[Locke]

Winter Soldier - SPOILERS AHEAD.

Iron Man 3 chronicled an evolution in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can't really get bigger than the Avengers and so Iron Man 3 stopped thinking about size, and thought more about the detail. It was a valiant idea, but for me at least, it was also something that failed miserably. It was clear they weren't quite ready for something as emotionally deep, and action light as something like Iron Man 3.

Now if you're wondering why I brought that up, it's because Winter Soldier feels more like the spiritual sequel to Iron Man 3 than it does a direct sequel to the likes of Avengers or The First Avenger. It keeps all of the good ideas from Iron Man 3's plans to mature and evolve the franchise but this time gets them right, creating a film that really provides the best of both worlds. This features a sharper, tighter, deeper and much more emotionally engaging story which still provides all the rock 'em sock 'em we'd come to know and love from when this cinematic universe was in its infancy.

Although the narrative is admittedly a tad clichéd, none of the Marvel superhero films have attempted to really tackle anything quite as directly as this does, and not nearly in such a thought provoking and mature manner. If you didn't already think Avengers was basically a Michael Bay movie with a Marvel license, this film is definitely going to put both that film in perspective, but also the whole cinematic universe as this film proves what this franchise can achieve when they put in that little bit extra. This is a tough act to follow, and I feel sorry for any Marvel film that has to come out after this.

Lots of what makes Winter Soldier so fun is comparing it to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic universe, that might sound odd, but it's just so impressive that even in a universe with a giant super strong green man, an alien God with lightning powers and guy with mech suits, that you give a guy a shield and superhuman stamina and he can still be so damn entertaining. The key ingredient to this films success purely as an action film, is a little thing called 'variation'.

I personally found the set piece in Avengers mind-numbing, because that is what it was, a single set piece. A forty minute long slog of fighting the same CGI animation over and over and over again, goons are never meant to be the main event, ever. So cleverly, Winter Soldier shifts gears a lot, it provides the kind of grand scale set pieces we've come to expect from these films, including sky battles which look awesome in 3D. Then there are also downplayed subdued sequences like when Cap, Black Widow and some Shield Agents stealthily storm a ship full of pirates which shows a very different side to the film. In the next moment bullets are flying and we find ourselves in a visceral and tense burst of urban warfare, with the film showing another side again.

It isn't just how it's portrayed which is healthily varied either, it's tone. This is probably one of the funniest Marvel films to date, which we'll get to, but between all the laughs the Winter Soldier gets to be one of the most brutal villains we've had yet. Not so much in explicit content, but he barely utters a single word, which gives this haunting detachment as he begins to mow down what few members of SHIELD are left, that aren't Hydra in disguise.

Perhaps my favourite part of the film though, are the characters. I never much cared for Black Widow but the dynamic between her and Cap is wonderful, Johansson honestly steals pretty much every scene she is in as Black Widow shows us there is whole lot more to her than sex appeal - although she has a lot of that to. And although Falcon is admittedly a little tacked on, for the short time he's relevant Anthony Mackie adds a lot to the film by being so charming and charismatic. The banter is the most razor sharp I think it's been in any Marvel film yet, expect a LOT of laugh out loud moments with the rest of the screening to punctuate your viewing, it's great.

Sadly, probably the worst aspect of the film, is ironically the Winter Soldier. In such a fast paced film, trying to juggle varied action, character dynamics and a critique of the modern world, the Winter Soldier seems like someone chucked in at the last minute to give someone Cap can punch who'd still be standing after.

I mean sure, we gets lots of exposition about him and a hint of a mystery that doesn't really play out in any way at all but despite so much of the film focussing on the difficulty of returning from war - and in Cap's case, returning from being frozen for seventy years - the reveal that Bucky is still alive, and as a Hydra assassin no less, is something that it seems the film doesn't really think is a big deal at all, when it most certainly is. It feels almost as if Cap knew all along, just as well as the rest of us comic fans, that it was already coming.

In short, the Winter Soldier in the film called "Winter Soldier" only really exists to be introduced to the audience, in a sub narrative so ultimately pointless until the end, you could cut out of all of his scenes and impact nothing. The film actually ends with Cap and Falcon planning to go after him, "fo' realzies" this time, so err...Captain America 3: Winter Soldier For Real This Time? Flows right off the tongue!

Importantly though, the Winter Soldier is so ultimately superfluous his insignificance is ultimately too insignificant to impact all the stuff this film does well. This is probably the best film in the Marvel canon to date.