On the downfall of SHIELD

Alaina 2022-04-20 09:01:06

Unexpectedly, after the end of Christian Bale's Batman series, the most exciting superhero to follow will be the one that seems to be the most dull and uninteresting.
Of the series of solo prequels that set the stage for The Avengers, Captain America is probably the most boring one. Blindly high-level characters and too clear opposition between good and evil made the first superhero in history (the 1944 version of "Captain America") make another big screen journey, almost ended in complete failure.
No one would have expected that the sequel after the change of director would have a perfect counterattack, which is not only better than several sequels released in the second phase of the Marvel Universe, such as "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2" in quality It is more than one rank higher, and even compared to the "Reunion" where the six heroes are assembled, the level of excitement is not much less. As a commercial blockbuster, the investment of more than 100 million US dollars can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, but the global box office revenue of more than 700 million US dollars is second only to "Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" in Marvel movies. Robert Downey Jr. has made it clear that he will not appear in "Iron Man 4", and the "Captain America" ​​series has become the most anticipated long-term work under Marvel.
Unlike other hero movies of Marvel, Steve Rogers can neither learn Tony Stark's yuppie nor play Thor's domineering, let alone the eloquence and erudition of Hulk when he is sober and violent after his transformation. crazy. If you have to compare, Batman in the DC world may be more like his spiritual brother. There is also no strange superpower, the same taciturn and silent, and the same hatred of hatred. The difference is that Bruce Wayne is always suffering from all kinds of spiritual troubles, but Rogers is always full of positive energy to overcome evil. Bruce Wayne is rich, but the captain has always regarded himself as a soldier.
Yes, this is the most essential difference between Captain America and all superheroes. In our context, he is within the system and organized. Unlike other Lone Rangers, the basic principle of Captain America's actions is not a personal value judgment, but an order from a superior. This will inevitably bring a bit of boredom to the development of the plot.
Therefore, "Captain America 2" wisely chose to take a different path, so that the captain and the sexy and hot Black Widow were framed as suspects, and the top management of SHIELD became the black hand behind the scenes. This ingenious change has allowed Rogers to have a greater stage to show his diverse personality, and the firewood and fire of hot and handsome men will have a chance to collide.
The taste of the audience in this era has determined that the masked heroes with one thousand faces are no longer popular, so all kinds of superheroes came into being. Personalization and trauma are the keys to a successful character, from stinky Stark to the badass Stark to Wayne in need of a psychiatrist. Therefore, the box office reputation of several Superman films after the restart is mediocre, which is not unrelated to Clark Kent's lack of gimmick character in the original comics. Although the original comics and the previous work have set a tall and somewhat boring tone for Captain America's character, after all, it has been frozen under the sea for decades, and suddenly we have come to this era of flowers and charming eyes. . Therefore, while maintaining a strong sense of justice and the basic character framework unchanged, Rogers has become a little bit humorous, a little bit open, a little bit playful, and the movie is more than a little bit better.
As a sci-fi action blockbuster, the director's grasp of genre elements is also quite pure. The hand-to-hand action is quite the scene and the design is exquisite, which makes people suspect that there is a contribution to the Hong Kong martial arts. The starring Chris Evans has received a lot of martial arts training such as jiu-jitsu, karate and boxing before the filming of this film, and his efforts have paid off. It's also very well presented in the film. The stunt scenes are not piled up, but they are used just right, especially the huge scene created by CG at the final decisive battle, which creates a strong sense of crisis and the stimulation of "last second rescue". The car chase scene is not only full of flavor, but also uses a stalk like "the bicycle rings everywhere except the bell does not ring", and jokes about the high-tech of S.H.I.E.L.D. By the way, the scene in which the captain and the black widow kissed and escaped the search of the agents of SHIELD not only spoofed countless seniors in action movies, but also contributed the most fragrant scene in the film.
It is commendable that there is a trace of melancholy in the film. Since the beginning of "Captain America", more than other Marvel characters, the involuntary and helpless of small people. Even if he became a fighting hero later, he first lost his best friend and then fell asleep at the bottom of the sea. Decades have passed in a single dream, and then look back at the vicissitudes of the century.
When Rogers faced his aging girlfriend, time was like an insurmountable gap, and the two of them were cut off from this life. Although the captain did not pay the price of his life to fight the evil, the passing of more than half a century will still bring indelible pain. But for him, the good news is that Sharon Carter, the niece of former lover Peggy Carter, has appeared in the TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". The original girlfriend of Captain America in the comics will be in the movie. In what way, and how to intervene in the complex emotional relationship between Black Widow, Captain, Hawkeye and others, it is very exciting.
In addition, the description of the trauma of the war and the sincere friendship with old friends give the film room for sighing and thinking, which greatly enhances the realistic meaning and the heavy feeling of the film.
Finally, let's talk about the SHIELD's collapse.
What kind of villains do superhero movies need? Those who mock morals, slander justice, flout rules, and play with emotions like the clown are naturally the best choice, but this is the best that can be encountered and cannot be obtained. Or settle for the next best thing and let the eternal opposites of movies like Nazis, Soviets, and terrorism act as bad guys? Too many movies do this, so all directors and screenwriters who have a little pursuit are not willing to pick up their talents.
Let SHIELD, who is always a mess in movies, is a pretty good villain. A small group of people led by the former director took over SHIELD in an all-round way, leaving Rogers and Natasha helpless, making the film full of spy-war genre elements, which greatly strengthened the plot tension. And the shocking secret of the two sides of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. coincides with the most popular government conspiracy theory of the American people.
The Hydra was born in the evil flower of the Nazis, and after the death of the host, it was parasitized under the newly born S.H.I.E.L.D. In the video played by Sora, who turned into a computer program, for the captain and Natasha, we can see the flashes of Khrushchev, Gaddafi, Chavez and Khomeini, etc. The smoke of gunpowder spread all over the world, and the father of Iron Man and others (does the picture of the sniper mean Kennedy's death? For verification) was obliterated. Crucially, in the video, Dr. Sora makes the point on behalf of Hydra that when the attempt to force humans to give up their freedom fails, they choose to trade safety for the freedom of the world.
This is where the Insight Program comes in. Through an algorithm to calculate someone's past behavior and analyze their future behavior patterns, once the threat is confirmed, the S.H.I.E.L.D. space carrier can directly use long-range weapons in the sky to "fixed-point removal".
Perhaps it is the increasingly strict information supervision of ordinary people in the United States after "911", which has led Hollywood to find new inspiration. Similar large-scale surveillance systems have appeared more than once in the movie "The Dark Knight". But Hydra, or S.H.I.E.L.D.'s move, obviously has a higher rank. It not only has the "monitoring power" over the world, but even the "processing power" over anyone in the world. This can't help but remind people of the notorious "factory guard system" in the Ming Dynasty. The difference is that under the modern and advanced technological means, our every move will be more inescapable.
Perhaps, if the "Insight Project" really exists in the real world, then the moment the spacecraft carrying this project lifts off into the sky is the end of democracy and freedom in the world, and the beginning of the most terrifying dictatorship. We have to be compelled to trade all our freedom for the right to be free from death.
So the act of shutting down S.H.I.E.L.D. might sound like "dumping the baby and the bath water together", but aside from Director Fury's reluctance, even his deputy, Agent Hill, didn't miss it. On the one hand, no one can tell whether there are still remnants of Hydra in S.H.I.E.L.D., on the other hand, the "Insight Project", which uses the safety of all mankind as an excuse, is actually a big killer that completely ends the freedom of all mankind. After all, it was made by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Director Fury.
Whatever the reason, any act that harms the consciousness of human freedom should be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
So, for the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., I just want to send two words:
deserve it.

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Extended Reading

Captain America: The Winter Soldier quotes

  • Natasha Romanoff: Where did Captain America learn to steal a car?

    Steve Rogers: Nazi Germany. And we're borrowing. Get your feet off the dash.

  • Natasha Romanoff: Alright, I have a question for you, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it, though, you're kind of answering it, you know?

    Steve Rogers: What?

    Natasha Romanoff: Was that your first kiss since 1945?

    Steve Rogers: That bad, huh?

    Natasha Romanoff: I didn't say that.

    Steve Rogers: Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying.

    Natasha Romanoff: No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you had.

    Steve Rogers: I don't need practice.

    Natasha Romanoff: Everybody needs practice.

    Steve Rogers: It was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm 95; I'm not dead.