I saw it on Wednesday and have taken a few days to let my opinion settle.
I thought it was all right - a solid three stars. The reason I'm not giving it the full five is that it doesn't know what film it wants to be.
***UNMARKED SPOILERS AHEAD***
The first half promises 70s-style political thriller (as had been teased all the way along). It's great. The general premise of Cap being out on his own, not knowing who he can trust, works brilliantly. I personally wanted to see them push it even further - have fun with the fact that Black Widow has played multiple sides before and has a habit of running different agendas than everyone else, throw a few more reversals of loyalties in there - but it's a really strong set-up and just great to see in this kind of movie. There are also some interesting character moments, good interplay between the leads; it's top-grade stuff.
Unfortunately, all the plot points I disliked were in the second half. It basically becomes by-the-numbers comic book action, and all the intrigue is thrown away. The bad guys are really easy to identify, people you think you can trust can be trusted, and we're back to a black-and-white view of the world where punching the right person and blowing up the right thing stops the baddies and saves the world.
I know I'm not the main target audience for this kind of film, but it was a bit of a let down - though I should make it clear, it's only a let down compared to how awesome that first half was. I am deadly serious when I say that the first half goes toe-to-toe with The Dark Knight and holds its ground. But the second half compromises, and that's a shame.
Things I really didn't like:
- the whole Zola aspect. I don't really care if he's a robot with a human brain in the comics, I just don't buy it in the context of a movie set in the present day. And "the algorithm" is just bad science.
- Again: I know it happened in the comics, but I hate that Bucky was the Winter Soldier. It cheapens the significance of his death and feels emotionally hollow.
- I wanted Fury to stay dead - but even then, the whole plot point is inadvertantly undermined by them bringing Coulson back from the dead in Agents of SHIELD. If Fury died, why wouldn't they bring him back? (This is, incidentally, why comic book death tropes cause big problems for storytelling).
Things I loved:
- I still can't believe Cap is played by the same actor who was the (purposely) obnoxious Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies. Chris Evans does a great job.
- Scarlett Johansson is even better, though. She brings more depth to Black Widow every time she appears.
- The whole beginnings-of-SHIELD thing they hinted at with Peggy Carter was awesome, and if they greenlight the TV miniseries they've hinted about that I would totally watch it (especially if they keep Hayley Atwell in it).
