Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The torrential downpour of dolla' dolla' bills on any Marvel Studios film guarantees their products will be safe as hell in all respects. Marvel shines amongst the blockbuster phenomenons because they do safe so well. When the cast of characters are decades old properties, it's easy to skip out on characterization, but they do a satisfying amount of character building in their stories, which are also (unsurprisingly) solid, but nothing revolutionary. I would say it's their focus on their characters' interior journey throughout the main plot that makes their films more enjoyable than the majority of their peers.

But really, I got no clue, yo.

What I found myself paying special attention to in this film was the visuals, because Marvel pays a buttload for that stuff, so it's going to be good, even when the film itself isn't, and the music. I'm not an aficionado, so deconstructing the soundtrack is a little much for me, but I found (what I assumed to be) the Winter Soldier's theme both effective and interesting in this post-Dark Knight world, especially when paired with Steve's theme. I'm a sucker for music meant to destroy my nerves.

As for visuals: the action sequences are worthy of study. That's a no brainer. I'm personally in love with Captain America's costume design, especially his shield. It's interesting that the shield survives Rodger's initiation and continues to be used into the present. It essentially becomes a symbol because it's the most recognizable element of his costume in his 50's and 2k design. The costumes stood out here and not in Captain America's other appearances because both were featured in this movie, not the others ones (as far as I can remember) and they were both lingered on.

And the closing credits, black and white silhouettes, were a very nice, simple touch. They did a good job of making the wait for the now obligatory teaser an enjoyable one.

8/10