Captain America is Hot (Or Jen and Sam Review Winter Soldier in Talky Form)

Sam: I thought the fight scenes were the best in the MCU so far. It was spectacular. The feeling sick, I really don’t know I haven’t heard that complaint so far.

Jen: Like I said. Might have been me…I need new glasses haha.

Sam: But you know what I want to talk about? The goddamn obliteration of the Bechdel test.

Jen: Oh? Yes let’s talk about that.

Sam: The Combo of the focus on Maria Hill, Natasha, and the Nurse, combined with Fury and Sam Wilson.

Jen: Our review is going to be like “Captain America II: A Feminist’s Wet Dream”

Sam: The representation in this movie compared to The Avengers (5 straight white guys and a lady)

Jen: Omg it was equal opportunity screen time all over the place. I have a feeling cap would major approve. I actually noticed the same thing while watching it. It’s fantastic.

Sam: Then you take secondary characters in Cap II, like Agent Sitwell, played by Maximiliano Hernández… It was all over the place, there were no women PoC yet but it’s moving there. Marvel made some huge strides in this movie. All three women kick ass, they all serve the story, and none of them die horribly to spur the male characters to action.

Jen: I think Marvel has been very aware of race bending. I mean the fact that Fury used to be a white dude and now he’s literally Sam L. Is pretty indicative of how aware they are. (feel free to disprove me.)

Sam: That part is a little hard since this version of Nick Fury is based off the ultimate universe version of the character. (Which was drawn as Jackson.)  So I think if anything Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley pushed that years before Iron Man.

Jen: **whoosh** (that’s the sound of those names going right over my head) Hm. I have a question that may double as a spoiler… Any thoughts on Bucky taking over as Cap in future films?

Hail Hydra?

That is the sound of Seb’s heart breaking.

Sam: Well if we look at a purely non comics view, it’s most likely going to happen. Besides Avengers 2 Chris Evans is only signed for Avengers 3 and Cap 3.  While Sebastian Stan is signed for 7 more films. So the likelihood of it happening from a financial perspective makes sense. Also if you look at the nods towards it in both The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier. (Bucky wielding the shield.) If we are talking comics, it has to happen. 

Jen: Right right. I have to say the Bucky in this movie made me super sad.

Source: Artist’s Tumblr (click for link)

Jen: I am actually completely jonesing for a Civil War movie. Although it would probably launch a whole phase if they wanted to do it right.

Sam: I don’t think my brain would handle it, I would fall apart. Most likely.

Jen: Now okay. I don’t know about you but I feel like this movie was not properly named. Like yeah we get some winter soldier action… But I feel like a better name would be like……. “Captain America: The Downfall” or something. I sort of wish the winter soldier had been a bigger secret and like the focus had been more on the government reset, I mean, Marvel was pushing it as a political thriller. But that’s just a marketing concern I guess.

Source: Artist’s Tumblr (click the pic)

Sam: I’m actually going to disagree, I think Winter Soldier was the best name to throw out there. It reintroduced Bucky, and the name threw everyone for a loop. That S.H.I.E.L.D. reveal, that was huge for a lot of people. Something like Downfall could have hinted it was coming, it kept people focused on Cap so they didn’t see the big reveal too early.

Jen: Good point. And I guess at some level it’s like readers of the comics know what’s coming anyhow?
Sam: Exactly, I think they had to balance the story with a need to keep it an actual secret. I guess I’m saying Winter Soldier put people in those seats just so the story could pull the rug out from under them and upend the whole of the MCU power structure.

Jen: Hahaha tru… You’re also talking to someone who watches Empire Strikes Back for the romance…

Sam: Hawt…lol

Jen: W/e I’m a character person. I mean the S.H.I.E.L.D. thing was interesting but to me the real crux of the story was Bucky and I don’t think he got enough screen time.

Sam: I’m going to be honest, I don’t think he was the crux, I think he was the catalyst. I think the focus is Cap AND Natasha, it’s both of them learning how to deal with a world that isn’t what they expected.

Jen: Like I said I feel like we were watching it from different points of view…but I will agree with that much.

Sam: It was really a Cap and Black Widow movie, they could have just as easily called it “Black Widow Finds Out Everything She Believed in Was A Lie.”

Jen: See if Cap and Natasha are the focus then why name it after Bucky? Just because he was the catalyst?

Sam: To answer your question. YES, Winter Soldier as a title sold me on something that I was expecting to see, it then turned it on it’s head. Understand that I’m not saying that Sebastian Stan wasn’t criminally underused (He was) or that it should have focused a little more on THE Winter Soldier (maybe, maybe not.) But what it did do was subvert my expectations in the best way possible. It sold me on Bucky as the crux but it gave us a catalyst to a much stronger MCU, also a much better understanding of both Cap and Black Widow, and to a certain extent Maria Hill, Sam Wilson, and Nick Fury. Two black Characters that bye and bye are nothing alike and not at all parodies. Which in and of itself a huge thing for a movie like this. For comics in general even. lol

Jen: I will accept your explanation, and yes it totally is a big deal for the comics world. I think what we might be straying from is the fact that this movie was incredibly well-made and a fantastic follow up to both The First Avenger and The Avengers. And it’s got us both suuuuuuper excited for whatever comes next.

Sam: That is so incredibly accurate it hurts. It both expanded and solidified the places of multiple people (including ladies and PoC) within the MCU.

Jen: Yes. ALMOST LIKE A MOVIE ABOUT AMERICA OR SOMETHING! I will show myself out.

Sam: *Exit stage left*.

SOME COOL CONCLUSION ABOUT HOW IT WAS GUD AND 5/5 HIGHLY RECOMMEND OR SOMETHING OKAY BAI – Jen
One More Time!

Here’s the thing, obviously both Jen and I loved the movie, but we want to hear what you thought. Let us know, yell at us, rage at us, or kindly agree, on our twitters or here in the comments!