Marvel Studios continues to entertain and its latest project, Guardians of the Galaxy, is now only two weeks away! Obviously, we're thrilled and you should be as well, but for this week, we wanted to reflect on the studio's history. We all have our favorites, but two movies tend to almost always be listed at the top: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers. This week, we wanted to see if the voters could choose between these two exciting movies or if they love them equally. Well, it turns out they can pick between these two movies and a majority sided with...
Anthony and Joe Russo's Captain America sequel is debatably the most serious Marvel Studios project yet. It took a good look at Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) morals as he faced the modern world. The political narrative had plenty of fan service as it took from the source material (by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting) and, even though it offered a more compelling storyline, it still managed to offer a ton of spectacle and fun. While The Avengers had a thrilling final battle, the action in Cap's film was consistently impressive and offers what it without question the best hand-to-hand fights we've yet to see in a Marvel movie.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was a great and charismatic addition to the cast and the sequel did a surprisingly good job adding more depth to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Plus, it paved the way for some big changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and left many of us wondering what Marvel Studios has up its sleeve as it moves forward with these characters.
The super-soldier's movie took a strong majority, but Joss Whedon's team-up movie still received a fair amount of love. Here's a look at how all of the votes were distributed.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier 56%
- The Avengers 25%
- I can't choose... I love both of them! 17%
- Sorry, I'm not a big fan of either movie 1%
- It brings me great shame to admit I haven't watched these movies and won't be able to before Friday 1%
The community has been chatting about the strengths and weaknesses of these two entertaining movies since Monday. So, let's see why a few of them said they decided to side with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
harashkupo
"I haven't commented on anything so I thought this would be a nice place to start. I voted Winter Soldier.
Avengers was a great movie that not only brought the MCU together perfectly, it also felt like a comic book brought to life. It always annoyed me when I watched comic book movies where the characters felt watered down. Of course effects have evolved a long way and I understand that plays a huge part, but I got tired of seeing a hero perform one or two feats and then appear as a regular person for the majority of a movie. Avengers not only showed each character off but Whedon used the whole city and made me believe they were a powerful team. The moments where Ironman transitions from flying around to battling with Cap and showing off the repulsor/shield combo or Hulk and Thor teaming up on the big alien creature. These scenes felt like super humans instead dudes that just so happened to have extra powers.
Sadly there were parts of the movie where it felt like a CW or WB tv show. I felt like the acting and effects elevated the movie. Winter Soldier might have not been the most profound or ground breaking cinema experience but for me it felt like a well rounded movie. The story was a great adaptation that completely fit in with what's currently going on in the world and never felt heavy handed nor did it dip into campiness. The dialogue was fun and delivered well. Plus I absolutely loved Stan's WS. Both him and Evans owned those roles. Actually everyone killed it with their characters.
Honestly Avengers and Winter Soldier are pretty even but the script and acting really push WS to the top."
WarBlade539
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Don't get me wrong, Avengers was a solid, enjoyable movie with lots of Superhero Brawls, enjoyable dialogue and watching Thor, Cap and Iron Man standing together, for the first time on the big-screen sent chills down my spine.
But TWS wasn't just an exceptional Superhero movie, it was also an incredible spy/political thriller in the same vein as 'The Bourne Trilogy' and 'All the President's Men'. This film touched upon the growing paranoia and fear and distrust of the government and that ongoing debate about whether or not we should trade freedom for security.
Another aspect of the film that differentiated it from most other Marvel movies is the dark, serious tone that it has going for it. There is less humor and the few humor that is in the movie, doesn't feel out of place. Wouldn't be much of a political thriller if it was humorous, would it? These are what put the movie above most other CBM's for me.
However, TWS doesn't stop there. Up until now, TWS has the best portrayal of Steve Rogers in movies. He actually moves and fights like a highly trained Super-Soldier this time around. And the fight scenes were, in one word, nuts. The choreography was insane and puts most action-movies and every other Superhero movie to shame.
The ship-infiltration scene in the beginning comes to mind which feels like something right out of a Modern/Military video-game (Modern Warfare anyone?).
Plus, Chris Evans was brilliant as Steve Rogers. He is Captain America, for better or for worse.
If those weren't reasons enough, there's one more. Buck Barnes a.k.a Winter Soldier himself. Sebastian Stan's portrayal of Winter Soldier has been one of the best CBM villain/anti-hero roles for me. And it was spot-on, from the arm to the hair to the uniform. Everything about his portrayal of WS exudes terror and danger, the way it should. No, seriously, he freaks me out just by the way he stalks his victims and his soundtrack. Another movie-villain that he's reminiscent of is the T-800 from Terminator, the whole 'unstoppable' vibe that surrounds these two characters.
And if the final scene didn't make you cry, you have no heart."
GraniteSoldier
"These are two of my top comic movies. So while it'd be easy to pick loving them both, am I going to side with one SLIGHTLY more than the other. I'm going to go with Winter Soldier.
Avengers was everything it set out to be: fun, action packed, entertaining, had awesome music and the best big-screen Bruce Banner and Hulk yet. I could throw it on any time and enjoy the ride.
Winter Soldier has all the action, but also has a great story, pacing, deep characterization, and a bit of an introspective look at what it is actually like to be a soldier. The latter is my main reason for picking Winter Soldier. It just spoke to me on a more personal level, and as far as superhero flicks go, seemed to get the baggage that comes with being a soldier and fighting for the people and to protect even when your superiors may be misleading or exploiting you. It's a hard life to live, and you are often torn about why you do what you do, and I feel like on some level Winter Soldier understood that."
vandinejd_1991
"Although I absolutely love both movies I love Captain America: The Winter Soldier more. It had a better story with the whole HYDRA having infiltrated SHIELD from its founding. The characters both old and new were absolutely at the top of their game, and the dynamic between Captain America and the Winter Soldier was absolutely amazing. Lastly, the action was some of the best I've seen in a long time. Although Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America 3, and Avengers 3 might surpass it as of now Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite movies of all time."
Now comes the REALLY tough part, Viners. What's your favorite moment from either of these movies? If you can eventually choose one, be sure to share it with the community below and say why it rocks! Don't forget to check the homepage on Monday for a brand new edition of this segment. If you want to suggest a future match-up (it can be comics, TV shows, movies, or video games!), tell us below or reach out via twitter.