Yep, Marvel's at it again.
Continuing down their grittier "Phase 2" road, Captain America: The Winter Soldier gets downer and dirtier than its predecessor. Deals are a little shadier, motivations more obscured and the costuming a a whole lot less showy, but this being Marvel, "gritty" is a matter of degree. That's not a complaint. I'm a big fan of the studio's balance of action and comedy. They've tinkered with the formula here but only minimally and the results are exhilarating.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo (until now best known for their work on television's 'Arrested Development' and for the Owen Wilson/Kate Hudson rom-com, You, Me and Dupree) strip much of the genre's fantasy element out and replace it with a hint of espionage drama. It's a good mix, boosted by the 70s spy thriller cred of Robert Redford, who they've managed to rope in as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader, Alexander Pierce.
In keeping with this shift in direction, the Russos go as analogue as possible on the production, opting for real special effects wherever possible. It is a decision that pays off. The film's grounded action sequences are standout in recent comic book efforts; they give a hardened propulsion to the narrative and a harsher edge to he film's sillier aspects. It isn't The Dark Knight hard, but it's a fair compromise.
In the broader picture, the overarching conflict is about as up-to-the-minute as you can get in the studio world. Big data, privacy, whistle-blowers and echoes of Phillip K. Dick's "Minority Report" (shut-up Spielberg) keep the proceedings zeitgeisty, which is more than okay, though the screenwriters do tend to force the point. If Marvel really wanted to shake some of its comic book stigma, they could have left some of the exposition as unspoken thematic colour. The same goes for the film's tagline namesake, who gets some heavy foreshadowing early in the piece, so much so that I was surprised at the number of gasps that went up when his mask was pulled off. On the whole, despite getting top billing, the Winter Soldier himself is given surprisingly little focus in the film. An interesting setup that ended feeling a little tick-boxy.
To be fair, there's not too much space left for surprises or real gravitas in Marvel's universe. We're accustomed enough now to characters being killed off only to return a few scenes later. It's pretty obvious they are not going to do away with one of their biggest assets at this stage of the game. Likewise, you don't cast Redford as a bureaucrat without having the audience expecting him to be given something substantial to sink his teeth into.
But... Jenny Agutter... Boom!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a blast. It may aspire to be one of Marvel's darkest efforts (again, that's a matter of degree) but it still comes out as rollicking, cracklingly humoured entertainment. It's a bit of a universe shakeup, which proudly confirms the ambition of the studio's long view (if that wasn't already obvious), and will surely mean some interesting times ahead for the superhero stable. I'm well up for it.
Pumpin'.
★★★☆
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