Saw Captain America: Winter Soldier Again
May. 26th, 2014 09:44 amPretty sure this is the first time in my life I've a seen the same movie twice in a first-run theater.
My original opinions pretty much stand: Black Widow is awesome, the action is superfly, it probably should have been two movie-- one of unstoppable evil Winter Soldier with hints at him being more than he seems, and one of redeeming Bucky (a third, mostly of WS Showering and having angsty flashbacks seems necessary too though I don't know how reconcile dick shots and pg-13) and the Taking Our Freedoms is Bad Mkay message is heavy-handed and diluting itself by trying to appeal to all sides of the ideological fence. Additionally, I struggle with the unquestioning certainty of American Freedom(s). We have a lot of work on that front too, and it's just a weirdly tangled up in shitty stuff as it is in other countries.
However, heavy-handing message aside, I love the story. So much agency for everyone, so many bad decisions biting everyone in the ass, so much punishment not fitting the crime. The story got better (for me) on the second watch, sadder and creepier.
Pierce. Holy Hell. To listen to his conversations with Fury and Captain America on the second go-round, to hear how he manipulates every single exchange, the constant sniffing for information with the most seemingly small-talkish questions, the way he says stuff knowing how those words will be heard... the conversation with Captain America in Pierce's office after Fury's death is so manipulative and threatening and wrong.
My reactions to some of the conversations on the second go-round unsettled me. I went into the movie intent on paying attention to action and the beats. On the first watch, I wasn't super impressed with a lot of dialogue-- most of the jokes are meh, everyone is too nice, the big line "Who the hell is Bucky?" felt flat to me--- yes, I know it's from the comic, but I also feel the Winter Soldier doesn't jibber-jabber with his targets. (though, I can buy some other response from WS because reading reactions is a matter of self-preservation for him, and Cap gave him a too-honest reaction to ignore, but that is a 1258742145235 word post for another time; along with The Chair Scene Why Fangirls Are Interpreting It Wrong And What I Have to Say About That).
Anyways, the action. Maybe it's my lack of movie viewing showing, but the action makes me gaga. Everywhere I expected X, I got Y+. When WS rips the steering wheel out of Sam's hands, holy cats. Logically, I know it plays into a huge fear of mine (drowning in my car after it goes off a bridge. I live by lots of lakes and icy roads.), but what an efficient way of compromising your targets. Lots of competency-- especially from secondaries, one of my favorite bits was Sam on the bridge taking potshots at baddies--- wasn't using his wings, wasn't being a superhero, he was just a dude doing the right thing with his skill set.
And I like how simple-- very cool and stylized and amped and brutal, but simple-- a lot of the action was. How the characters planted their weight, block shots, reacted to counter-strikes, all of it simple and elegant and fun to watch.
My original opinions pretty much stand: Black Widow is awesome, the action is superfly, it probably should have been two movie-- one of unstoppable evil Winter Soldier with hints at him being more than he seems, and one of redeeming Bucky (a third, mostly of WS Showering and having angsty flashbacks seems necessary too though I don't know how reconcile dick shots and pg-13) and the Taking Our Freedoms is Bad Mkay message is heavy-handed and diluting itself by trying to appeal to all sides of the ideological fence. Additionally, I struggle with the unquestioning certainty of American Freedom(s). We have a lot of work on that front too, and it's just a weirdly tangled up in shitty stuff as it is in other countries.
However, heavy-handing message aside, I love the story. So much agency for everyone, so many bad decisions biting everyone in the ass, so much punishment not fitting the crime. The story got better (for me) on the second watch, sadder and creepier.
Pierce. Holy Hell. To listen to his conversations with Fury and Captain America on the second go-round, to hear how he manipulates every single exchange, the constant sniffing for information with the most seemingly small-talkish questions, the way he says stuff knowing how those words will be heard... the conversation with Captain America in Pierce's office after Fury's death is so manipulative and threatening and wrong.
My reactions to some of the conversations on the second go-round unsettled me. I went into the movie intent on paying attention to action and the beats. On the first watch, I wasn't super impressed with a lot of dialogue-- most of the jokes are meh, everyone is too nice, the big line "Who the hell is Bucky?" felt flat to me--- yes, I know it's from the comic, but I also feel the Winter Soldier doesn't jibber-jabber with his targets. (though, I can buy some other response from WS because reading reactions is a matter of self-preservation for him, and Cap gave him a too-honest reaction to ignore, but that is a 1258742145235 word post for another time; along with The Chair Scene Why Fangirls Are Interpreting It Wrong And What I Have to Say About That).
Anyways, the action. Maybe it's my lack of movie viewing showing, but the action makes me gaga. Everywhere I expected X, I got Y+. When WS rips the steering wheel out of Sam's hands, holy cats. Logically, I know it plays into a huge fear of mine (drowning in my car after it goes off a bridge. I live by lots of lakes and icy roads.), but what an efficient way of compromising your targets. Lots of competency-- especially from secondaries, one of my favorite bits was Sam on the bridge taking potshots at baddies--- wasn't using his wings, wasn't being a superhero, he was just a dude doing the right thing with his skill set.
And I like how simple-- very cool and stylized and amped and brutal, but simple-- a lot of the action was. How the characters planted their weight, block shots, reacted to counter-strikes, all of it simple and elegant and fun to watch.