Captain America: The Winter Soldier Official Trailer and Review

So, how about that Captain America: The Winter Soldier Trailer?  Can we agree on awesome?

I must say, I’m absolutely thrilled to see this trailer out, and I can’t wait for more footage to be released before this spring.  This installment of the Captain America franchise is based off of Ed Brubaker‘s Cap run “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”.

You can find a slightly spoilerific review from Nerd Junkies here.

Now, lets get down to business (I’ve already defeated the Huns – it is now my mission to fill my pokédex with nerds) and talk about this FLIPPING SWEET TRAILER!

What I Loved:

Let me agree with the internet here, and start with the superb use of Cap’s shield – the toe flip in the elevator, the “discus decapitation” attempt when the shield is headed for The Winter Soldier’s face, and HALLELUJAH, we’re actually seeing the shield being used for it’s intended purpose here during an explosion.  I’m definitely looking forward to the stage combat choreography happening there.  Next comes that beautiful Helicarrier crash scene – I like watching things get destroyed as much as the next girl, but DAMN, I could watch that for a long time.  Every time I see it, I find some other cool little detail to obsess about.  Next on the list is the more toned down look they gave Scarlet Johansson (Black Widow, for everyone living under a rock) throughout the trailer.  It’s challenging enough to save the world on a regular basis, I don’t think we need to have full face of intense makeup, and some impossible hair getting in the way.  We still get a full view of her AMAZING body in a skin-tight jumpsuit, and she still looks sexy as hell – all pluses in my book.  And finally, I’m so impressed with Falcon’s costume, especially that wing shot.  I’m looking forward to seeing this character introduction, and how he’ll play out in the Marvel movie universe.

What I Hated:

First and foremost, this trailer absolutely DOES NOT address the subject of the film; in fact, we don’t even get a mention of his name.  It’s a serious travesty that we don’t even hear the words “The Winter Soldier” uttered during the trailer.  Not once.  I would have been happy with some sort of mysterious reference, single line of dialogue, S.H.I.E.L.D. briefing, anything that left me asking “Who is The Winter Soldier?”.  Jokingly, we’ve come to the conclusion that Robert Redford‘s character is The Winter Soldier – because, I’m getting zero indication for those “out of the know” about which person in the trailer that is.  My only other issue with this trailer was the pacing and dialogue; and really mostly because I was absolutely enthralled by this trailer until I could compare it with the new X-Men trailer.

** SPOILER ALERT !!! ***

And now for the Comic and Movie Spoiler portion of your day.

Bucky returns for his Winter Soldier debut, kicking ass and taking names in all his cryo-frozen, amnesiac glory.  I’m going to throw out a guess, and suggest that this film is going to climax with Steve Rogers discovering the true identity of his newest arch-rival, and finish up with Bucky’s memory being restored.  Everyone is going to leave the theaters thinking that their beloved Steve Rogers has died, with sidekick Bucky taking up Cap’s helm as a reformed man.  And honestly, this sounds like a great plot for what is sure to be a large grossing popcorn flick.