A Roaring Continuation of the Marvel Superhero Saga: A Hollywood Blockbuster in the Best Traditions

After the epic Battle of New York in “The Avengers,” Captain America continues to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., whiling away his leisure time with morning runs around the Washington Monument and awkward attempts to woo his attractive neighbor. Condemning the Machiavellian habits of his superiors, he is nevertheless forced to get involved in a major spy game when his immediate boss, Nick Fury, comes under attack.

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Scenes where the Captain studies the fate of his old squad were originally filmed for “The Avengers” and simply didn’t fit in.

Anything could have been expected from the new adventures of the man with the star-spangled shield. Due to the rare, even for comics, dramaturgical clumsiness of the main character, his first solo outing turned out to be the most senseless film of the modern Marvel era. Captain didn’t have the dark side of Bruce Banner, didn’t have the touching alien ignorance of human life like Thor, and wasn’t played by Robert Downey Jr., after all. In “The Avengers,” Chris Evans managed to unfold properly, but against the background of his colorful colleagues, he still looked like an outright bore. Starting the sequel, the studio’s chief producer Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers, as directors, had to change something and came out of the situation very elegantly: they reduced the screen time of the Captain’s mental anguish and focused on running across roofs and fighting with fighters.

This is the fourth joint film of Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.

Those who are seriously embarrassed by flying aircraft carriers with propellers should immediately go to another movie. There will be even more than that here. After the amazing “Avengers,” Marvel can’t afford to slow down, and after the third “Iron Man” and the second “Thor,” “The Winter Soldier” continues to increase the scope. The destroyed skyscrapers and grandiose car chases are filmed here in such a way that Michael Bay and Ron Howard, responsible for the wonderful recent “Rush,” are now probably dying of envy. The Russo brothers don’t hesitate to quote (or, if you like, repeat) the most recognizable shots from the large-scale action films of recent years: here’s “Skyfall,” here’s “The Wolverine,” here’s the ubiquitous Nolan. They also have plenty of their own visual finds, and the passion for stuffing cameras into the most secret places not only opens up vast opportunities for editing, but also allows you to look at the splendor drawn around the actors from very unexpected angles. The story itself is wittily presented in a spy thriller case with a detective plot and the extremely concerned face of Robert Redford. But, of course, this is nothing more than a disguise. Once twisted, the spy plot playfully turns into a reference popcorn carousel.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The Marvel strategy of superhero “touring,” when in between joint outings the “Avengers” team, in the best traditions of “Tender May,” collects money around the world, performing in small groups, also takes a new height in “The Winter Soldier.” There is no smell of any Hulks or Tony Starks here, but the Captain is still not alone. Samuel L. Jackson (whose most famous role is awarded a separate greeting), Scarlett Johansson and, it seems, Anthony Mackie, who finally broke into the stars, create a sense of a fairly impressive crowd, and humor, neatly scattered throughout the timing, helps to maintain composure even in unbearably uplifting or, conversely, completely cranberry moments. It is unlikely that any of the listed performers will receive an Oscar for their work, and it is not a fact that the plot twists of the film can be remembered in a month, but the Captain promises a couple of hours of pleasant rest on Friday evening. And he, as you know, never lies.