Thank the Russo brothers for a) shooting outside in a real setting with practical effects not CGI, for going with a shaky cam that actually added to the sense of immediacy and wasn’t annoying as fuck.
Let me tell u what makes this scene so great. It’s the fact that Steve has a match, an equal. He mows down the goons on the Lemurian Star, escapes SHIELD HQ by fighting 15 people in closed quaters, jumps off a buliding and blows up a plane, then within hours he meets up with Natasha and survives a missle strike. He has no match, no equal in this world. That’s what happens when Batroc challenges him – this scene shows us that men think they can go toe to toe with Steve but they simply can’t.
And then this scene is a rare beast. It’s an action scene that is actually a character building scene. We saw the WS blow up Fury’s car and shoot him, but that could have been any common soldier. Sam could have deployed the mine. Natasha could have taken the shot a Fury. None of them could survive in no holding back fight with Steve.
Within seconds, Bucky has Steve off of him (usually if Steve is close enough to hit you, it’s game over for you), then disarms him and uses his weapon against him. Bucky dictates the speed and the path of the fight, and while Steve tries to attack, most of the time he is dodging. This tells us the audience, several things: a. Steve is in actual danger, b. Steve, judging by his face, is scared (remember what beatings he has taken up unitl now) and therefore c. for the first time in 3 movies, Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America, is not safe. The stakes are real. You are feeling the adrenaline Steve is feeling, even if you are not sure why. That’s what makes this scene a masterpiece.
Sometimes I just kinda wanna cry because in the MCU, Steven Grant Rogers:
Was violently bullied throughout his childhood and into adulthood.
Watched his mother waste away and die.
Was an orphan by his mid-to-late teens.
Grew up in poverty, during the Great Depression, as the child of immigrants .
Grew up color-blind, partially-deaf, malnourished/stunted, and chronically-ill, in a culture that was so big on eugenics that Nazis took their cues from the US systems.
Signed up for the army and then dove on what he believed to be a live grenade because he believed the best use of his life was to exchange it for the lives of others.
Fought on the front lines of the bloodiest and most horrific war in human history, where he undoubtedly witnessed terrible violence and atrocities.
Watched his best friend die and lived with the guilt of believing he was responsible.
Crashed a plane into the ocean, fully believing he was going to die.
Was frozen alive.
Woke up to find that nearly everyone he’d ever known was dead and gone, and his home was changed nearly beyond recognition; he could never truly go home from the war. Ever.
Lost his shot at happiness with the one woman who ever actually looked at him when he was small and frail, and had to watch her mind come apart, and later carry her coffin.
Found out his sacrifice – the thing he gave up his life, his friends, his whole world for – was in vain, and that HYDRA had corrupted the legacy of the people he loved.
Found out his best friend survived, and that he’d abandoned him to a fate worse than death, and got to then live with THAT fresh guilt.
Is seen by most people as Captain America; almost no one sees Steve Rogers.
Was only 26 years old, biologically, during the Battle of New York.
Has not had the time or resources to cope with any of this.
ok but why does captain america have a fitness challenge and why is it still being shown in schools. he took experimental super steroids and is currently an international fugitive
If we’re all being honest with ourselves, a public school having an outdated educational video featuring a celebrity with dubious legal standing is the most accurate thing in any of the Marvel movies.
okay but does anyone notice that bucky is putting himself in the line of fire, probably because he believes that his metal arm will be enough to shield the both of them (even though steve’s shield is much bigger)? in this moment he is back in the 1940s, and the bullets are just punches being thrown at him that are meant for his skinny, defenseless friend steve. and the moment steve gets up and shoves his shield in front of both of them, bucky immediately wraps an arm around his shoulder as if to say, “i’ve got this,” and hold him closer to make up for the seventy years he missed out on. in this moment, he isn’t the winter soldier, a ghost story, or even sergeant james barnes of the 107th. in this moment, this is james buchanan barnes, doing what he knows best and protecting his friend from the dangers of the world. they say people change, but some habits stay the same, no matter what they go through.