Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

[Captain Untouchable]

Either I had a total search fail, or for some reason we don't have a thread for this yet. :uhoh

But yes, good news, everyone (http://www.themarysue.com/peggy-carter-short/)! Peggy Carter will not only be appearing in The Winter Soldier in flashback scenes: we'll also be getting a Marvel short (like that kickass Agent Coulson one) at comic-con / on the DVD.

Also in slightly older news that you may have caught already, Steve is getting a new costume for this outing, based on the outfit (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oju5FyHUdf0/TiuHRfjWnqI/AAAAAAAAJEU/Nxql2ZqHtJg/s1600/Steve1.jpg) that he wore a few years ago when he'd just come back from the dead and Bucky was wearing the incumbent Captain America (comic books have weird plots). Here's the concept art (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/51843/1192314-new_steve_rogers_design_2010_02_large.jpg), and here is a grainy set photo (http://wpc.556e.edgecastcdn.net/80556E/img.site/PHmZQ34JuqrGqm_1_m.jpg) of him wearing it. Behind him is Black Widow wearing something similar and apparently rigged up to some sort of "it looks like I just landed via parachute" doodad, so I wonder if this is perhaps a slightly less colourful / more covert outfit that he's wearing because he's doing spy stuff.

We've also had a few (http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2013/05/captain-america-winter-soldier-set.html) set photos of Falcon. Initially I was a little disappointed in how dull-looking it was, but then I saw this (http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q761/DLX7/CA2/Falcon-Concept-Art-Dragonlord.jpg) concept art and realised that the dude is in front of a green screen: those weird poses are starting to look like he's possibly involved in some sort of winged aerial machine pistol shoot-out, which sounds amazingly badass.

[Droo]

More Peggy Carter? Yes, please!

[Zenas Codrey]

Well, no points for guessing who the villain is.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

...unless you aren't intimately familiar with all Marvel villains, I guess. I don't have a clue.

[Captain Untouchable]

If that's the case Holly, avoid ALL Captain America news, even the stuff that doesn't seem like spoilers. When you find out who the villain is, it's going to be absolutely mindblowing for you, and I'm jealous - preserve that if you can! :ohno

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It's Mr. Freeze, isn't it. :p

[Dasquian Belargic]

I wonder if this film can finally make me care about Captain America.

:|

[Captain Untouchable]

^ I think Captain America has a very male appeal. Being a bullied victim is something both genders can relate to, but Steve Rogers is turned into the epitome of manliness. Women may find him nice to look at, but I would guess that they don't aspire to be a six foot muscley handsome dude. On the flipside, I find it difficult to relate to Batwoman the way I do with Cap, because it's not a character I can easily relate to or aspire to as a guy.

That's different from other male heroes like Iron Man, because the idea of Tony using his intellect to build himself into a hero has nothing to do with his gender.

Maybe?

[Zenas Codrey]

Holly, Jace is right, you're like a Marvel Comics unicorn. Don't spoil the Winter Soldier's identity for yourself! Please, pretty please!

[Darth Turbogeek]

^ I think Captain America has a very male appeal. Being a bullied victim is something both genders can relate to, but Steve Rogers is turned into the epitome of manliness. Women may find him nice to look at, but I would guess that they don't aspire to be a six foot muscley handsome dude. On the flipside, I find it difficult to relate to Batwoman the way I do with Cap, because it's not a character I can easily relate to or aspire to as a guy.

That's different from other male heroes like Iron Man, because the idea of Tony using his intellect to build himself into a hero has nothing to do with his gender.

Maybe?

No, it's more cultural than anything I think. I personally also find the character a snoozefest, exactly like Spiderman - and that opinion seems to be more seen outside of the USA where the very Americaness really just doesnt work or even offputting.

Tony Stark translates because the premesis isnt rooted in American culture. Take Stark, make him Asian, dont change anything, it still works. Try that with Captain America and it really goes wrong. Hell, even try making it Captain Australia and you will see that there has to be a real fundamental shift in Steve Rogers nature to get close to working.

[Captain Untouchable]

Culture is certainly a factor, but that doesn't account for why non-Americans like myself connect with the character.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Maybe I just haven't read off of Cap solo to develop an attachment to him. From his solo movie, the Avengers, and his appearances in the comics that I do read, I have never found there to be anything compelling or remarkable about him.

I don't think it's necessarily because he's male, although I do think there is a certain degree of.. male wish fulfillment about the character, at least if you're into square-jawed soldiers with a firm moral code and who do their duty no matter what.

Anyway, unless this gets stellar reviews I'll probably end up watching it on Netflix.

[Darth Turbogeek]

Culture is certainly a factor, but that doesn't account for why non-Americans like myself connect with the character.


You are a very uncommon in that. Most of the time it's simply no one outside of the USA cares or the very Americanness is repelling.

And I would say that as someone who actually rather liked the movie - Steve Rogers as the Ultimate embodyment of USA tho is.... well.... no thanks. The movie in fact toned that down and even subverted is why I could watch it at all, the comic book version makes me want to tear my eyes out. Now from what I've been reading CA2 is goign to play different angles and there's probably going to be enough side things going on to make it not an issue.

I suspect it'll get a big Avengers boost, but that it.

[Droo]

For your consideration...

NLWsK1ZFunA

It was always going to be a very different film to the first one, feels like a bit like a Bourne-esque thriller, mixed with a whole load of SHIELD stuff. I like the look of this. :)

[Crusader]

I must admit this trailer makes me want to watch Captain America more than I want to watch Thor2. This trailer is amazingly badass. I like two things about it:

1. Black Widow's promotion to a main character suits her really well in this. You could even argue that the footage suggests that this is a Black Widow and Captain America Movie.
2. A political intrigue seems to suite Captain America more these days than fighting pseudo Nazis.

I think the biggest disappointment for me in The First Avenger was Hydra. To me Hydra was just a generic Bond Villain Army and not a terrifiying super Nazi Nightmare. In my book they spent too much time giving them super weapons than showing that they are actually worse than the SS. Actually Red Skull even kills more real Nazis than Cap so maybe he was the good guy all along.

[Captain Untouchable]

I wouldn't go as far as calling Black Widow a main character: this is still a Captain America movie about a Captain America plot arc. She has an important role, but it's an important supporting role: she's part of the story, but it's not really her story. That isn't a bad thing: Black Widow seems to work best as part of a partnership or ensemble in the comics, and she's had a noteworthy role in more Marvel Studios movies than anyone except Iron Man... I just know a lot of people who'd get (justifiably) cranky about how not-main she is. :uhoh

Phrasing aside though, I am really excited for this movie. I'm probably more excited for Thor 2, but only because The Dark World is only a month away... the whole spy thriller vibe looks really really cool, I love that Cap has his little clique of super-friends within SHIELD, and I like that this - along with Iron Man 3 - keeps the scope "big", rather than zooming back into everyone's personal little bubbles again. I'm much more excited to see movies about superheroes saving the world, rather than them saving just the one city over and over again.

Also, I watched this on my mobile phone rather than a big monitor... but did I see Captain America wearing his new costume, his Avengers costume, and his World War II costume? Well, some variation of his WW2 costume - I checked my Captain America DVD, and it looks like his stomach has sprouted an extra stripe... but it seems like it's meant to be the same one?

If it is, I hope he keeps the WW2 helmet, because that was way cooler than his Avengers one.

[Crusader]

There is a theory about the 3 costumes already:
First he wears the Avengers costume to show the transition from Avengers to now. Then he becomes a member of SHIELD and wears the dark blue costume. Later he finds out that SHIELD might not be the good guys after all and so he steals his old WW2 costume from a museum in Washington. The intresting question here is how will Agents of SHIELD deal with this topic?

[Captain Untouchable]

By the time Winter Soldier comes out next April, the first season of Agents of SHIELD will either have finished, or there abouts. My money would be on Project Centipede somehow leading into Winter Soldier... and then Season 2 (if there was one) would presumably pick up after the movie, and build towards Age of Ultron (and Ant-Man, Phase 3, etc).

I would be very surprised if Agents of SHIELD has a cliffhanger season finale, because that would just make it extra tricky to slot the show and the movies around each other.

It'll also be interesting to see how much SHIELD and Winter Soldier are a reaction to The Dark World. We already know that "Phase 2" was a reaction to Thor... perhaps Robert Redford's character and the military escalation we saw in the trailer is a reaction to the dark elves smashing up parts of London?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Someone casually dropped the identity of the Winter Soldier into a discussion in an Agents of SHIELD thread and I am disappoint. I tried not to read it! :cry

[Dasquian Belargic]

7SlILk2WMTI

[Atreyu]

Here's the UK version:

http://youtu.be/G4LVE9OUTfw
(sorry couldn't figure out how to embed)

One thing the UK trailer has that the US one doesn't - at 1:07 there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of Sharon Carter. :)

[Zereth Lancer]

I'm not sure I could have enjoyed this movie more. It was an absolute blast and, for me, it was better than Avengers because it was more personal; spread across fewer spotlight characters which allowed for character development among amazing action scenes. Anyone familiar with the comics will find constant Easter Eggs and hints to future films throughout. 10/10.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, there is a scene after the credits. Don't miss it.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

There are actually two scenes after the credits.

Loved the movie.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Folks should see it. Great work.

[Captain Untouchable]

I'm not sure I could have enjoyed this movie more. It was an absolute blast and, for me, it was better than Avengers because it was more personal; spread across fewer spotlight characters which allowed for character development among amazing action scenes. Anyone familiar with the comics will find constant Easter Eggs and hints to future films throughout. 10/10.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, there is a scene after the credits. Don't miss it.

Bolded for emphasis. For me, this was a movie with zero wasted space: the dialogue was perfect, the action was tailored to perfection, and every scene felt vitally important. I was also impressed by how, despite Captain America's name being in the title, it was a surprisingly ensemble peace: the character development for Black Widow and Nick Fury was really interesting, and I instantly fell in love with Falcon... right from the opening scene, I loved every moment of his interaction with Cap.

I was also pleasantly surprised with [Arnim Zola - in the comics he's a robot with a TV screen in his stomach; they made him really cool in a way that made total sense. I'm also mega intrigued by all the tidbits of early SHIELD that were teased and revealed too. Did the Russos just set up the premise for a Peggy Carter series?]

I am completely mind-blown by the way everything ended, too. Avengers 2 needs to hurry up and be made because holy cow what happens next?! :cyduck

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Watch Agents of SHIELD if you want to know exactly what happens next. :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Seems like everyone is really enjoying this.. might be the movie that makes me actually interested in Cap as a character. I'm going to try and see it this week at some point.

[Rutabaga]

I'm going to see it tomorrow. The critical and fan reaction has me feeling very excited for it.

[Rutabaga]

Saw it, and loved it. I especially appreciated that it was a little more character-driven than other comic book/superhero movies. And the action sequences were superb. I also fell immediately head over heels for the Falcon. If they don't use him again, they're bonkers. And I've got to know...was anyone else willing to admit that [they teared up during the scene where Steve went to visit Peggy? I did, and I swear I heard more than one person sniffling around me.]

It all just makes me wonder how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to play out...last week's episode was huge, and this week's is going to HAVE to deal with the aftermath of everything that happened in this movie.

[Martinet]

Regarding Agents of SHIELD, I have my suspicions that [Coulson having his plane, his team, and virtual autonomy - something Fury moved heaven and earth to set up - is all part of Fury's fail-safe plan. Coulson is one of the few people that Fury absolutely knows he can trust: not because of his loyalty to Fury, but because of his integrity and commitment to doing the "right thing". Fury was suspicious right from the beginning of Winter Soldier (hence engineering the situation on that ship), and presumably had been for a while: I think Fury trusts Coulson enough to know that if things went bad, if Fury's suspicions were realised, Coulson is the kind of person with the integrity to try and take down the bad guys. So, Fury set him up with the resources to make that happen: and now that Fury is off the grid, Coulson is pretty much the only asset that he has left.]

[It all reminds me of the "Secret Invasion" arc from the comics (and almost every Marvel cartoon), actually. In that, Nick Fury goes off the grid because shapeshifting aliens have infiltrated SHIELD, the military, governments, terrorist groups, and even superhero teams. The fact that Maria Hill went off and got a job at Stark Industries at the end, the fact that we're getting Glenn Talbot (a military character) showing up soon, and the fact that we know that Age of Ultron has been filming scenes that take place all over the world... it makes me wonder if the Hydra infestation extends to more than just SHIELD, and the next chunk of Marvel story is going to involve trying to weed it out. Who knows... maybe even Ultron is part of that: a Sentinel style cadre of robots to take out the threats that Hydra failed to dispose of during Winter Soldier.]