WHY WINTER SOLDIER IS THE BEST MARVEL MOVIE EVER          By Barry Dutter

THE WINTER SOLDIER is the best Marvel movie to date for three reasons. 1) It stays fairly true to the source material, and 2) The changes that it does make are actually an improvement on the source material; and 3) It treats the heroes with respect and dignity.
When people ask me why I hate on super-hero movies all the time, it generally comes down to movies that do the opposite of the three things listed above.
I am constantly told by hard core comics fans that “what works in comics doesn’t work in movies.” Really? That’s interesting. Then why is it that most of the biggest movies of the past decade are all based on comic books?
Could it be that what works in comics really does work on the big screen? Could it be that most of the changes that were made in super-hero movies over the past 10 or 15 years weren’t really necessary? Could it be that the real key is a good script, a good director, and a great cast, and that if you have all those elements, you hardly need to make any changes at all?
I remember when I went to see the first SPIDER-MAN movie in 2001, how disappointed I was that they left out my favorite part of his origin: the scene where Spidey decides to use his powers to become rich and famous by appearing on TV.
For years, Stan Lee has mentioned this scene as one of the things that makes Spidey so identifiable to readers: because Peter Parker does the same thing you or I might do when he first gets his powers. He selfishly uses his powers to pursue fame and fortune, before a personal tragedy causes him to rethink his egotistical ways and sets him on the right path.
I was bummed when that scene was missing from the first movie, but I figured they would get it right in the reboot. Imagine my disappointment when I found the scene was missing in the reboot, too. (For gosh sakes, Spider-Man’s origin is only 10 pages in AMAZING FANTASY #15. They can’t fit all of a 10-page story in a two-hour movie?)
Now I have to wait for the next reboot to see if the writers include what is to me, one of the most important parts of the character’s origin. It's not just that Spidey was too arrogant to stop the burglar who would later kill his Uncle Ben -- it's that he was selfishly pursuing the glamorous life of a TV star and didn't want to be bothered. It is his own vanity that brings him down, and that is what all of the Spidey movies to date have missed.
This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy. I’ve been reading comics for over 40 years, and I consider them to be gospel, especially the seminal Marvel stuff from the 60s and 70s.
I understand why some changes must be made -- things like updating Iron Man’s origin from Viet Nam to Afghanistan just make good story sense, because having the character involved in the Viet Nam war would make him too old for Robert Downey Jr. to play him. But no one will ever convince me that 1989’s Batman was a better movie because the Joker, and not a  random burglar, killed Batman’s parents. Or that the Spider-Man saga was improved by having the Sandman be the one who killed Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben.
Or that MAN OF STEEL is a better movie because  Zod kills Jor-El before Krypton ever explodes.

The WINTER SOLDIER makes one major change from the comics -- a change that was actually introduced in CAPTAIN AMERICA 1. Basically, instead of being Cap’s teen sidekick, Bucky Barnes is now a fellow soldier, and Steve Roger’s best friend from World War 2.
This makes for a better story; it gives far more weight to the scenes where Steve Rogers realizes Bucky has returned.
And let’s face it, it makes far more sense for HYDRA to be kidnapping and experimenting on U.S. soldiers in World War 2 than it does for them to be going after teen sidekicks.
It’s too bad there is no way the comics can go back and make the Winter Soldier’s origin more like the one  in the movies, but I’m afraid that ship has already sailed.
More than anything, WINTER SOLDIER is a story about friendship. Despite all the craziness going on with the three helicarriers and the rise of HYDRA and the fall of SHIELD, the movie never loses sight of the fact that this is a story about two old comrades-in-arms who are now fighting on opposite sides and have to learn to trust each other again.
Perhaps the most welcome development is that WINTER SOLDIER is a movie that is devoid of the sarcastic humor that has defined most Marvel movies. The Avengers had a couple of clever lines  in it, but every character in the movie seemed to have the same sarcastic personality.
I hate to say it, but I’m not a fan of Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark. Because he is not portraying the Tony  Stark that we have known and loved in the comics for over 50 years. He is playing a Hollywood actor who is playing Tony Stark. I can never separate the actor from the character.
Downey has got the look of Stark, and he certainly has charisma to spare, but at heart, to me, he is not playing Tony Stark. (For one thing, Marvel’s Tony Stark would never tell a child to “stop being such  pussy about your dad dying.” That seems more like something a cynical Hollywood actor would say.)
Chris Evans, on the other hand, embodies the spirit of Captain America perfectly. He fully inhabits his role as the most positive and optimistic of all super-heroes. It would be easy to make a movie where Cap gets depressed about the way things are going in the modern world, especially when compared to “the Greatest Generation” that he came from.
But Cap never loses hope. He always thinks things can be better. He may not always approve of the way things are done today, but in his heart, he believes that people will always do the right thing. He never loses faith in his country, even when he is given ample reason to do so.
This sense of hope pervades the movie, and seems to inspire the other characters in the film, such as Sharon Carter (SHIELD Agent 13), the Falcon, and the seen-it-all, done it all Black Widow.
Coming on the heels of MAN OF STEEL, a film where the filmmakers had so little faith that kids would respond to an old-fashioned super-hero, they structured their screenplay around the idea of Superman having to prove what a bad-ass he was by killing the villain. (Definitely feels like they came up with the ending first and then worked backwards.)
The makers of CATWS didn’t have to resort to such obvious gimmicks. They had enough faith in their hero to let him be who he is and always has been.
Most of the Marvel movies have at least one scene where the hero is treated like a joke, whether it be Spider-Man delivering pizzas in Spider-Man 2, Iron Man serving as a DJ at a party in IRON MAN 2, or the Thing getting pooped on by a pigeon in FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER.
But CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 doesn’t have any campy scenes like that, and I have to respect the filmmakers for that decision. They could have made the movie a fish-out of water comedy, where Cap is constantly reacting to such modern contrivances as cell phones and kids who wear their pants slung too low.
Instead, they took him seriously. They let Cap be a soldier who is woken up in our time after a 50-year sleep and is ready to get back to work. Instead of being confused by our modern devices, Cap does what any soldier would do: he learns how to use these new tools in his war on crime. In other words, he adapts.
Perhaps the highest compliment I can five CATWS is that it feels like an issue of the comic book. That may not sound like much of a compliment, but you’d be amazed how many comic book movies don’t feel anything like the comics they are based on. (DAREDEVIL, anyone?)
The movie creates a new origin for the Falcon, which is not necessarily better than the one from the comics, but I can certainly understand the reasoning behind it.
The Falcon in the comics was originally Sam Wilson, a criminal who ended up on an island where he was brainwashed by the Red Skull into posing as a native islander and becoming Cap’s partner so he could later betray him.
That’s way too much back story to squeeze into a movie called THE WINTER SOLDIER. And besides, out of Marvel’s first 3 major black heroes -- Falcon, Black Panther and Luke Cage -- two of them were either convicts or criminals before they became super-heroes.
The Falcon’s new origin in CATWS changes that --- he is a former soldier from a military unit that developed the flying Falcon suit. Not the most inspired origin, but at least it allows Sam Wilson to make a fresh start as a stand-up guy instead of starting out as a convict.
Again, a change that makes sense. It’s not the most creative change, but it works. This movie really was not Sam Wilson’s story. His background can be fleshed out in future movies. This time, the focus is all on THE WINTER SOLDIER, who happens to  be the hotter character at the moment.
When I watch a movie like the AVENGERS, I am turned off by the constant bickering of heroes who don’t play well together. I am saddened to see that the US government has so little faith in our heroes, they are willing to nuke the city of New York when it looks like the Avengers might lose the battle.
There is none of that nonsense in CATWS. In this movie, when Steve Rogers tells the government that he needs time to get the job done, they actually give him time to finish his mission.
With Cap working alongside Falcon, Black Widow and Nick Fury in this movie, in a way, this is the Avengers movie that THE AVENGERS could have been. But in this movie, the heroes all like each other! (And am I the only one who wanted to see Cap hook up with the Black Widow in WINTER SOLDIER? Their chemistry was off the charts!)
Do I have my gripes about CATWS? Sure. For one thing, the movie features 3 classic Cap villains (Arnim Zola, Crossbones and Batroc the Leaper), but none of them look the way they do in the comics. 
I’ve been told by industry pros that audiences would not accept these villains wearing costumes because it wouldn’t make sense. Really? Every person in the world knows who Captain America is in the movie but no one ever questions why he sometimes chooses to wear a mask.
Would CATWS have been any less successful if the villains had worn the costumes that they wear in the comics? I don’t think so. Clearly,  an affectionate and faithful treatment of the characters is what brought people in to the theaters. The costumes would not have made a whit of difference to non-fans, but they would have brought  knowing smile to longtime readers like myself.
I believe Captain America was one of the riskier heroes for Marvel to make a movie about. Even though he has been around for over 70 years, the reality is, his comic really hasn’t been popular since the 1940s. He has never been one of the top sellers like X-Men or Spider-Man. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the Cap movies is that they have made Cap a viable action hero for the young people of today.
I was not a huge fan of the first Cap movie because as one friend noted, “It was all back-story.” Basically, they took an entire movie to get Cap from the 1940s to modern times. They could have just started the movie with Cap thawing out of an iceberg and adjusting to modern life, but they felt the need to tell the whole story.
That made for a by-the-numbers first film. But the pay-off comes in the sequel, where our knowledge of Cap’s past gives the film added layers. CATWS  has more heart than THE AVENGERS and all 3 IRON MAN movies put together.
It’s a fitting continuation of the saga, the rare sequel that expands on and improves on the original.
In the comics, the WINTER SOLDIER was one of the biggest Cap epics of the last 20 years. The only one  bigger? The Death of Cap, followed by Bucky Barnes taking over Cap’s costumed identity. I guess we know what we can expect in Cap 3...
One last  thing I feel I should mention is that the fight scenes in Cap 2 are all top-notch. This is exactly what a super-hero fight scene is supposed to look like. Cap’s shield is used perfectly in the movie. (Well -- almost. Cap’s shield is supposed to absorb the impact of any force that is used against it. But there are scenes in CATWS where something hits Cap’s shield and he goes flying. That should never happen. Even if you fire a missile at Cap’s shield and the missile explodes, Cap himself should be able to stand his ground.)
But the shield-throwing scenes are flawless. I love the way Cap can throw in any direction and it always returns to his hand. It is never explained and no one ever questions it. It just happens.
Why? Because that’s how it works in the comics. ‘Nuff said!

PS: My suggested villain for Cap 3: MODOK! (Looking exactly like he does in the comics, natch!)