Steve Rogers’ third cinematic outing in the MCU effectively split MCU’s Phase 3 in half, closing the book on the singular, character driven sequels for the time being. Much like the way Iron Man 3 was a more brutal, straight-faced follow-up to the trashy Iron Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Solider is perhaps the darkest, bravest and boldest entry in the MCU to date.
Particularly when compared to Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier looks to be the film that took it’s audience from the camp shenanigans of Captain America: The First Avenger and offered them a cinematic experience that treated it’s audience with a bit of respect and smartness. It took the Marvel world from clean cut good guys and easily identifiable baddies into something deeper, so let’s examine six specific reasons why Captain America: The Winter Solider is the best MCU film we have so far.
6. Robert Redford
I don’t know guys, maybe it’s because my top 2 films of all time often jumps between Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, so this is quite the biased reason. It’s noted how Captain America: The Winter Solider works as a superhero film with elements of a classic 1970’s political thriller, and Mr. Redford embodies that fusion of genres perfectly. His performance as Pierce has a handsomely smooth feel to it, and he remains one of the most intoxicating villains in the MCU.
5. “Trust no-one”
Captain America: The Winter Solider was, arguably, the first MCU film where the heroes weren’t so heroic. The circumstances surrounding Nick’s assassination (before his, a-hem, miraculous recovery) gave weight to the idea that Captain America was in a position to trust nobody, and gave the film one hell of a kick into overdrive.
4. Choreography
From the elevator scene to the highway confrontation with the Winter Solider himself, there’s more finely crafted adrenaline in Captain America: The Winter Solider than in any other MCU film. Effectively taking the drool-inducing techno-riots of the various Iron Man films and giving them a touch of class, every fight scene in Captain America: The Winter Solider feels like it took months to produce whilst looking 100% easy and effortless.
3. Steve and Nick
Who needs Batman v Superman when you’ve got Steve and Nick bitching at each other over what’s the best way to defend the world? Steve’s confrontation with Nick regarding Nick’s compartmentalisation perfectly encapsulates his incorruptible nature as a superhero and how out of touch he can be with how today’s world works. We could have been given a montage of Steve trying to use iPads, mobiles and laptops, but instead we got a tremendously tense clashing of minds. Neither Steve or Nick are right/wrong in their methods for defending the people of Earth, and that lends their clash some dramatic impact.
2. The Finale
A race against the clock before Hydra performs a terrifying cleansing of the Earth coupled with Steve’s final battle with Bucky all occurs before not one, not two, but THREE Helicarriers collide with each other. In terms of sheer visual punch, the finale to Captain America: The Winter Solider wins over every other single character MCU film, with perhaps Avengers Assemble and Guardians of the Galaxy being its rival.
1. The Darkness
As mentioned in the introduction, Captain America: The Winter Solider has bags of respect for its audience, because it seems to understand that by the time the film was released, fans had stuck with the MCU long enough to develop and mature with the MCU films as they continued. Captain America: The Winter Solider takes the Marvel Cinematic Universe into far darker territories, showing that not all superheroes are heroic and not all villains are evil. Captain America: The Winter Solider may well be scuppered by Avengers: Age of Ultron, but for now, it’s the strongest MCU film we’ve had the pleasure of watching.
Do you think Captain America: The Winter Solider the best MCU film ever? Or do you think other wise? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!