. In hindsight, I should have known who the villains are. However, I was completely stunned by the revelation. There are many twists and turns in TWS and I enjoyed each one.

Despite all the other brilliant aspects of TWS I note above, it is a great movie because it is the first Marvel movie to give thought provoking commentary on current social and political issues. As the Avengers cinematic universe has developed, its world has encountered escalating threats that culminated in an alien invasion of New York during the Avengers. Accordingly, people are justifiably scared and want to feel safe from the extreme threats. Tony Stark dealt with this fear in Iron Man 3 as he had many sleepless nights after the ordeal. In his paranoia, he built an excessive number of Iron Man suits to protect his loved ones from other unforeseen dangers. TWS builds on this idea and relates it to current debates. In its plot, S.H.I.E.L.D. is working on a project to eliminate threats before or as they occur. It begs to question how much freedom we are willing to sacrifice for safety. It is a genuine debate that Captain America has with Nick Fury. It is a perfect contrast of characters to support both sides of the argument. For Captain America, he is the golden boy that is straightforward and an open book. He stands for honor and justice. He is uncompromising in his stances and never gets his hands dirty. On the other hand, Fury is the master spy. Duplicity is the name of his game. He will defend his country at all costs even if he appears to be the villain at times. Both men fight for the same side but do it in very different manners. When Fury tries to educate Captain America on the merits of stopping threats before they become one, Captain America simply responds, “This isn’t freedom. This is fear.” This answer brings up a legitimate concern about the line we are willing for our government to cross to protect us.

The first part of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plan involves the collection and analysis of data to identify threats. It is similar to the NSA and other intelligence agencies gathering data and using it in counterterrorism efforts. The second part is to eliminate those threats even before they have committed a crime, which is a parallel to drone strikes. My stance on information and privacy has been that I support the government collecting information. There are a lot of threats out there and I want my government to be aware of them. I have nothing to hide. Moreover, I have yet to hear about a case where someone was convicted of a crime through information mined by an intelligence agency. In addition, I do not feel my privacy is violated if I am unaware and my private information is not used against me. Accordingly, this issue has been taboo for me. On the second issue, I believe in the use of drones as it prevents a soldier from risking his life to eliminate a target. The bigger issue is whether the President should have the power to order these strikes without an individual facing trial. In my opinion, these drone strikes are probably used properly to kill suspected or known terrorists. A decent counterpoint has been made that these individuals should be arrested and face trial. On the other hand, the individuals will normally not have a right to a trial under our Constitution as they are not American citizens. If they are known terrorists, they are enemy combatants that are subject to different guidelines. Nevertheless, I concede negatives. First, you do run the risk of killing the wrong people in the attacks. Next, it is probably too much power for one man to have to be able to issue a kill order. However, I do not think it is up to one man. The President is provided information from intelligence about targets. He is not unilaterally making the decision from start to finish. Regardless, I can agree that there needs to be more oversight of the decisions.

The film also takes it a step further by combining both ideas. What if the government used the data to identify individuals who could be dangerous in the future? Moreover, what would be our view if the government eliminates them even before they committed a crime? While it is a bit farfetched at this moment, it is a possible evolution of our drone policy. It is clear that there are many critics to our current policy. Nevertheless, there are also many people who support the use of drones to eliminate threats for the safety of our nation. TWS presents a very chilling question about how many people we are willing to kill for our safety. If a single suspected terrorist is killed, will there be much of a stir whether that man is innocent? Probably not. What if that number becomes 100 or 1,000? Are we still comfortable if it is done for our safety? An argument could be made that it is a small price to pay. Where do we draw the line? It is a very blurry line with a lot of gray area. There are over 7 billion people in the world, 20 million people is a small percentage relative to the total. From that perspective, would it make it acceptable to kill 20 million people to feel safer? No foreign country or enemy has been able to take away our freedom. In the face of tyranny, we rise up as a country and defend freedom. However, are we defeating ourselves and handing over our freedom on our own out of fear? I do not have the answers but they are haunting questions that the movie makes me think through in a way I never had before I watched it. It also shows how terrifying it could be if these powers fell into wrong hands. I walked into the movie believing I would be entertained but not need to think. I came out of the movie blown away by how it is forcing me to re-evaluate my positions. I also like that the film is able to address these issues through the eyes of Captain America, who is unconditionally honorable and also represents the Greatest Generation. It is an intriguing perspective.

While the movie is darker and more serious than other Marvel films, it still does not forget it is a comic book movie. There is a lot of fun and entertaining dialogue between all the characters. Of course, there are some spectacular action sequences that include Captain America fighting through a ship full of pirates, defeating a bunch of men trying to ambush him in an elevator after he offers an opportunity for anyone having second thoughts to step out, and taking on a Quinjet with only his shield and a motorcycle. I also enjoy how the film shows Captain America fully utilizing the shield in combat as he throws it at enemies and off objects. His shield and his use of it are iconic. In summary, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a thought provoking, thrilling, and great spy movie that includes comic book characters and story arcs. I highly recommend it. It is a must see.