‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ reviews salute action, intrigue

For the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier� directors Anthony and Joe Russo looked to spice things up by dropping Chris Evans’ shield-toting superhero into his own political-conspiracy thriller.

The decision was a canny one, judging by the many film critics praising the film’s mix of bone-crunching action and cloak-and-dagger intrigue.

One of the few dissenting voices is The Times’ Kenneth Turan, who says he’s “suffering from Marvel fatigue.� Although “Winter Soldier� is one of the better Marvel movies “by any rational measure,� Turan says, “What is frustrating about this ‘Captain America’ is that it’s saddled with the defects of its virtues. It’s a product of the highest quality, but at the end of the day that’s what it is: a machine-made, assembly-line product whose strengths tend to feel like items checked off a master list rather than being the result of any kind of individual creative touch.�

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He adds, “‘Captain America’ is everything a big budget superhero film should be — except inspired.�

A number of other reviewers, however, have been impressed by the film. USA Today’s Claudia Puig writes, “what distinguishes this Marvel Comics-based movie is the ingenious complexity of the plot and dimension of the characters.�

She adds, “Evans is ideally suited to the role, as dashing and imposing a physical specimen as a hero named Captain America ought to be. [Anthony] Mackie and [Robert] Redford, newcomers to the universe, are topnotch in this twist-laden sequel.� Evans also has a “winning chemistry� with costar Scarlett Johansson, who plays fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Black Widow.

In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman writes, “‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ is the first superhero film since the terrorist-inflected ‘The Dark Knight’ that plugs you right into what’s happening now. Told in enjoyably blunt, heavy-duty strokes, the movie doesn’t try for the artistry of ‘The Dark Knight’ — it’s action-fantasy prose, not poetry. Yet there’s a hell-bent vitality to its paranoia.�

He also agrees with Puig that Evans “makes our hero a compellingly pensive, furrowed-browed demigod.�

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LA Weekly’s Amy Nicholson wonders if the Russo brothers, first-time Marvel directors who are best known for their TV work on shows such as “Arrested Development� and “Community,� might be “operat[ing] as if their necks are still under a network’s guillotine� and says their work can feel as if it’s “anxious to get in, get the job done, and get out.� But she ultimately concludes that “the script is solid, and the fight scenes are excellent.

“‘The Winter Soldier,’� she says, “is the first Marvel film in forever that doesn’t climax with our heroes mowing down a generic horde of non-human nobodies.�

And yet, Turan might not be alone is his Marvel fatigue. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips, for example, gives “Winter Soldier� a positive reivew: “The movie does its duty. It’s a reliable commodity, delivered efficiently and well, like pizza,� he writes. But, he adds, “Something about even a good Marvel movie is starting to feel a little bit enough-already.�

Similarly, Jake Coyle of the Associated Press says the pieces are all there: “New character introductions: Smooth. Action sequences: Excellent if sometimes lacking finesse. Viewer satisfaction: Likely high. Box-office prospects: Bankable. Teasers for future Marvel installments: Yes, two.�

But while the movie “succeeds as finely engineered merchandise built to be crowd-pleasing entertainment, for moviegoers and shareholder alike, it has a shelf life that won’t last much past its running time.�

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