Notwithstanding the magical serum that first transformed 90-pound weakling Steve Rogers into his strapping, spandexed alter ego — and that pesky Tesseract that has caused so much trouble all over the Marvel universe — both “Captain America” pics have stayed largely grounded in the real world and a sense of real-world politics. In “The First Avenger,” that meant pitting Rogers against the band of power-mad uber-Nazis known as Hydra. Here,
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watch free movies online without downloading anything or signingup or paying or survey. It means bringing him face to face with an even more sinister foe: the American military-industrial complex. Taking inspiration from such hot-button topics as drone warfare, NSA spying and Wikileaks-style secret sharing, the screenplay by returning writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is smart but never didactic about situating “The Winter Soldier” in a world where those on both sides of the political aisle have done much to compromise basic human freedoms in the name of defending them.
Featuring these and other opponents of sometimes-obscure identity is more than enough to keep Captain America: The Winter Soldier brimming with vehicular chases, surprise attacks, shootouts, fist fights, Energy Baton takedowns, miraculous rescues and surprising demises. The action is voluminous, and when it involves machines, it’s fine. However, when humans go at it one on one, directors Anthony and Joe Russo (Welcome to Collinwood on the big screen, Arrested Development on TV) go nuts, forsaking credible and exciting action within the frame for overcutting of such intensity that you can’t tell what’s going on. It’s as if the filmmakers were obsessed with making Paul Greengrass look slow-footed. The intent may have been to create an impressionistic account of action rather than a lucid one, but it winds up looking not only confusing but like a cheat, as you can’t believe anything real is happening; all you see is cuts, not physical contact.
Fortunately, the story develops some genuine intrigue; as in the best such yarns, it’s hard to know who’s really pulling the strings and who, other than the characters who wear costumes, is sincere and who might be up to no good. For sheer plotting and audience involvement, this is a notch above any of the other Avengers-feeding Marvel entries, the one that feels most like a real movie rather than a production line of ooh-and-ahh moments for fanboys.
