Captain America’s latest adventure is a solid addition to the series

Sean Hobbs Staff Writer

Despite The Winter Soldier’s refusal to wrestle with the true difficulties of morality, the film is still exciting and fun, and one of the best entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Starting off on a high note, the film delivers a glimpse of the day-to-day life of a superhuman that not a lot of other superhero films show, in a way that perfectly illustrates Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) unique cryostasis situation. Unlike the older Spiderman films, it thankfully doesn’t lag on this aspect.

The film soon drops the viewer into what is essentially a Captain America “Best of” reel as he fights his way through a cargo ship that has been taken over by pirates. The scene is fun, exciting, and full of snappy dialogue, especially between   Rogers and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). It also introduces the viewer to what will become one of the key elements of the films plot.

The relationship between Rogers and Romanoff is well  handled throughout the film. Some fans have expressed desire to see the two of them get together, as the trailers hint at, and the film dances around the idea rather masterfully, but chooses mostly to focus on the action.

Everything after this is a trade-off of action scenes to dialogue scenes, providing some much needed respite from the otherwise breakneck speed.

In the beginning of the film, the plot appeared to revolve around the murkiness of morality that comes with national security, debating the politics of freedom versus safety, and their respective values. It looked to be a smart and difficult subject to tackle, and was an exciting prospect for a film genre that is usually written off as childish.

Unfortunately, though it doesn’t make the film less enjoyable, ‘The Winter Soldier’ abandons a grey area plotline for a more black and white, good versus bad story.

Having said that, the movie does an excellent job with its titular villain, the winter soldier. Though the film doesn’t focus heavily on it, his character brings up questions about what it means to be a person.

In addition to supplementing the otherwise morality– free plot, the winter soldier is an action film dream; a cool-headed unstoppable force. Fans of the comics will know whom this elusive character is going into the film, but it serves as a good reveal regardless.

The films’ ending sets it up perfectly for a sequel, as does one of the two—that’s right, two— after-the-credits scenes.

The other scene gives a brief glimpse towards the events of the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, coming in 2015. Though brief, it’s jam packed with hints and new information.

Overall, the film is exciting, tense, and doesn’t take itself overly seriously. While the plot ends up being thinner than expected, there is hardly a break.

4 out of 5 stars.