Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It was made by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. This movie is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and is the ninth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America.

The story follows Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson as they discover a secret plan inside the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D..

The movie was inspired by comic books and real spy stories. The filmmakers wanted to make an exciting story that felt like a real spy adventure. They filmed in places such as Los Angeles, California, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland, Ohio. The movie used real stunts and special effects.

The film came out in April 2014 and was very popular. It made over 700 million dollars around the world. Critics liked the acting, the action scenes, and how the story was told. It was one of the top-grossing movies of that year. It was later followed by a sequel called Captain America: Civil War in 2016.

Plot

Two years after the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers works with a secret agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. in Washington, D.C., trying to adjust to life in the modern world. He is sent with Agent Natasha Romanoff and a team led by Agent Brock Rumlow to save hostages from pirates. During this mission, Rogers learns that Romanoff has a secret task to get important information from the ship.

Back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, Rogers meets with Director Nick Fury and learns about a secret plan called Project Insight. This plan involves three large flying vehicles called Helicarriers that can attack anyone considered a threat before they even do anything. Fury becomes suspicious and tries to stop the plan. On his way to meet Rogers, Fury is attacked by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier and is badly hurt. Before he loses consciousness, Fury gives Rogers a flash drive with important data and tells him to trust no one.

Rogers teams up with Romanoff and they discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been taken over by a secret group called Hydra. They meet Sam Wilson, Rogers’s friend who flies with a special wingpack called Falcon. Together, they uncover Hydra’s plan to use the Helicarriers to attack people around the world. With help from Fury, who faked his death, they work to stop the Helicarriers. Rogers and Wilson manage to change the controls on the Helicarriers, causing them to destroy each other. The Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be Bucky Barnes — Rogers’s old friend who was turned into a powerful weapon — fights Rogers but does not recognize him. Rogers refuses to fight back.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. in chaos, Romanoff speaks to a government group to explain what happened. Fury continues to work secretly to stop any remaining Hydra agents, and Rogers and Wilson decide to help Bucky Barnes regain his memory.

Cast

• Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America: An Avenger and a World War II veteran who was made very strong by an experiment and frozen until now. Evans trained in "parkour, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, and boxing".
• Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow: An Avenger and a spy who works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and teams up with Rogers.
• Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier: Steve Rogers' best friend who was thought to be killed in action in World War II but has returned as a brainwashed soldier.
• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon: A former U.S. Air Force pararescueman who flies with a special wing pack.
• Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill: A high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works with Nick Fury.
• Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow: The commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counter-terrorism S.T.R.I.K.E. team.
• Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Agent 13: A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who guards Rogers without him knowing.
• Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter: A retired military agent and co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. who was once Steve Rogers' love interest.
• Toby Jones as Arnim Zola: A Hydra scientist from World War II.
• Jenny Agutter as Hawley: A member of the World Security Council.
• Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce: A senior official within S.H.I.E.L.D. and member of the World Security Council.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury: The director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Production

Development

In 2011, before Captain America: The First Avenger was released, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely started working on a sequel for Marvel Studios. In 2012, the Russo brothers were chosen to direct. They liked the political thriller style and wanted to mix superhero action with real-world problems.

Marvel said the movie would come out in 2014 and would continue right after The Avengers. The film would look at S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret group that helps Captain America fit into today’s world.

Writing

The writers began planning the sequel before the first movie was even out. They chose to set the story now and focus on real problems, making it feel close to life. They got ideas from 1970s political thrillers and wanted Captain America to deal with issues that seemed very current, like hidden government secrets.

They decided to use a well-known comic book story and added ideas of secret plans and danger. The story would show Captain America dealing with a tricky and sometimes shady world.

Pre-production

The Russo brothers started directing the movie in 2012. They picked actors like Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. The movie would be filmed in many places, including Cleveland, Ohio, which stood in for Washington, D.C.

The filmmakers made new outfits for Captain America and his friend, Falcon, to look more real and practical. They wanted the action to feel true and exciting.

Filming

Filming started in 2013 in Los Angeles and later moved to Washington, D.C., and Cleveland. The directors used hand-held cameras and focused on real staging and lighting to make things look natural. The action scenes were planned to feel strong and real, with real stunts used when they could.

Post-production

After filming, the Russo brothers edited the movie themselves. They used very few computer effects, choosing real stunts and sets instead. But some scenes, like flying vehicles, needed digital effects. The filmmakers made many versions of the movie to fit different places and screens, all while working very quickly to meet the release date.

Music

In 2013, Henry Jackman said he would make the music for the movie. He used big, brave sounds to make the music special. The music came out on April 1, 2014, from Hollywood Records.

Marketing

In July 2013, Marvel Studios showed a poster with Captain America's shield that looked damaged. This hinted that the movie would have exciting action scenes. Later that month, many actors and creators talked about the film at a big event called San Diego Comic-Con.

In October 2013, Marvel released the first trailer for the movie. The trailer showed lots of action and secret plans, and many people watched it online. Before the movie came out, Marvel made many exciting announcements and events to build up interest, including special appearances, comic books, and video games.

Release

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was shown in many countries on March 26, 2014 and in North America on April 4, 2014. It was available in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. The film had its first showing on March 13, 2014, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Other big showings happened in Paris, London, Beijing, and Cleveland soon after. The film is part of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The movie became available for digital download on August 19, 2014, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on September 9, 2014. These copies included extra features like behind-the-scenes looks, audio comments, and funny bloopers.

It was also part of a 13-disc box set called "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", released on December 8, 2015, which had all the Phase Two movies. The film was later released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on April 23, 2019.

Reception

Box office

Captain America: The Winter Soldier made $259.8 million in North America and $454.7 million in other parts of the world, totaling $714.4 million. It was one of the most popular films of 2014. The film earned $10.2 million on its first Thursday night showings, which was more than twice as much as the first film in the series. It broke records in April for the most money made in a single day and over a weekend. The movie stayed at the top of the box office for three weeks. It was the most successful film released in the month of April.

The film also did well outside of North America, earning $75.2 million in its first weekend in 32 different countries. It opened at number one in places like Australia, China, and Russia.

Critical response

Critics liked Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 90% approval rating based on 311 reviews. Metacritic gave it a score of 70 out of 100, meaning critics generally liked it. Audiences gave the film an "A" grade.

Many critics praised the film for its action scenes, character development, and suspense.

Accolades

Sequel

Main article: Captain America: Civil War

Further information: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films

Captain America: Civil War was released on May 6, 2016. The same directors and writers from The Winter Soldier worked on this movie. Many actors returned to play their characters, including Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Paul Bettany as Vision, and Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. New heroes, like T'Challa / Black Panther, also joined the story.