Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Watching the Marvel's first offering - Captain America, the First Avenger was disappointing. The super hero seen on the big screen did not remind me of the Captain America I grew up with. The sheer agility, brash athleticism of Cap was not really there, the shield presence, importance and control wasn’t there. Worse still Cap was being ridiculed in the sense that before he became super he was made a parody of himself;  short in a comical way, skinny with an uncannily big head; a visage that the camera and script intentionally appeared to make fun of in a distasteful sort of way, as though the viewfinder was a school yard bully trying to get the audience in the movie theatre to laugh at or poke fun at an innocent kid. It is as though the camera lens and script attempts to say “if you look like this you are a joke”, when in fact people can look like that or be diminutive and still be cool, charming and confident  - they don’t have to look like Cap to be attractive, personality also plays a major role in this not just physique. We see this desire to ridicule Cap’s former size momentarily in Winter Soldier when there is a flashback where he and Bucky are standing on a porch; the high camera angle seems to attempt to ridicule Cap’s Hobbit-like size. This silly extreme still doesn’t translate well to the big screen, in my view it was and still is a distasteful mistake that should be discarded and reworked, it seems too much like an attempt to ridicule a body type. It takes something ephemeral away from Cap, tries to represent him as loser with a make over using inappropriate images. In an effort to show how great the transformation was, it was a mistake to go to such an inglorious extreme or to twist the moral role of physical stature on the big screen. One gets the distinct feeling that the movie is trying to sell the idea that before he become Captain America though positive traits are evident in his character, his physical stature is a joke. Even David Banner’s transformation into the Hulk is not that contrived, neither is it a demeaning and distasteful parody of sorts. 

At the beginning of Winter Soldier Cap’s uniform looks cool and modern. A lot of work has to be done on Cap’s old uniform, which he changes back into three quarters of the way through Winter Soldier. The head piece looks dorky and the body suite looks like a padded diaper with print. It looks silly, c’mon – really? You couldn’t see that – really? Film producers need to understand that there is no such thing as a dorky retro super hero suit; there is only a bad super hero suit. For instance stylistically the suit worn by Superman in his 2013 debut is a modern rendition of the same suite Christopher Reeves wore in the 1980s,yet technically they are one and the same suit but they don’t look anything alike. Similarly, to go retro with Cap’s suit does not entail trying to make it look dorky or exactly the way it looked back then coz back then it was stylish, and back then is today – capiche? It entails trying to make it look modern even though it is from the past as the  antique aspect is useless if it loses  the cool factor. The moment it becomes uncool the plot has been lost. Please don’t show him in that embarrassing dorky design of a retro suite again...please….pretty please?    

Cap – Winter Soldier, was entertaining. Great stuff. I enjoyed it. Like a gift bag with unanticipated goodies. The attempt for instance to get into director Fury’s SUV during the car chase was nice. The audience is forced to ask what the heck is that glass made of? The SUV could fly but it was too badly damaged to engage flight mode – is it gonna fly or isn’t it? It could drive itself and so on…the audience is thinking heck what else can it do?  Watching Fury handle its hidden functions was a goodie bag, a treat – how was he going to get out of this one? For a moment we get a chance to see why he is or became the director of Shield. The cinematography seems to say: Nick Fury may be human, but no one takes him on easily, not even a super hero, hit squad  or brute force because he thinks ahead, studies weaknesses  and plans for every contingency. That’s why he is who he is.

Now Falcon's intro was entertaining, but it looked and felt a little Driving-Miss-Daisy-ish. Thank you by the way for giving us a significantly improved multi-racial hero cast with a new male super-hero to add to much needed hero diversity, long overdue –credit should be given were credit is due. It was nice, but this is not the modus operandi for introducing a new hero. Comic book Super-heros, even the subservient-loyal-side-kick-type share one trait; they are individuals who have chosen or are forced into becoming something unique or different, something apart from conventional society. They are in this sense sociopaths. Even Robin will occasionally look at Batman and think, “I’m certain I can kick this guy’s ass. Yeah....I can.” This is the chip on the shoulder that makes them become supers. They do not just emerge loyal and subservient from the get go as Falcon did in this movie, if they do they do not fit the hero archetype. Heroes in a coral like the Avengers are like thoroughbreds in a pen; they will be twitchy, get on uneasily and will persistently size each other up, sometimes with a twitchy eye. Don’t introduce a significant super hero like this ever again, it’s a taboo. When Super heroes meet for the first time, even the good ones, it should never be cordial. There must first be conflict, differences of opinion and ego variants by which the superheroes size each other up and by which the audience gauge the prowess of a super. We already know how strong Cap is from previous scopes. Cap should have had his hands full duking it out with Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the first introduction, with Falcon beating him down and getting the better of him, enough for the audience to say uuhhuh…this Falcon guy is somethin – you mean he can take on Cap? We saw some of this method in the last Avenger movie where Thor takes on the Hulk. The audience is thinking - is Thor nuts, nah – he can’t take on a rampaging Hulk!  But he does and the audience is forced to gain a new respect for Thor. That’s how you introduce a new hero, not with the pleasantries seen with Falcon in Winter Soldier. If Falcon couldn’t take on Cap he wouldn’t deserve to be an Avenger – an elite super. Cap should then have been seen to turn him around and win him over in the fight against Hydra – don’t botch the winning formula. Falcons wings have to impress us with more than just great flying ability. Maybe lets see Falcon use his wings as a shield, they can reach round protecting him and anyone they encircle from an explosion, the edge of the wings as a sword-like cutting or slashing  instrument and the buffeting wind released by the wings as force to knock opponents and objects down, let some steel feathers in fact be darts or blades; as the wings thrust forward the feather-like darts or blades stream out cutting down anything in their path. Lets have two or three sets of reserve wings in his back-pack so that if one is ripped off (as Bucky did on the helicarrier) he can engage a second and continue to fly. If that’s taken off by an opponent – a third wing set, before he finally goes down. Lets see him able to use each wing independently. Let see him have three distinct wing sets in his backpack. Each wingset can have a  particular attribute it is good for e.g. speed, agility, battle or brute force – make it look cool when he interchanges wing sets *wink, wink*. For example if he is lifting an exceptionally heavy load and its pulling him down he can change up wing-sets to one that can do the heavy lifting required. He could also  use the wings as a scare tactic the way some animals open up in a threat display to strike fear into something that confronts them with sharp feather-tips poised. Ditch the parachute for goodness sake – from wings to a chute? Technically clever, but just too cheesy and anti-climactic;  just before he hit the ground and we thought he would be splattered like a bug let his other wing-set deploy in the nick of time with a massive gust or explosive ball of wind to break the fall – cool, *head nodding*…., this “explosive gust” where dust flies, cars slide and everything is blasted around him like an explosion, can also be used as an attack to disperse many foes in one place whilst protecting those within the area of his wings. It would be a good idea to give Falcon specially designed boots which look ordinary, but that have steel retractable claws etched in them. These flick open and extend like talons, as is often observed with falcons and eagles retrieving prey. Falcon could swoop down and pick up objects or attack with these leaving his hands free. Another advantage birds of prey have is a remarkably keen eyesight. Falcon can be shown to observe something at great distance before he swoops in on it with uncanny precision.

Cap in Winter Soldier (WS), was the best to date. Finally we got to see the prowess with the shield that was evident in the comics. Cap should be like a Ninja with that shield. It was a breath of fresh air to see him begin to wield it properly. I say begin, because the skill side of the “lore“ behind the shield is thus far an untold story. It has not been fully exploited on the big screen yet. For instance why does Cap’s shield keep coming back to him? Is it a boomerang? Does he have a magnet that pulls it back? Or is it that, like Sumarai swordsman, he knows it so well he has finely honed a skill that allows him to throw it in such a way that it bounces back? In the comics Cap trained exhaustively with that shield. The audience doesn’t know this because this story has not been told. The way Cap hitches the shield to his back was nicely portrayed in Winter Soldier *clapping hands*, but it needs a tad more meaning, more drama. Let him be able to catch the shield on his back hitching it into place without using his hands after tossing it up or after its been bouncing off walls.  In hand to hand combat Cap should have the shield hitched to his back. For instance in WS, when asked if he is more than the shield, he should not have set it aside as this is “disrespectful”, but instead hitched it back so he uses his hands. Cap needs a greater reverence for his shield, the way a Sumarai reveres his sword, its not a crutch its part of his ethos. Let’s see Cap block a strike simply by turning his back and having the blow or blows strike the shield with his fists clenched. Let’s see him wield the shield as a deadly weapon without ever unhitching it from his back. Lets see him crouch down into a ball to the extent that only the shield becomes visible on the floor as bullets fly, then suddenly see his arms, legs and head  emerge from it as he is pursued. There is a need to develop shield play, like sword play that Cap can use to enhance shield “lore”. Better still lets see Cap take on a skilled attacker who has two swords where Cap uses the shield like a circular sword with as much dexterity as the swordsman; something never seen before. The shield should be able to exhibit brute force as well dexterity. 

WS handles the personalities of its characters well. Nothing too over the top. An over the top personality, like Tony Stark’s or Spider Man’s  is difficult to pull off consistently, but every lead character needs an edge and Cap’s reserved, “I’m gonna do the right thing” disposition seems to work well for him as long as he is seen to realize it isn’t always the best position. This is because doing the "right thing" properly in reality requires someone with keen insight or the right thing becomes the wrong thing to some people. There was certainly more depth to Cap’s personality this time around, thankfully there was no doe eyed “I am a super hero” look. Black Widow does a good job of occasionally shaking him out of the “I am a good guy who always tells the truth” bogus ideology. This is important as it prevents his personality from becoming one dimensional. Understanding there is good and bad, truth and misconception, confidence and uncertainty, bravery and cowardice, bravado and timidity in everyone depending on the situation faced, be they hero or villain is the skill of good story telling on the big screen. Cap may always tell the truth, but even he must periodically learn that your truths can sometimes be lies you are too blind to see. 

On the romance front there was very little development in WS. The action more than made up for this deficit, but it was missing and clumsily inserted by having Black Widow and Cap kiss to disguise their presence on an escalator, that chick from Revenge it seems is being prepped as Cap’s future goody-two-shoes love interest, yawn…yet another Lois Lane in the offing? This kind of predictability from super hero love interests is such a bore. Lets hope more will be done to jazz up her character if she does play Cap’s next beau. On the romance front there’s a need to change it up, give the diverse audience a multi-racial love interest, a vixen for a love interest; give the love interest a twist such as competition. There was little or no diversity here as usual.

In terms of music WS was, as expected, quite boring, general orchestra type music that will be forgotten as soon as the movie is over. There is a need to expand the scope of music in these super hero movies and seamlessly merge various genres of music, hip hop, R&B, country with the orchestral music and make an effort to have a hit soundtrack. 

All things considered this movie was fun to watch. Thumbs up to the Director, writers, producers, cast and crew. Expecting even better in the next installment; if tickets were on sale I'd by one right now and wait in anticipation...is that even possible? Ka-ching!