K, let's do this - ranking the action scenes from worst to first -
6. The final big finale - While I loved seeing the Falcon, and found the emotional stuff between Cap and Bucky quite effective, there was a bit of...I dunno quite how to put it...but perhaps fatigue at play for me. After Iron Man 3's big finale, not to mention the Avengers, I would have been fine with this movie ending on a slightly smaller scale. But, the fact that this scene is last speaks more for how amazing the other scenes were than some great failure of the finale.
5. Nick Fury's car scene - I'm very glad Sam Jackson got a scene to himself. And the chase itself was great. But I guess I could have used a little more crazy Steranko tech. Bullet proof glass and a mini-gun are not exactly mind-blowing. And yes, I know the flying car aspect was out the window and they acknowledged that, but this could have been a little more super-spy I guess.
4. Cap Chasing Bucky the first time - I know it was short but just seeing Cap crash through that building and ending with the W.S. catching the shield was pretty damn awesome.
From here on we're in the A- to A+ range
3. The Elevator fight - I couldn't believe how clear the scene was. It would have been so easy to do this in a Bourne style. So many cuts, shots of elbows, etc. that you aren't exactly sure how each guy is going down...just that they are and then the shot of Cap as the last man standing. Instead, in a confined space with what...10 combatants?...I thought it was fast-paced and kinetic without sacrificing clarity. And again, what a great last note of Cap kicking up his shield.
2. The Boat - The way it's handled reminded me strongly of something I felt during Spider-Man 2. You know when you watched the fight on the clock-tower vs. Doc Ock and all of a sudden all those fights you'd read in the comics suddenly, in a revelatory way, came to life?
At least for me, during that tower-to-train fight, I had a kind of an Eureka moment. The way Spidey moved, the fluidity, the agility, all the things I was meant to get out of a Mark Bagley drawn Spidey fight came to life.
This is what this opening sequence does for Cap. I actually cannot think of another comic book movie that has achieved this actually. Of course I love Wolverine in X2, and Iron Man killing the terrorists, that final scene of Avengers was joyous, but they didn't somehow bring all the action I'd ever read in the books into some kind of new clarity. In this scene in Cap 2 you get a sense of the extra speed, strength and efficiency of Cap. And the fight with Batroc...I was just so happy to see a one on one fight scene, outside of The Raid series, that I could actually follow.
and finally
1. The W.S. attack on Cap and Co. - Well this was just an all timer. I noticed, for instance, that for the very first time in a very very very long time...I was actually worried about our main characters. The way the actors played it, the relentlessness, the impact each blow had. It was sort of stunning to feel that way after all the dumb action scenes I've witnessed in my life. Everyone gets a moment, even pre-wings Falcon, and this was my favorite fight between Cap and the W.S. And loved that they let Black Widow hold off the W.S. on her own for awhile. Great great stuff.
