I didn't catch that it was Crossbones until they showed him burnt up at the end. All at once I realized he'd be back and probably wearing a mask to hide his burns...Crossbones!
I wish there was more interaction between the films and the television show. The television show would have been better if they were building to the events of Captain America instead of the Clairvoyant story arc.
Maybe they are more closely tied than we currently realize
I think Marvel is confident in what they have. Directors coming back. Cast staying together. It's a proven commodity. I hope BvS doesn't move. Fight it out! But I think they will.
Now that it's official how do we feel about the Cap 3 vs Batman/Superman showdown? Personally I still think its a game of chicken. Both movies opening on the same date would split the audience. Maybe not down the middle but it doesn't matter. I think that BVS will move, though, as Marvel has established their dominance in the "shared-universe" game and can afford to take the hit. This would be like strangling their universe in the crib. And Cap 2 is a huge success in terms reception, whereas the MoS reception was mixed to say the least as is the reaction to pretty much ever tidbit of news about the production. Cap 3 will have its own buzz coming off of one of the most acclaimed superhero movies ever and probably benefit from the Avengers 2 halo effect, which could extend its life further than BVS. All I'm saying is that BVS has a lot more to lose coming in even a close first that weekend.
I can't imagine that BvS will stay with the date. Not only is it much more of a make-or-break-the-series movie, but the Avengers series' proven track record means it will pulverize the DC movie if they open together.
This is Marvel throwing its weight around, and winning - sort of like if the Kingpin bare-knuckle street-brawled against the Penguin.
Now that it's official how do we feel about the Cap 3 vs Batman/Superman showdown? Personally I still think its a game of chicken. Both movies opening on the same date would split the audience. Maybe not down the middle but it doesn't matter. I think that BVS will move, though, as Marvel has established their dominance in the "shared-universe" game and can afford to take the hit. This would be like strangling their universe in the crib. And Cap 2 is a huge success in terms reception, whereas the MoS reception was mixed to say the least as is the reaction to pretty much ever tidbit of news about the production. Cap 3 will have its own buzz coming off of one of the most acclaimed superhero movies ever and probably benefit from the Avengers 2 halo effect, which could extend its life further than BVS. All I'm saying is that BVS has a lot more to lose coming in even a close first that weekend.
And when they introduced the twins, I immediately assumed they were von Strucker's children (whose names I forget), who have appeared from times to times, and who I think were also mutants (though I'm not sure about that)
I thought they were going for von Strucker's kids as well. In the comics, their names are Andrea and Andreas, and collectively they are (err, they were; I think they're dead now) known as Fenris. They were sort-of mutants, genetically engineered to have gestalt force powers while in the womb. Even with 14 more years of planned movies, I doubt you'll see them in live action any time soon; they're almost unknown, and frankly not all that conceptually, personally, or visually interesting.
I wish there was more interaction between the films and the television show. The television show would have been better if they were building to the events of Captain America instead of the Clairvoyant story arc.
Maybe they are more closely tied than we currently realize
If they are then the show has done a poor job of expressing it. I should have come out of the movie not only getting a great movie experience, but something that ties together with what is going on in the show. What I feel like is we have two disjointed plotlines going concurrently. Even if they try to explain it away on the show they missed an opportunity.
I wish there was more interaction between the films and the television show. The television show would have been better if they were building to the events of Captain America instead of the Clairvoyant story arc.
Maybe they are more closely tied than we currently realize
If they are then the show has done a poor job of expressing it. I should have come out of the movie not only getting a great movie experience, but something that ties together with what is going on in the show. What I feel like is we have two disjointed plotlines going concurrently. Even if they try to explain it away on the show they missed an opportunity.
Are we watching the same show?
"I need you to report to The Lemurian Star immediately."
I wish there was more interaction between the films and the television show. The television show would have been better if they were building to the events of Captain America instead of the Clairvoyant story arc.
Maybe they are more closely tied than we currently realize
If they are then the show has done a poor job of expressing it. I should have come out of the movie not only getting a great movie experience, but something that ties together with what is going on in the show. What I feel like is we have two disjointed plotlines going concurrently. Even if they try to explain it away on the show they missed an opportunity.
Are we watching the same show?
"I need you to report to The Lemurian Star immediately."
"I've got a boat to catch."
To me a couple of throwaway lines in one episode does not make a season. I didn't even notice the connecting dots while I was watching the episode. Besides SHIELD being over there was nothing about the show that felt like it was incorporated in the movie.
If they had developed the Hydra plot during (or even partially during) Agents of SHIELD, they'd run the real risk of the general public starting to say that they really didn't understand what was going on without having watched twelve episodes of a mid-ratings TV show. That would be the kiss of death.
Agents of SHIELD is the minor league in this relationship. They can learn from and follow their big brothers, and even have some exhibition crossover games, but in the end they play within their own division.
That argument does not ring true to me because you don't have to change anything about the movie. If it works without the connection to the show how could they make the argument if you added more of it into the show?
The people who don't watch the show wouldn't care as they are getting everything they need to know about Hydra from the movie. It would also drive more people to actually tune into the show. It is a win win for everyone.
To me a couple of throwaway lines in one episode does not make a season. I didn't even notice the connecting dots while I was watching the episode. Besides SHIELD being over there was nothing about the show that felt like it was incorporated in the movie.
They were not throwaway lines. They explicitly tied the series to the movie and established chronology.
I contend that your not noticing the connecting dots does not constitute a failure on the part of the show. The dots were there. I've been watching for them, and finding them, ever since I first saw the Winter Soldier trailer.
To me a couple of throwaway lines in one episode does not make a season. I didn't even notice the connecting dots while I was watching the episode. Besides SHIELD being over there was nothing about the show that felt like it was incorporated in the movie.
They were not throwaway lines. They explicitly tied the series to the movie and established chronology.
I contend that your not noticing the connecting dots does not constitute a failure on the part of the show. The dots were there. I've been watching for them, and finding them, ever since I first saw the Winter Soldier trailer.
It was a throwaway line because it does not mean anything. We already know the show and the movies take place in the same Universe. Saying I gotta catch a plane isn't all that meaningful to the show.
You know what would have been meaningful is if Nick had come to Colson months ago and said I think something is going on, but I can't pin point it. Can you and your team look into a few things for me? The show never connects the dots that Hydra is involved, but they start finding things are off. Colson makes some clandestine reports updating the status of the overall mission. So when Nick Fury is attacked in DC the people in the audience who watch the show can go this is the thing that Nick was talking about. Everyone else in the audience can just carry on watching the film without worrying about knowing the back plot.
To me that is the difference between working toward a true payoff and not just another info dump moment that fakes it without earning it.
"Miracles" should've been "Marvels". It might be too on-the-nose, but it's also a statement that, yeah, we're now in a Marvel Age of (superhero) Movies.
Saw it this afternoon Big Screen 3d. It rocked. Really nicely done with lots of call backs and nods. Some edge of the seat moments and Winter Soldier kicks ass. Personally loved Cap 1 which maybe my favorite Marvel film and this is a great addition. Pros- Action, good story, great surprises, great cast, great sequel. Cons- Not enough Batroc, no Falcon costume, not enough Falcon, not enough skin tight Black Widow leather costume, not enough Howling Commandos.
To me a couple of throwaway lines in one episode does not make a season. I didn't even notice the connecting dots while I was watching the episode. Besides SHIELD being over there was nothing about the show that felt like it was incorporated in the movie.
They were not throwaway lines. They explicitly tied the series to the movie and established chronology.
I contend that your not noticing the connecting dots does not constitute a failure on the part of the show. The dots were there. I've been watching for them, and finding them, ever since I first saw the Winter Soldier trailer.
It was a throwaway line because it does not mean anything. We already know the show and the movies take place in the same Universe. Saying I gotta catch a plane isn't all that meaningful to the show.
You know what would have been meaningful is if Nick had come to Colson months ago and said I think something is going on, but I can't pin point it. Can you and your team look into a few things for me? The show never connects the dots that Hydra is involved, but they start finding things are off. Colson makes some clandestine reports updating the status of the overall mission. So when Nick Fury is attacked in DC the people in the audience who watch the show can go this is the thing that Nick was talking about. Everyone else in the audience can just carry on watching the film without worrying about knowing the back plot.
To me that is the difference between working toward a true payoff and not just another info dump moment that fakes it without earning it.
I guess I prefer not to have things spoon-fed to me.
"Miracles" should've been "Marvels". It might be too on-the-nose, but it's also a statement that, yeah, we're now in a Marvel Age of (superhero) Movies.
I'm sure there was some debate about this, and it was decided that "Marvels" would have been seen as too clever.
To me a couple of throwaway lines in one episode does not make a season. I didn't even notice the connecting dots while I was watching the episode. Besides SHIELD being over there was nothing about the show that felt like it was incorporated in the movie.
They were not throwaway lines. They explicitly tied the series to the movie and established chronology.
I contend that your not noticing the connecting dots does not constitute a failure on the part of the show. The dots were there. I've been watching for them, and finding them, ever since I first saw the Winter Soldier trailer.
It was a throwaway line because it does not mean anything. We already know the show and the movies take place in the same Universe. Saying I gotta catch a plane isn't all that meaningful to the show.
You know what would have been meaningful is if Nick had come to Colson months ago and said I think something is going on, but I can't pin point it. Can you and your team look into a few things for me? The show never connects the dots that Hydra is involved, but they start finding things are off. Colson makes some clandestine reports updating the status of the overall mission. So when Nick Fury is attacked in DC the people in the audience who watch the show can go this is the thing that Nick was talking about. Everyone else in the audience can just carry on watching the film without worrying about knowing the back plot.
To me that is the difference between working toward a true payoff and not just another info dump moment that fakes it without earning it.
It sounds like you're wanting Captain America: The series, and not a show that has been coming close to the movies and then moving back to do their own thing and then coming back in small waves. Some of which you don't even realize were waves until weeks or even months later.
I don't think we're going to get the Captain American series anytime soon though
My head is still spinning from this movie, it was awesome. The most shocking thing is how the Avengers line of movies can have Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch! So we'll get Quicksilver in X-Men AND Avengers?! Sweet!
I heard a few grumblings about how Cap 2 had too many other characters, but I think it worked well. We already had one movie were he was the standalone guy, I really thought the Black Widow and Falcon parts were just right. Plus, who doesn't want more ScarJo?!
My head is still spinning from this movie, it was awesome. The most shocking thing is how the Avengers line of movies can have Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch! So we'll get Quicksilver in X-Men AND Avengers?! Sweet!
I heard a few grumblings about how Cap 2 had too many other characters, but I think it worked well. We already had one movie were he was the standalone guy, I really thought the Black Widow and Falcon parts were just right. Plus, who doesn't want more ScarJo?!
One of Cap's powers has always been to inspire others. Kinda tough to inspire others without other characters around.
And a movie protagonist needs someone else to play off of, it keeps them human and relatable.*
And I'd much rather see my hero running around with other competent characters than the stereotypical helpless girlfriend.
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
My head is still spinning from this movie, it was awesome. The most shocking thing is how the Avengers line of movies can have Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch! So we'll get Quicksilver in X-Men AND Avengers?! Sweet!
I heard a few grumblings about how Cap 2 had too many other characters, but I think it worked well. We already had one movie were he was the standalone guy, I really thought the Black Widow and Falcon parts were just right. Plus, who doesn't want more ScarJo?!
One of Cap's powers has always been to inspire others. Kinda tough to inspire others without other characters around.
And a movie protagonist needs someone else to play off of, it keeps them human and relatable.*
And I'd much rather see my hero running around with other competent characters than the stereotypical helpless girlfriend.
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
...and Spider-man, The Hulk, the first Iron Man movie, The Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Superman I-IV, Superman Returns, & the first 2 Blade movies.
After a long and drawn out hiatus I have returned to throw in my seemingly ritualistic two-cents on a comic book or otherwise sci-fi movie! After months of an arduous Canadian crime-fighting crusade and all the perilous post-fun paperwork that comes with it, I managed to sneak away with my gal-pal and see the flick on Saturday. I have yet to stop talking about it with her.
I must say, of all the films I have commented on, there is much less that previous commenters have nit-picked on with this film. Which makes it so much more difficult to piggyback on your ideas haha!
Okay lets get it out of the way: This was an amazing movie. At the same time, this was an amazing COMIC BOOK movie. These two are not the same thing as I think most of you would agree. I will preface this by saying there is a lot about the marvel universe in the comics that I don't know, but I'm rather familiar with basic themes and concepts from my exposure to x-men and spidey back when I was a kid, and of course I absorb lots from CGS, especially the spotlight episodes. But I digress! Let's get on with it!
While watching this movie I had a running commentary in the back of my head of "Things I wanna say about this movie on the forums cause I'm geeking the eff out". One of the things right out of the gate was Cap and Falcon's interaction. Their friendship felt very organic and natural. I knew who falcon was only very vaguely coming into this movie. I knew his costume and I knew he was a flyer and I knew he was in the movie. But once the movie booted up I forgot all about falcon, and never knew that Sam Wilson was the falcon himself so once he donned the wings I went "Oh dayumm I'm stupid how did I not see that coming!"
This endeared me to the next thing I loved about this movie, and that was that Sam worked at the Vetran's Affairs office. As a Canadian, our troops are just as important to us but I'll be the first to admit that the USA has that part of their culture much more "cooked-into" (if you'll pardon the term) the history and fibre of what it means to be American. The fact that the story talks about reassimilation into civilian life after leaving the military not only serves to speak to Cap's difficulty coping with his time-travelling of sorts, but it also really establishes for this second installment that at the end of the day, Cap is a soldier through-and-through, and that's not all sunshine and rainbows. The pure honesty of the opening scene and the scene where Cap comes to talk to Sam at the V.A. just hooked me.
The rest of the movie did not disappoint. Evans once again just nails everything I thought Cap should be, in the moments where hes not CG or a stunt double, and the production staff nail the bits where Evans isn't actually in the suit. And speaking of the suit, I remember some people having issue with his suit from the trailer, and I gotta say it worked for me because it felt natural and looked badass.
I didn't miss the howling commandos because I assumed I'd see none of them other than Bucky in this film, but the museum scene was a nice callback for them. I felt like the museum scene worked (when it could have been extremely hokey and campy) because it served the primary purpose of reminding the audience who Bucky is/was for the "big reveal" later but had that subtle purpose of further characterizing Cap as a man-out-of-time who has lost nearly all of his friends.
The only time I winced in the entire flick was when Cap visit's Peggy and her FACE IS C.G.!! Her lips just screamed CG and for about 0.000235 seconds I just wished they had put makeup on Hayley Atwell's face.
The Winter Soldier was on screen for far less than I expected coming into this movie. Granted I'm 100% cool with that given the direction that this movie took with HYDRA, but I could see someone nitpicking this. Because I only knew only who the Winter Soldier was (i.e. his identity) and not anything about his characterization, I was okay with him being fairly vague and a storytelling device, once Zola spilled the beans on what was "really" happening in the movie. Still, maybe the title "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier" wasn't exactly the most apt choice. I still prefer that over anything that would have spoiled the HYDRA infiltration plot.
The two big-meat points I have yet to cover both surround SHIELD. For starters I have yet to watch a single episode of Agents of SHIELD, but of course I'm aware of its existence and will probably watch it just-because now. So I don't know how this week's episode gets affected exactly, and I'm really not invested enough to mind at this point. I'd pretty much be okay if they did anything at all, but I have faith that Joss Whedon wouldn't dissapoint.
The seconds is the HYDRA plot itself. DAMN that was good. Granted I'm talking about the bulk of the movie now, but it really felt like this is something that would go down if I were to pick up a comic that had SHIELD in it. I never expected any Red Skull reveal or any HYDRA involvement at all, but I was very satisfied during the computer-Zola exposition scene when he revealed how HYDRA had worked its way into SHIELD.
Quickfire round: Nick Fury car chase scene: Nerd-gasm. So bloody good.
Batroc: loved fellow-Canuck Geroges St-Pierre here, and he had just the right amount of screen time.
Crossbones: I thought Frank Grillo did a good job making this character interesting, because I had to look up who he becomes after the scene of him on a stretcher made it obvious he would return later.
Garry Shandling's return as Senator Stern: funny.
Scar-Jo: Still just nailing that character. What I loved about her in Avengers was her ability to show just enough humanity and vulnerability to believe she's a real person while still maintaining that air of mystery. This is really hard to have an audience see depth in a character when you tell them nothing about her, but she pulls it off, especially after Cap saves her from the missile attack. Oh and PS she is a fox.
Sitwell name dropping on the roof: Yeah, he said Stephen Strange and I lost my effing mind. But he also said "A high school valedictorian in Iowa" (at least I think it was Iowa). That struck me as too specific to be random, and immediately I started wondering who that would be. My internet searches have shown that some people across the pond have a different version where they heard "teacher" instead of valedictorian. Now of course this could be people just having a poor memory, but in countries where valedictorian isn't actually a thing, it would make sense to change it if they really wanted to. In these same internet threads people have been guessing that it could be a reference to T'Challa but again I know nothing of the character. Something to chew on.
The return of Maria Hill: Loved it. Just enough screen time to make it worthwhile.
Robert Redford: Just a beast.
The forums are telling me my post is too long! So one more to follow!
The END CREDITS: I too was a little let down by Bucky's final scene, but it is what it is.
When the HYDRA agent says Von Strucker's name I went "HEEYYYYY I know that name!"
I was a little underwhelmed by the reveal of Loki's staff from Avengers, but only because I wanted more NEW stuff to be thrown in my face. So once they mentioned the twins and the camera switched to their cells I went "Hmm this is new....." and immediately after started panicking..."wait...which twins? Are these people I should know? Oh crap...who....who .....okay one guy who appears to be kinda blinking and flashing....and a telekinetic girl....well that doesn't help me out...there are plenty of telekinetics..."
This thought process felt like it went on forever because on the first cut to the twins it wasnt clear to me that Pietro was "Moving" when he was flashing and leaving a grey and black ( or "quicksilver") trail behind him. On the second cutaway to the cells I caught it though (it was more clear that he was moving from place to place) and my head nearly caved in as I went AHA! ITS QUICKSILVER AND SCARLET WITCH! AAAAAAHHHHHH. I may or may not have poo'ed a little.
Well there you have it, another way too long post about a movie which I once again thought was badass!
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
...and Spider-man, The Hulk, the first Iron Man movie, The Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Superman I-IV, Superman Returns, & the first 2 Blade movies.
M
With the exception of Iron Man, none of those are particular favorites.
And Tony Stark was no loner. He had a best friend, a bodyguard, an executive assistant as well as a constant companion in JARVIS.
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
...and Spider-man, The Hulk, the first Iron Man movie, The Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Superman I-IV, Superman Returns, & the first 2 Blade movies.
M
With the exception of Iron Man, none of those are particular favorites.
And Tony Stark was no loner. He had a best friend, a bodyguard, an executive assistant as well as a constant companion in JARVIS.
Well, to be fair. If the bulk of your companions are 2 employees and a disembodied voice you might very well be a loner.
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
...and Spider-man, The Hulk, the first Iron Man movie, The Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Superman I-IV, Superman Returns, & the first 2 Blade movies.
M
With the exception of Iron Man, none of those are particular favorites.
And Tony Stark was no loner. He had a best friend, a bodyguard, an executive assistant as well as a constant companion in JARVIS.
They might not be particular favorites, but if you're listing The Dark Knight trilogy & MoS, you should at least include a couple of those.
Sitwell name dropping on the roof: Yeah, he said Stephen Strange and I lost my effing mind. But he also said "A high school valedictorian in Iowa" (at least I think it was Iowa). That struck me as too specific to be random, and immediately I started wondering who that would be.
Comments
This is Marvel throwing its weight around, and winning - sort of like if the Kingpin bare-knuckle street-brawled against the Penguin.
"I need you to report to The Lemurian Star immediately."
"I've got a boat to catch."
Agents of SHIELD is the minor league in this relationship. They can learn from and follow their big brothers, and even have some exhibition crossover games, but in the end they play within their own division.
The people who don't watch the show wouldn't care as they are getting everything they need to know about Hydra from the movie. It would also drive more people to actually tune into the show. It is a win win for everyone.
I contend that your not noticing the connecting dots does not constitute a failure on the part of the show. The dots were there. I've been watching for them, and finding them, ever since I first saw the Winter Soldier trailer.
You know what would have been meaningful is if Nick had come to Colson months ago and said I think something is going on, but I can't pin point it. Can you and your team look into a few things for me? The show never connects the dots that Hydra is involved, but they start finding things are off. Colson makes some clandestine reports updating the status of the overall mission. So when Nick Fury is attacked in DC the people in the audience who watch the show can go this is the thing that Nick was talking about. Everyone else in the audience can just carry on watching the film without worrying about knowing the back plot.
To me that is the difference between working toward a true payoff and not just another info dump moment that fakes it without earning it.
Pros- Action, good story, great surprises, great cast, great sequel.
Cons- Not enough Batroc, no Falcon costume, not enough Falcon, not enough skin tight
Black Widow leather costume, not enough Howling Commandos.
Dammit.
Dayum.
Quality over quantity.
I don't think we're going to get the Captain American series anytime soon though
Sorry
I heard a few grumblings about how Cap 2 had too many other characters, but I think it worked well. We already had one movie were he was the standalone guy, I really thought the Black Widow and Falcon parts were just right. Plus, who doesn't want more ScarJo?!
And a movie protagonist needs someone else to play off of, it keeps them human and relatable.*
And I'd much rather see my hero running around with other competent characters than the stereotypical helpless girlfriend.
*Yet another reason the I'm not fond of the Dark Knight/Man of Steel films: their protagonists are essentially loners.
M
I must say, of all the films I have commented on, there is much less that previous commenters have nit-picked on with this film. Which makes it so much more difficult to piggyback on your ideas haha!
Okay lets get it out of the way: This was an amazing movie. At the same time, this was an amazing COMIC BOOK movie. These two are not the same thing as I think most of you would agree. I will preface this by saying there is a lot about the marvel universe in the comics that I don't know, but I'm rather familiar with basic themes and concepts from my exposure to x-men and spidey back when I was a kid, and of course I absorb lots from CGS, especially the spotlight episodes. But I digress! Let's get on with it!
While watching this movie I had a running commentary in the back of my head of "Things I wanna say about this movie on the forums cause I'm geeking the eff out". One of the things right out of the gate was Cap and Falcon's interaction. Their friendship felt very organic and natural. I knew who falcon was only very vaguely coming into this movie. I knew his costume and I knew he was a flyer and I knew he was in the movie. But once the movie booted up I forgot all about falcon, and never knew that Sam Wilson was the falcon himself so once he donned the wings I went "Oh dayumm I'm stupid how did I not see that coming!"
This endeared me to the next thing I loved about this movie, and that was that Sam worked at the Vetran's Affairs office. As a Canadian, our troops are just as important to us but I'll be the first to admit that the USA has that part of their culture much more "cooked-into" (if you'll pardon the term) the history and fibre of what it means to be American. The fact that the story talks about reassimilation into civilian life after leaving the military not only serves to speak to Cap's difficulty coping with his time-travelling of sorts, but it also really establishes for this second installment that at the end of the day, Cap is a soldier through-and-through, and that's not all sunshine and rainbows. The pure honesty of the opening scene and the scene where Cap comes to talk to Sam at the V.A. just hooked me.
The rest of the movie did not disappoint. Evans once again just nails everything I thought Cap should be, in the moments where hes not CG or a stunt double, and the production staff nail the bits where Evans isn't actually in the suit. And speaking of the suit, I remember some people having issue with his suit from the trailer, and I gotta say it worked for me because it felt natural and looked badass.
I didn't miss the howling commandos because I assumed I'd see none of them other than Bucky in this film, but the museum scene was a nice callback for them. I felt like the museum scene worked (when it could have been extremely hokey and campy) because it served the primary purpose of reminding the audience who Bucky is/was for the "big reveal" later but had that subtle purpose of further characterizing Cap as a man-out-of-time who has lost nearly all of his friends.
The only time I winced in the entire flick was when Cap visit's Peggy and her FACE IS C.G.!! Her lips just screamed CG and for about 0.000235 seconds I just wished they had put makeup on Hayley Atwell's face.
The Winter Soldier was on screen for far less than I expected coming into this movie. Granted I'm 100% cool with that given the direction that this movie took with HYDRA, but I could see someone nitpicking this. Because I only knew only who the Winter Soldier was (i.e. his identity) and not anything about his characterization, I was okay with him being fairly vague and a storytelling device, once Zola spilled the beans on what was "really" happening in the movie. Still, maybe the title "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier" wasn't exactly the most apt choice. I still prefer that over anything that would have spoiled the HYDRA infiltration plot.
The two big-meat points I have yet to cover both surround SHIELD. For starters I have yet to watch a single episode of Agents of SHIELD, but of course I'm aware of its existence and will probably watch it just-because now. So I don't know how this week's episode gets affected exactly, and I'm really not invested enough to mind at this point. I'd pretty much be okay if they did anything at all, but I have faith that Joss Whedon wouldn't dissapoint.
The seconds is the HYDRA plot itself. DAMN that was good. Granted I'm talking about the bulk of the movie now, but it really felt like this is something that would go down if I were to pick up a comic that had SHIELD in it. I never expected any Red Skull reveal or any HYDRA involvement at all, but I was very satisfied during the computer-Zola exposition scene when he revealed how HYDRA had worked its way into SHIELD.
Quickfire round:
Nick Fury car chase scene: Nerd-gasm. So bloody good.
Batroc: loved fellow-Canuck Geroges St-Pierre here, and he had just the right amount of screen time.
Crossbones: I thought Frank Grillo did a good job making this character interesting, because I had to look up who he becomes after the scene of him on a stretcher made it obvious he would return later.
Garry Shandling's return as Senator Stern: funny.
Scar-Jo: Still just nailing that character. What I loved about her in Avengers was her ability to show just enough humanity and vulnerability to believe she's a real person while still maintaining that air of mystery. This is really hard to have an audience see depth in a character when you tell them nothing about her, but she pulls it off, especially after Cap saves her from the missile attack. Oh and PS she is a fox.
Sitwell name dropping on the roof: Yeah, he said Stephen Strange and I lost my effing mind. But he also said "A high school valedictorian in Iowa" (at least I think it was Iowa). That struck me as too specific to be random, and immediately I started wondering who that would be. My internet searches have shown that some people across the pond have a different version where they heard "teacher" instead of valedictorian. Now of course this could be people just having a poor memory, but in countries where valedictorian isn't actually a thing, it would make sense to change it if they really wanted to. In these same internet threads people have been guessing that it could be a reference to T'Challa but again I know nothing of the character. Something to chew on.
The return of Maria Hill: Loved it. Just enough screen time to make it worthwhile.
Robert Redford: Just a beast.
The forums are telling me my post is too long! So one more to follow!
The END CREDITS: I too was a little let down by Bucky's final scene, but it is what it is.
When the HYDRA agent says Von Strucker's name I went "HEEYYYYY I know that name!"
I was a little underwhelmed by the reveal of Loki's staff from Avengers, but only because I wanted more NEW stuff to be thrown in my face. So once they mentioned the twins and the camera switched to their cells I went "Hmm this is new....." and immediately after started panicking..."wait...which twins? Are these people I should know? Oh crap...who....who .....okay one guy who appears to be kinda blinking and flashing....and a telekinetic girl....well that doesn't help me out...there are plenty of telekinetics..."
This thought process felt like it went on forever because on the first cut to the twins it wasnt clear to me that Pietro was "Moving" when he was flashing and leaving a grey and black ( or "quicksilver") trail behind him. On the second cutaway to the cells I caught it though (it was more clear that he was moving from place to place) and my head nearly caved in as I went AHA! ITS QUICKSILVER AND SCARLET WITCH! AAAAAAHHHHHH. I may or may not have poo'ed a little.
Well there you have it, another way too long post about a movie which I once again thought was badass!
/twocents!
And Tony Stark was no loner. He had a best friend, a bodyguard, an executive assistant as well as a constant companion in JARVIS.
Alfred, Rachel, Gordon, Fox, & Blake don't count, but Pepper, Happy, & Rhodey do? Interesting.
M
And didn't the Tumbler talk? Isn't that a former of AI?