Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Posted by Itheliving 10 years, 1 month ago to Movies
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier / Rated PG-13 for violence

Although comic book genius, trillionaire, and part time actor Stan Lee is now 92 he is definitely refusing to slow down. If you add up the gross box office results of all of the Marvel films he has appeared in he has now become the biggest box office actor of all time. Despite this when you see Stan for his cameo in CATWS his line is “I am so fired”. I don’t think so Stan.

Also not fired is actor Chris Evans. This is his 5th co starring part with Stan Lee and since CATWS has seen a box office of over $300 million it’s opening weekend worldwide there will be a lot more CA films to follow.

This time out Cap A. is facing down traitors in the upper echelon of S.H.I.E.L.D as well as a new army of bad guys from Hydra and a super duper bad guy know as The Winter Soldier. It’s up to you to watch the previous CA film and at least The Avengers to know what is going on and understand all of the acronyms above. If you do not then you can plan to be very confused when you view CATWS. I had seen all of the films and I am still a little cloudy as to what is going on and why.

None of it matters. This film is a top end entertainment full of CA’s angst, lots and lots of big time action scenes and a big surprise from Scarlett Johanssen as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow when she plays dress up. The chases, car crashes, shootings, and explosions are continuous. And it all works well. The only respite is when CA is feeling some angst over his past and since he was born in 1918 he has a lot of past to be angsty about. He slept through a lot of it but during his waking hours he tends to get very, very active. Chipping in as the head guy of SHIELD is Robert Redford. Watch the scene where RR opens the refrigerator in his apartment. You might spot a jar of Newman’s Own sauce sitting on a shelf. RR and Paul Newman had a lot of important connections. The two best were The Sting (1973) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

While there is a sense of humor this film definitely takes a more serious turn and has a definite dark side. More so than in the previous Marvel films. A few characters in the 1st CA film are back which is surprising but not unexpected as long as you have seen all the other Marvel films and have all of the characters and plot lines together in your mind.

There are two scenes which will run after the credits begin to roll. Don’t leave until you are sure you have seen them both or prepare to be even more confused than before. Captain America and the rest of the Avengers crew return next year in Avengers: The Age of Ultron. James Spader, currently the good guy on TV’s The Blacklist will be on hand as Ultron the bad guy. No doubt Stan will be there. Will Oscar take notice?

Rated 3.9 out of 4.0 reasons to wonder why this film which opened April 5th was not titled Captain America: The Spring Soldier


All Comments

  • Posted by $ DriveTrain 10 years ago in reply to this comment.
    Ditko - definitely. If you can get your hands on either (preferably both) of now-defunct Fantagraphics' "Ditko Collection" Vol. 1 and 2, spare no expense. Trust me on this. If you've ever wondered what Objectivist philosophy would look like in visual, schematic form, then you have GOT to see "The Avenging World," "The Captive Spark," and yes, the inimitable Mr. A.

    I've got two sets of them that I will never part with, and have given a couple of them as gifts to Objectivist friends. They periodically show up on Alibris, eBay, Allbookstores and Amazon, though I'm pretty sure they're priced higher nowadays than the $30 or $40 I paid for them. Nonetheless... essential acquisitions for any collector of Objectivist books.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 10 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    American have received the President's message: obey only those laws you like (although not for the reasons he favors).

    The evidence is clear in New York (99.5% of "assault weapon" owners are ignoring the governor's call to register those guns) and Connecticut (90% there doing the same as New York gun owners).

    The call for nullification of unconstitutional laws is strong enough that a number of states are enacting nullification. I suspect we will soon begin to see juries ruling nullification of lawsuits on the same basis.

    Even media/entertainment/political outrage and calls for legal action based on statements violating political correctness are finding resistance from unexpected sources. Prominent gay figures are objecting to the firing of the Mozilla CEO for his contribution to a traditional marriage political group, calling it "gestapo tactics", as just one example, and there are others.

    Bottom line: I'm optimistic that despite strong efforts to institute relative morality as "social justice", Americans are still standing by our tradition (best explained by British philosopher Locke) of individual natural rights and liberty.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 10 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    I can always find the few to whom morally repugnant behavior is attractive (NAMBLA comes to mind). My point was that we should be encouraged that even with the strenuous efforts of powerful Progressives in government, media, and entertainment, most Americans reject immoral models and behavior.
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  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    I explain DD as a wholesome show that espouses traditional family values, quirky characters that do not rely on obscenities and vulgarities, and a moral point of view per episode that isn't "in your face."

    I did not initially watch the show, thinking it would merely be a caricature of backwoods hicks with teeth missing, going to church in their overalls and shooting roadsigns on their way home. I was pleasantly surprised when I did finally tune in and have been a viewer ever since.

    HofC appeals to the morally vacant or relativistic. That is what most social mechanisms are trying to do to the nation. You see DD reviled in the MSM, but HofC held up as the pinnacle of entertainment.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 10 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    How do you explain "Duck Dynasty?"
    Besides, "House of Cards" plays to a narrow audience: a subscriber Internet service. The CA movies play to a wider range audience, and are record revenue setters.
    Movies like "Wolf of Wall Street" don't draw near the blockbuster audiences of the higher moral theme movies, so in the game of numbers, the creeps lose.
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  • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    Watch for the documentary on TV cable channels on Lee called "With Great Power". Fascinating look at his ups and downs. Seems like a regular guy who has finally found big success. He and his wife were married in 1946. Seem happy together. Both modest and unassuming. Most of his big time accomplishments seem to be after he turned 87. Again. Watch for that documentary.
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