Captain America

Coincidentally, most of my issues with TWS involve Nick Fury. I've ranted about it at length in the past, but here are the two big ones:

The car chase sequence, as a whole, makes no real sense. WS is painted as an expert marksman and unstoppable sniper several times before this chase takes place. Hydra's plan to eliminate Fury using this super sniper? A massive, public, high stakes car chase ending with WS firing a grenade launcher at Fury's car from 20 feet away. What is the purpose of using WS like this? Why would they risk the entire operation in a huge public show instead of having WS casually pop Fury in the head from half a mile away? I understand that sequence is visually impressive, but it just logically makes no sense at all.

This one is more structure than plot hole: Nick Fury's survival is revealed too early. Having Nick Fury revealed in the cave, and having he and Cap argue about the future of SHIELD serves no narrative purpose. The film would have been much stronger if they had Cap continue to run the show, as normal, with Maria Hill's assistance straight through the storming of the Triskellion. Fury's reveal should have been him stepping out of the chopper during the hacking sequence. It would have been a much more powerful "you can't stop me" reveal for the character, and would have better shown off Steve's ability to lead the team without Fury's help. Having the audience know Fury is alive, and then follow it up with the "We've got backup coming" line makes it look like Fury has been waiting just out of sight until a cool entrance opportunity shows up. It's silly. It isn't tense or shocking to us, even though it is filmed to look tense and shocking.

The other issues are minor - Fury says he couldn't trust Natasha with the fake assassination plot, though she was perfectly trustworthy to infiltrate the ship at the start of the film to acquire the information Fury suspected would reveal the entire premise. But Hill is somehow above suspicion? Why?

It all just adds up to an oddly paced film. A lot of "strategic decisions" are made specifically to serve the visual experience, and completely fall apart within the logic of the movie.

I still love TWS, and think it's one of the most impressive film experiences out of the MCU (right behind Avengers in the category of pure "oh shit, did they really?" moments). But it's the kind of thing I want to watch a little drunk, where I don't notice the narrative as much.

/r/marvelstudios Thread