
I can't remember a time when comic books weren't a part of my life. My interest has ebbed and flowed over the years, but the fantastic world for visual, printed fiction has always captured my imagination. As a kid, I was happy to occassionally see 'Spider-Man' in animated form, or even black and white reruns of the 'Superman' tv series from the fifties, grateful to see my favorite super heroes spring to life from the printed page.
For years, there were feeble attempts to translate comic books to movies and television. Once in a great while, shows like 'The Incredible Hulk' would offer a fairly faithful adaptation on television, but that would be offset by painful bad follow ups, like the thankfully short lived 'Spider-Man' live action television series.

(Spider-Man 1997 tv series. Hopefully you never saw it.)
Movies didn't fare much better. While 'Superman: The Movie' became an instant classic, the films that came in its wake ('Superman 3' with Richard Pryor, Cannon Films' low budget 'Captain America' and the literally unreleasable 'Fantastic Four', for example) suggested that comic books were unlikely to garner the same care that their more respectable cousin (novels) enjoyed repeatedly. One might point to Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman', both a commercial and critical triumph, but the sequels fell short and the filmmakers seemed to be embarrassed about making 'comic book movies'.

('Batman & Robin', 1997. It's a miracle the franchise survived.)
But in 1998, a change occurred. Rarely getting the credit it deserves for kickstarting a new respect for comic book based films, and more importantly, getting Marvel Comics seriously in the movie business, Wesley Snipes' action horror film 'Blade', based on the second tier comic book character, was an unexpected hit.

(Wesley Snipes is 'Blade' 1998)
As the half human vampire hunter, the leather clad Snipes brought style, humor and legitimate martial arts ability to a tortured character who protected humans from the undead. 'Blade' spawned two lesser sequels, but it was successful enough to get the major studios interested in seeing what else was available. Shortly thereafter in your multiplex, you had so many choices of super hero, like the X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, a reboot of Batman and many more.
Flashforward a decade or so, and Marvel Studios has the super hero genre on lockdown. They've released 9 films, and all have been hits. Iron Man is the most noteworthy, making a superstar out of Robert Downey, jr. and lighting the fuse for what would be the biggest superhero movie of all time, 'The Avengers'.
It's still difficult for me to believe that these films exist at all, let alone with the consistent quality across the bulk of the films. With the advent of advanced technology, almost anything that can be imagined can be put on film. That puts the onus on the story, now more than ever. Since visually anything is possible, it's important to have a story that pulls you coupled with characters that you care about.
With that in mind, Marvel's latest triumph, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' succeeds on all levels. Unlike the bombastic 'Avengers', 'X-Men' or 'Iron Man' films, Captain America's world is a bit more grounded. An action packed tale, heavily inspired by seventies era political thrillers like '3 Days of the Condor' and 'The Parallax View', 'CA:TWS' turns a lens on the growing trust issues that exist between citizens and government.
My two favorite origin stories have always been Batman and Captain America's. Batman, because he has no powers, just an unquenchable need to avenge the murder of his parents, and to prevent anyone from going through the pain he suffered from that tragic loss. Captain America's origin spoke to me because he's a guy who just wants to do the right thing: tell the truth, defend his country and embody the American dream. The few panels that illustrate his origin from scrawny Steve Rogers to the first and best Super Soldier, is one of the classic sequences in comic book history.

As a fan of 40s flicks, the original 'Captain America; The First Avenger' hit the sweet spot for me. Directed by Joe Johnston, who also helmed the overlooked but beloved 30s era superhero flick, 'The Rocketeer', 'The First Avenger' gave us the ideal origin story, set during WWII. It was an old fashioned romp that had an admirable hero, a treacherous villain and arguably Marvel's most adult love story. The film ends with Captain America waking up 70 years after WWII in a new America that he doesn't recognize or understand.

In 'The Avengers', a little time is spent showing Steve Rogers' struggle to fit into the new century. Jokes are made at his expense and he wears an awful costume, but the film was high entertainment and set the course of the next set of sequels of Marvel films.

(the unfortunate uniform from 'The Avengers')
I didn't care for either 'Iron Man' sequel, and I liked the characters of 'Thor' and 'Loki' more than I did the two 'Thor' films currently in circulation. Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder and Tom Hiddleston as his evil half brother nearly make up for the deficiencies of the screenplays.
But for me, it all came together in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'. We meet Steve Rogers, now living in Washington, adjusting to his new life, with a sense of humor and resignation that he can't go home again. In short order, he finds that SHIELD, the government security organization that he works for is riddled with corruption and threatens Rogers personal belief system. Teaming up with a perfectly cast Anthony Mackie as the high flying 'Falcon', and Scarlett Johansson returning as the 'Black Widow', Cap sets out to take SHIELD apart before it can destroy the fragile fabric of the state of the Union.

Above, the Black Widow's on the run; below, Captain America meets the Falcon.

On top of that, Cap also has to face the deadly and mysterious assassin, the 'Winter Soldier', who has a connection to Steve Rogers that turns his world upside down.

Chris Evans owns the role of a man out of time. Clearly more comfortable in the role, he's funny, a leader of men, who carries a low key but hard to miss melancholy throughout the film. He's rocking a great uniform this time around, is also still awkward around women and more deadly than ever, as evidenced repeatedly by best action sequences of any Marvel flick by far. The hand to hand fight scenes have a tough, ragged style that rarely looks or feels like choreography. The car chases are exciting and the way the action is shot allows you to easily follow what's going on, and what's going on will put you on the edge of your seat.

If you aren't a fan of superhero movies, there's still a good chance that you'll enjoy 'CA:TWS'. It's a smart thriller and really aren't any super powers in it. You'll care about the characters, and the acting is uniformly solid. Even Samuel L. Jackson seems totally engaged when he's onscreen.

The film has made over 300 million dollars worldwide already and is being heralded by many as Marvel's best film. It's already made the summer complete for me. This was the film I was most looking forward to, and it exceeded my expectations by a landslide. The Russo Brothers, masterminds of this film, are already locked up for 'Captain America 3', due out in 2016. I can't wait to see what they come up with next. I can't recommend it highly enough.
