Story: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) continues working with SHIELD. He gets involved into a controversy when he comes face to face with a new enemy called Winter Soldier. With SHIELD being compromised and just Agent Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and a new friend Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) along his side, can Captain America save the world this time. Watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier for your answers.
Performances: Chris Evans is back in the title role and he is effective in his performance as a troubled soldier fighting a lonely battle. There are certain nostalgic moments from the prequel that finds place in the sequel. Its more of an emotional moment for Steve Rogers and Chris Evans does well in portraying the same. There is a mystery around Winter Soldier and I wouldn’t want to spoil that here. The actor who portrays Winter Soldier is brilliant and does a great job during the pre-climax of the movie. Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow is effective and her action sequences are well conceptualized. Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce is brilliant. His character has some grey shades and the veteran actor does well in portraying the same. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury is too good. Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter comes back for a small role and is a delight to watch. Toby Jones also comes back as Dr. Arnim Zola and is great in a small role. Cobie Smulders as Agent Hill is decent in a small role. Anthony Mackie gets another action packed role as Falcon and he does a great job.
Technical Team: Russo Bros (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo) direct the sequel to hugely popular Captain America: The First Avenger. They do a great job in taking the adventures of the First Avenger forward. They are ably supported by the Screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. The team makes sure there are enough thrills in the narration but without compromising on the writing material. The Story is engrossing and keeps you hooked on to the narration where the mystery behind the evil intention is solved one after another. Eventhough the movie has enough visual effects and action sequences to thrill you, the writing never takes a backseat and that’s a huge achievement. Camerawork by Trent Opaloch is stupendous. Some camera compositions have been edited so well (Jeffrey Ford), that it takes your breathe away. Production Design by Peter Wenham is decent and so is the Music by Henry Jackman. As mentioned earlier, Visual Effects and Action sequences are enough to satisfy the quota of thrills you expect from a superhero flick.
Best Scenes:
* Introduction sequence
* Nick Fury being attacked and the introduction of Winter Solider that follows
* When Steve finds wounded Nick in his apartment and the chase that follows
* Action sequence in the lift
* Base camp sequence in New Jersey
* Steve, Romanoff and Wilson attacked by Winter Soldier
* When identity of Winter Soldier is revealed
* Climax sequence
Conclusion: Captain America is back and how. The expectation is definitely high as any movie in these series will eventually lead to the highly awaited Avengers: Age of Ultron. Russo Bros take up the challenge and deliver a power packed movie with enough thrills to satisfy your thirst as a fan of super hero flick. As mentioned earlier, while doing so they do not compromise on the story which is great. The mystery behind the identity of Winter Soldier is brilliantly revealed and then the entire controversy involving SHIELD being compromised keeps you hooked till the last minute. There are few sections where the narration dips, but its back again on its foot leading the movie to the climax. Climax has some great action and several whistle worthy moments. It makes the child in you to hoot for your hero while he is battling there with the bad guys. This one is designed to satisfy both its audience and critics equally. You cannot miss this one and if you do its your loss.
Ratings: (****)
PS: Do not miss the end credits. Yes wait till the end!!!
Desi Movie Critic 