Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel is a cult, outwardly accessible to everyone and open to unconventional souls for whom building their universe may be the ultimate peak stint. Yet inwardly, it is bound by the hard doctrine of Kevin Feige's infallibility and unwillingness to let go of the reins of even one brand. Cap steps into it quite uncompromisingly and holds on for a long time. The contact fights are once again cool, the plot is not a stupid rehash of traditional clichés, and the main villain enters with a really unprecedented vigor (excellently supported by Jackman's musical theme). The bad thing is that the grand rules of destruction have to be respected and in the end, everything collapses into a traditional 0 1 mess and the thriller game in the old-world tone becomes bitter in but a few moments (moreover, it stops being clear). I believe the Russo brothers had a very free creative hand on set, but the concrete dramaturgy for years to come must inevitably lead to hell. [I'd be quite interested to see how Shane Black zigzagged in IM3, as he more or less manages it here for almost 100 minutes]. (11/17/2014)

For Marvel, good. I’m usually not a fan of this colourful conglomerate of comic book superheroes, but The Winter Soldier is (unlike its predecessor) a solid action blockbuster that entertained me a lot. The theme is relatively interesting and stimulating, though Marvel’s habit of “not going too deep” can make it frustrating at times with how superficially and simply the political, philosophical and technical aspects of the of the script are presented. But, as a summer blockbuster for the masses, it works fine. So, as I say, for Marvel, good. Next, on the umpteenth episode of your favourite series… (05/22/2014)

The first one introduced us to the subject and allowed us to get to know the main character in a relatively interesting and unconventional retro-futuristic affair, but it adhered a bit too much to the shallowness and straightforwardness typical of comics. The sequel is more complex and works much better as a standalone film. In fact, it's an upgrade of 100 percent. It has plenty of references to war and espionage, excellent antagonists, great timing in shots and surprisingly even in action scenes. The action itself is phenomenal, with beautifully coordinated visuals, editing, and sound that formally present depict the protagonist's supernatural abilities. And they achieve all that even without a ton of slow-motion shots and various other auxiliary tricks. The only drawback is the pathos towards the end and the piano, which had no business being there. An outstanding episode and a great taste of what's to come with the coming Avengers, etc. (04/05/2014)

The Captain’s second stop will wipe the grin off the faces of most doubters. A pithy techno-thriller atmosphere starts the opening unbelievably. Well, opening... The first half hour is perfect, crowned by the fight on the freeway which takes your breath away in Heatstyle. The ending then heads into familiar Marvel waters and in a raunchy finale it easily abandons the endeavor to do it slightly differently. Nothing exceptional, but never mind. Evans was born for the role of Steve Rogers, but I hope the Winter Soldier gets his own movie some day, or else they’ll deal with it comic book style (if you read it, you know what I mean ;-) because it... I mean he has the mojo for it. Redford disappointed me a little for not being the man I thought he was, and with the final confrontation. The Russo brothers are on an outrageous roll and maybe it’s thanks to Opaloch’s dynamic camerawork, but the action is a feast for the eyes. The moments where the story diverges from the comic book are interesting, offering many interpretations of things to come. The glance into the Age of Ultron also lured into and hinted at the dark atmosphere I mentioned above. Sock to me, I want more. (04/06/2014)

Boring, boring, grey. There was some effort put into it, though. However, cinematic Marvel adventures set in the present are for a different target audience. I prefer to have some of that sequential art, as the film version of The Winter Soldier only served to make me cry over Steve and Peg's reunion. That was really touching. Other than that, I didn’t even enjoy Robert Redford, and that's saying something. (02/28/2015)