Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season One)

Zach Goodier

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show follows up on the activities of S.H.I.E.L.D. following the events of The Avengers.  It follows the revived Agent Coulson (more on how he came back later), as he gathers a team of agents to travel the world to protect it from threats both native and alien, as they contend with rival organizations out to steal and develop advanced technology, as well as alien threats that come from off-world to cause trouble on Earth. 

(L to R) Skye, Simmons, Fitz, Coulson (duh), Agent May, and Agent Ward.

Presentation:

The visuals are all top-notch to for a TV show, with quality CGI being used in most places.  Some scenes, like Coulson’s Corvette turning into a hovercraft, don’t quite pull it off like the movies have, but that’s all minor details that don’t occur often enough to kill the show, but they can make you pause and criticize for a bit.  Costumes and such are all solid, and all the tech S.H.I.E.L.D.  uses looks as futuristic, yet realistic, as anything we have come to expect from the films.

Coolest "bus" I've ever seen.

Story:

The story is really well done, despite a rather slow start.  Each character has their own history, which gives them some intrigue as the show moves forward, and nearly everyone has a reason for being on the “Bus” that doesn’t entirely involve loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D..  That makes it more compelling when you see conflict between team members, since you realize that there is a lot going on, even internally, to keep everyone (including the viewer) on their toes.

 Several cameos appear, whether it’s Nick Fury or Lady Sif from Thor, there are quite a few little treats to carry you through, and towards the end of the season, tensions are raised sky-high as loyalties of fellow agents are called into question as the show’s timeline runs parallel to the events of Winter Soldier, introducing us to a whole new world that our characters must adapt to, and not everyone is who they appear to be.

Bill Paxton has a recurring role as a hard-nosed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Characters:

As I said before, each character has their own story, which helps shape them and their role in the show.  Agent May is an elite operative who is by the book and one of the toughest women around, but she has a colored past that made her take a desk job before Coulson pulls her back into the field.  Agent Grant Ward is a tough, young agent who is reluctant to join Coulson, but ultimately decides to join.  Fitz and Simmons are two scientists who serve as the biology and tech researchers, helping to understand the strange events and technology the team encounters in the field.  The last member to join is Skye, who is a rogue hacker who has run-ins with the team early on, and eventually decides to join.  However, the team is reluctant to trust her, considering her action against S.H.I.E.L.D.  and other intelligence agencies.

Not every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is what they appear to be...

Overall:

There’s a quality show here, without a doubt.  If you liked Coulson, and wanted to see more of him, this is definitely the place to do it.  While they slowly delve into the mystery of how Coulson came back from his run-in with Loki, it still hasn’t fully been explained, but that’s because it’s one of the persistent mysteries that the team is struggling to solve as the story progresses.  

The greatest enemy S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever faced lies within.

While some of the CGI isn’t up to par with what the movies have spoiled us with, it’s easy to forgive the show since all of its other areas are fairly top-notch.  The story might struggle to gain traction in the early part of the season, once it finds a solid pace, it gradually builds up in excitement until you find yourself on the very edge of your seat as you move into the end of the season, and you wonder how, or even if, S.H.I.E.L.D. can ever be the same again.

Good:

-Excellent story arc

-Coulson, Coulson, and don’t forget Coulson.  We missed you so.

-Great cast of characters that surprised me throughout.

Bad:

-Somewhat slow to gain traction in the beginning.

-CGI is hit-or-miss.

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Zach Goodier

The Captain is back, and struggling to find his place in the modern world.  Under Nick Fury, Steve Rogers is a man who is unsure if he’s really capable of going back to his old job.  Going forward, he realizes that the world has become a much darker, more complicated place than he left it before, and even SHIELD has become a dark and deceptive place.  Things take a turn for the worst when Nick Fury discovers that there are SHIELD activities being kept secret from him.  Things quickly spiral out of control as an old enemy reemerges to threaten the world, and at their vanguard stands “The Winter Soldier.”

 

SHIELD is fighting for survival in this sequel.

From the outset, this is a much more engaging movie than the first one.  While I enjoyed the first Captain America, I found parts to be a little too straightforward.  This movie, on the other hand, has a lot more intrigue, with struggles to find this shapeless enemy, and questions of who to trust being central to the movie.  However, I found it refreshing that this film didn’t take its own twists too seriously, since most of this has been done before in other “spy vs spy” movies, so you relatively quickly get a grasp on roughly who the enemies are, without any lame attempt to hold out until the last moment to reveal what half the audience already expects.

The Winter Soldier, a truly worthy match for our Captain.

The themes of this movie are very interesting as well, as Rogers struggles over just how blurred the lines have become between justice and tyranny.  It also works in some of the fears over the advancement of technology, and some of the darker sides to being able to destroy half a country with the push of a button.  This really challenges our heroic Rogers, who realizes that the world didn’t improve after winning the war, it only kept going, and corruption knows no borders.

The Falcon is an awesome addition to the cast, and a good ally to have when things get rough.

There are several characters who appear from other Avengers movies, and how they were tied in from the other films makes for some interesting references that most people who have been following the other films, particularly Iron Man, will appreciate.  The main new face in the franchise is Sam Wilson, who plays Falcon.  He is worked in from the opening of the movie, developing a relationship with Rogers based on a mutual feeling of purposelessness, with both being soldiers who struggled to adapt to society after feeling they lost their sense of place in the world. 

If this guy can take the Captain's shield, you know he's not a pushover.

One of the more interesting sides of this movie is the Winter Soldier, who really does a great job of making a worthy nemesis for Captain America.  From the beginning, the movie makes you realize that while the Captain isn’t invincible, he really has a huge advantage over other soldiers, which initially makes this look like a fairly bland movie; however, between the intrigue and the introduction of the Winter Soldier, it truly feels like the playing field is tipped against Rogers, making the action very gripping.

I'll just leave this here, and after you've seen the movie you'll understand why he's probably the lamest part of the film.

On another note, the product placement in this movie is so blatant you want to scream.  While it really doesn't do much to hurt the film, it does distract you if you happen to notice cars and realize that there are brands other than Chevrolet on the planet, as much as this movie will try to show you otherwise.  The 2014 Corvette Stingray (Pictured below in more product placement at the movie premiere) was a nice touch, but after the Tahoes and Chevrolet police cars, it became very obvious that General Motors probably paid of a lot of money to make sure you saw as many of their cars in this film as possible.  

Nothing against a sexy gal like that (I mean the car, of course), but after 2 hours of EVERY car that gets a spotlight in this film being a Chevy, you realize just how blatant some of this product placement is.

Overall, this is a great film to start out the 2014 action season with.  While it doesn’t really break any new ground in terms of the story itself, it does a great job of putting the First Avenger in a foreign land.  He knows the flag, but the country is very different from how he remembers it, and the world as a whole has become a much more complicated place.  I like the change of tone, and how it works in a lot of contemporary themes into a thrilling action-packed film.  The humor isn’t lost, either, with lots of comedic moments throughout between the Captain and Black Widow, who fills a very welcome role alongside our hero.  However, the film does have a darker tone, and innocent people are killed.  While this won’t affect the mature viewer, it might not be suitable for young children.  It’s also a little conspicuous how Rogers makes no attempt to call in help in this movie, even though he obviously needed it.  While I understand that it’s the way the movie was made, there were a few moments where I found myself saying, “You should have called Tony Stark to help with this, not like you can’t find the guy.”  Overall, some issues of logic and originality aside, this is a fun film that I would highly recommend watching if you enjoy the franchise, or just want an exciting film to start your spring off with.

Good:

-Old-age hero, new-age problems.

-Lots of cameos by other characters from Marvel movies. Plus Stan Lee Easter eggs are always good.

-Action, humor, few mediocre twists.

-Some interesting contemporary themes.

-Great sense of scale and brilliant CGI work.

Bad:

-Conspicuous absence of other Marvel characters, who you’d think Rogers would have on speed dial for such situations.

-Some small lack of originality in parts of the story held it back.

-Some very strong product placement for Chevrolet, which many people conspicuously noted throughout the film.  I mean, is this a movie or a 2-hour Chevy commercial?

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10