Captain America is the second hero, next to Iron Man, to carry the MCU on his shoulders. Steve Rogers has always been an active participant in the highlights of Marvel's films to date. However, it is also worth taking a look at his solo adventures, which may and may lack the momentum of the Avengers series , but still have a lot to offer.
Different, but forming a common whole
What I appreciate most about Captain America is the variety. Although in each of the films the conflict is driven by the neo-Nazi HYDRA, but the individual parts are kept in completely different styles. It’s basically the same for the entire first MCU phase. These works can really be accused of a lot, but certainly not that they were created for a different hoof. No wonder, because only after the first Avengers, the focus was on creating an increasingly intricate network of connections between individual titles in the Marvel universe. One of the elements of Kevin Feige’s plan was to start by creating stand-alone films with specific characters that can reach different audiences, and then bring them all to theaters on a group crossover.
In this way, Iron Man clearly stood out from the superhero convention, Hulk bet on blockbuster beats, and Thor was supposed to hit fans of fantasy and romantic stories. The most interesting, in my opinion, was Captain America: First Showdown .
An ordinary boy from Brooklyn.
The origin story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) stands out even from the other films, mainly because it is a prequel to the entire MCU, which was quite a natural step. This gave the creators a pretext to create a pastiche of war cinema. Cherlawy, the main character transformed by experiments into a super-soldier, perfectly emphasizes that every American, regardless of origin and physical predispositions, should get involved when the motherland needs help. Of course, there were also references to Captain America’s initial incarnations in the military propaganda service. We see children reading comics with a hero disguised as a flag, and before going to the action, the Captain takes part in a series of vaudeville performances, obligatorily hitting Hitler’s face (modeled on the iconic comic book cover). These scenes are especially funny when we juxtapose them with the last films in which the main emotional burden was placed on his shoulders. Well, the hero has undoubtedly come a long way.
The first match is never taken one hundred percent seriously and it is definitely good for him. The war envelope combined with SF really works and even a one-dimensional villain without motivation is not a problem. Sure, an actor like Hugo Weaving could have played a much more complex character, but he’s a kitschy action ass with exaggerated fight scenes, so he’s entitled to be painfully caricatured, Red Skull is absolutely right. I definitely love this painting.
Interestingly, the movie got a television spin-off. In 2015-2016, ABC broadcast the series Agent Carter , in which we followed the fate of the title character after the “death” of Captain America. We managed to engage the cast from the main film for production. So Hayley Atwell played Peggy Carter again, and Howard Stark was portrayed by Dominic Cooper.
It’s not time to retire
Captain America: The Winter Soldier presents a story set after the events of the Avengers . Steve has no time to rest after returning to the living. He has barely fended off the alien invasion with his new companions before becoming an associate of SHIELD, where he joins forces with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). By the way, it’s interesting that it is the second after Iron Man 2 the case when these heroes appear in the sequel to the solo film. It is worth noting that the convention has changed beyond recognition, which should come as no surprise since the action has been transferred to the present day. Few, however, expected how much distinctive production we would get. The Russo brothers, who made their debut in the MCU at that time, served a suspenseful spy movie! As for Marvel, it is surprisingly intimate and even modest here.
Yes, the scale of the threat is still international. However, instead of telling a simple as a wire story about saving the world, the viewer is treated to quite a complex plot, full of twists, in which it is often unknown who to trust. Moreover, there is almost no room for superpowers. In turn, I consider the title Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) to be one of the most interesting antagonists in Marvel’s films. There is relatively little of it on the screen, thanks to which it was possible to create a hint of mystery and a feeling of communing with a dangerous opponent. When it does show up, you actually feel the emotion. This is largely due to the perfect choreography of the fights, which later became the showpiece of the Russo brothers’ paintings. For the first time in the MCU, we saw action scenes that were so polished and pleasing to the eye, though probably had the least CGI in them. On the other hand, the HYDRA thread is something perfect for fans of conspiracy theories. The organization entwining the whole world with its tentacles does not look as bizarre as in the previous part, and indeed it makes an impression with its entanglement in systems.
Especially after the not very successful Thor: The Dark World , Captain: America: The Winter Soldier appeared as a positive surprise. For me, it is still one of the most interesting and original Marvel productions.
Split
While the second Captain America was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air, the third film in the series proved to be a key turning point for the Marvel universe. This time around, we didn’t get another story focused solely on Stevie, but a crossover involving most of the Avengers: Age of Ultron roster along with a few surprises. Some even argued that the Civil War should be directly advertised as the third installment of the Avengers . In my opinion, that would be an exaggeration for two reasons. While Captain was no longer the main character, HYDRA and Bucky’s plots were still central to the plot. Second, the Avengers series She had the largest scale of all Marvel films, showcasing clashes with unnatural forces. Meanwhile, following the example of the previous Russo brothers’ production, more emphasis was placed on the plot and intrigue than on fireworks. Suffice it to say that the conflict is relatively local.
The assumptions are similar to the comic book Civil Warand thus due to the destructive side effects of superheroes’ actions, the United Nations enacts a law forcing all costumed avengers to come out. Registered heroes would henceforth operate as a special service commissioned by governments. This idea divides the Avengers into two camps: Law advocates following Iron Man and opponents led by Captain America. Here, however, the similarities to Mark Millar’s comic book scenario end, as the plot is not only a pretext for a great murder (probably due to a much smaller number of characters in the MCU). Instead, the Russo brothers focused on outlining the situation clearly and it worked out really well. Both sides are right and in fact it is difficult to say whose approach is entirely correct.
Somehow, the battle sequences look even better than in the Winter Soldier . Although Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye have appeared, we still primarily watch the choreographed and stunt hand-to-hand combat in the first place. The icing on the cake of Hero Wars is the way the new heroes Spider-Man and Black Panther were introduced. This was done without origin in earlier videos, but their presence was plausibly explained and the relevant motivations outlined. This simple trick paid off in the future as well. Thanks to this, solo productions about these heroes could break out of the trap of the classic schemes of the first parts.
A seed of doubt
The above text shows that the films about Captain America are definitely successful and it is worth getting acquainted with them. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the new DVD releases are the best option for this. Indeed, the new packaging with cardboard covers looks exceptionally aesthetic and looks nice on the shelf along with other MCU productions. The multitude of available soundtracks and subtitles should also be included on the plus side. We will watch all titles both in the original version with Polish or other subtitles. In the first two parts, there is also a Polish voice-over path. The war of heroes it also includes Polish dubbing, which makes the position more accessible to younger audiences. Importantly, in each case, the sound is recorded in 5.1 format, which will be satisfied with the owners of more complex sound systems. Although it is popular in Marvel’s films to add jokes by Polish translators, here the location was really good. A certain oversight on the part of the publisher is the lack of mention of most foreign translations, but this is only a detail.
The work in creating the main menu should also be commended. Each movie has a different style and is nicely animated. What’s more, the second and third versions can boast of the menu in our language. The case with additional materials is not good. In Captain America: Getting Started, there is a coverage of costume development and two trailers. In Winter Soldier you can find interesting but short material about Steve Rogers’ notebook from the beginning of the film and an elongated version of one of the scenes. However, the War of Heroes lacked any extras. So, if anyone really wants to supplement their home cinematheque with all three Captain America partsthen I recommend the Blu-ray edition. There are many more special materials there, and it is not much more expensive. Fans who want to analyze individual scenes multiple times (which is definitely worth doing) will also probably prefer the higher resolution version.
