4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – by Eddie Michael
The Winter Soldier is probably the most distinctly well directed film of all on this list, the Russo Bros. (who recently signed on to direct Cap 3 and the Infinity War films) shoot amazingly steady, realistic action scenes along with hand to hand fights just as well choreographed as The Matrix filled to the brim with beautiful cinematography. All this, with a down to earth story that focuses on moral struggle, reversed Captain America’s image of being Captain Gymnast Boy Scout who occasionally punches things. The first 5 minutes of the film alone prove all this, the Russo’s not only capture the power and physical prowess of Steve Rogers but how his straight forward positive thinking of good vs evil doesn’t work so well in the contemporary world. After this film most Marvel film fans including me changed there view of Captain America, because yes, a kick from Cap should break your back, a punch should shatter your jaw, and yes he’s not afraid to throw knives at you. We haven’t even started with the outstanding supporting characters of Bucky/The Winter Soldier and Natasha/Black Widow who were all well realised and could all steal the show from Cap at anytime. This film is an excellent display of what Marvel is capable of technically and for what is to come, as they carry on improving with every project they work on.
Captain America The Winter Soldier is Marvel’s most solid film to date. Excelling in all technical areas a film should be judged on, it transcends pure work ethic and know how. This film doesn’t fall at any point, and doesn’t make any mistakes. Captain America was poorly represented physically in 2012’s Avengers and felt just as important as Hawkeye (who only appears in one film for about 20 seconds prior and isn’t that special). A perfect example of how Marvel Studios has developed and learned from past mistakes…and how you really shouldn’t miss leg day.