Battle of the reviews: Two writers look at ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

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I went into this review hoping to create some sort of head-to-head debate comparing my thoughts on “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” where one critic covers the pros and the other covers the cons.

After sitting through all two hours and fifteen minutes of the movie, I can honestly say, I’ve got nothing.

It’s no “The Dark Knight,” but it could be one of the best superhero movies to come out since then. Like “The Dark Knight,” this entry in the Marvel cinematic universe takes comic book characters and settings and throws them into a story rife with allusions and commentary on our country’s state of affairs.

While the first “Captain America” took place in a world of 1940’s-esque adventure and optimistic charm, the sequel displays an interesting contrast by taking the defining hero of that time and transporting him to an era where technology and contemporary issues create an almost foreign landscape for him to weave through.

Steve Rogers, a.k.a. “Captain America,” wants to do the right thing, but how does he do that when both sides of a battle believe they are doing just that? If he becomes the good guy on one side, he becomes the bad guy on another. It’s not easy to be a clean-cut, boy scout of a man in this day and age.

In this complex web of a movie, Marvel Studios proves that they’re not just taking over the superhero genre; they’re taking over every film genre they can.

The fight sequences and car chases resemble that of an action thriller, with a story that is layered like an espionage or political drama. The way it all connects is what moves the Marvel saga forward, which continues in television’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and next year’s Avengers sequel, “Age of Ultron.”

This August, Marvel taps into the world of space adventures with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and after the next Avengers film fans can expect to see the studio’s take on the heist action-comedy genre with “Ant-Man.”

Outside of the cinematic universe, audiences can get their fix from movies licensed by other companies, such as Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and Fox’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

DC Comics, it’s time to start playing catch up.

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