Road to Infinity War - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Retrospective


Welcome to the Road to AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. This is my own little retrospective of each of Marvel Studios' films every week of 2018 and by the time I am done looking back at all of the MCU movies, Infinity War will be releasing in theaters in the U.S. on May 4 worldwide on April 27. I've already talked about IRON MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON MAN 2, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, and THE AVENGERS to conclude Phase 1.

Phase 2 is taking shape with IRON MAN 3, THOR: THE DARK WORLD, and now CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER...

This film has a very special place in my heart because it was mostly filmed here in Cleveland, Ohio and I personally was at the front lines for many days of the public filming around Downtown Cleveland for over a month.

But before I get into my own personal coverage of the filming shoots for this sequel around Cleveland, I need to say that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, for me, is a top-tier Marvel Studios movie that changed the game for the studio and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is right up there with IRON MAN, THE AVENGERS, and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (which is the next retrospective post next week). This film took the tone of the MCU and tilted it slightly by making a movie that was really blended well with other film genres and genre tropes. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER is part super hero movie, part espionage film, part spy movie, part suspense thriller, and part action movie. I see this movie as a big turning point in the MCU moving forward as it showed how you can blend typical super-heroics very well with other film genres.

When The Winter Soldier made its way to Cleveland, the majority of the film's scenes would be filmed here. The outdoor public sets included the Nick Fury chase, the Winter Soldier pursuit on the highway, as well as the first hand-to-hand fight between Steve Rogers and the assassin. There were many other locations and scenes filmed here, but these were the biggest that were out in the public's eye where I was right there just off-set watching, reporting, taking notes, and taking photos.

In fact, I took the first photos and was the first to post them online of the Winter Soldier's bionic arm when he made he way onto the set for the first time in full costume. Here's one of those first photos...


Being near the sets was a great experience but let me be the first to tell anyone who has never visited a public movie set to assure you that being there can be very boring. Filming scenes take a lot of time and patience... you'll see one take but then have to wait another 20-30 minutes (or more) to see a second take for the same scene. It can take even longer between takes if there are any practical effects in play that need to be reset, too. This isn't to say you shouldn't check out a movie set if one is filming near you, but the point is to reserve a huge block of time in your schedule to allow yourself to be there for many hours if you really want to see the process of making a film. I spent at least 8 hours each day near the Cleveland sets for just over a month and saw scenes being filmed that maybe take up 20-30 minutes of the entire movie. In the end, it was a fantastic experience in both patience and seeing first-hand a big budget movie production.

Moving on to the hiring of Joe and Anthony Russo as the directors of CAPTAIN AMERICAN: THE WINTER SOLDIER. When news hit Marvel Studios was bringing the Russo brothers onboard for this sequel, there were mixed results from the fanbase. Personally, I was excited for the Russos to helm this film but this was due to my familiarity with them through shows like ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and COMMUNITY. Especially COMMUNITY, where they directed the series' paintball episodes which were very action oriented for the ensemble comedy show. These episodes were also a big factor in studio head Kevin Feige hiring the duo, too, being that he said was a big fan of their work on these particular episodes.

Once the trailer for the sequel hit, it quieted most questions fans had about bringing the Russos into the Marvel Cinematic Universe...


Opening a month before the official summer movie season began, on April 4, 2014, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER opened with $95 million in the domestic box office. At the time, this was the studios' fifth largest domestic opening weekend behind THE AVENGERS ($207M), IRON MAN 3 ($174M), IRON MAN 2 ($128M), and IRON MAN ($98M).

The sequel earned critical acclaim for its ability to blend other film genres into a super hero movie so seamlessly, propelling Marvel Studios films to the next level as many Marvel Studios film releases since The Winter Soldier have done the same with genre blending while keeping the MCU tone throughout.

At the end of its box office run, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER took in $259 million domestically and $454 million Internationally for a worldwide total of $714 million. This was nearly double the worldwide total of its predecessor, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER ($370M).

For as much of a game change CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER was for the larger., ongoing storyline of the MCU by revealing the true nature of Hydra, the next addition to the MCU really turned everything Marvel Studios had done on its head as its riskiest movie yet, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, was preparing to release just a few months later.

Written by Daniel Wolf, Founder & Publisher 


Previous Road to Infinity War Posts:
Road to Infinity War - THOR: THE DARK WORLD Retrospective

Comments

Post a Comment