'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' trailer shows a very different Marvel movie

Being a fish out of water as a legendary World War II soldier frozen in ice for 70 years is one thing, but waking up to immediately becoming a world-famous hero of the modern era and not knowing who to trust – as what little you know comes crumbling down around you –  is another entirely. Poor Steve Rogers has not had an easy time as Captain America and it’s only going to get worse when a friend from the past returns as a foe of the present in the film’s sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Building off of the new poster and teaser footage, the first full-length trailer for Captain America 2 raises the stakes for its titular hero – and the franchise – while successfully proving that Marvel Studios and directors (and brothers) Anthony and Joe Russo have crafted something not only intentionally different than its predecessors, but vastly larger in terms of scale and scope. The action sequences alone are giving the biggest battles of The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World a run for their money.

The themes of the Captain America 2, previously described as a “political thriller” by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, are very evident in the teaser trailer and fans – much like the characters on screen – don’t know who to trust. That’s part of the moral dilemma for Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who’s seen questioning S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) while the secretive organization he works for is torn apart, possibly from the inside. We see Rogers having to fight off his own people in the infamous elevator sequence that played well at Comic-Con, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet attacking Rogers and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and the most shocking of all -a shot of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier (or at least one of them) from The Avengers crashing and burning.

There’s also the history between spy Black Widow and the brainwashed Bucky Barnes – aka The Winter Soldier – which will play into the story, along with the introduction of Robert Redford’s mysterious new authority figure. Marvel Comics readers will note the classic S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, seemingly from the office of Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce character.

Official Captain America: The Winter Soldier synopsis:

After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.

Cap’s next adventure is being directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo off a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and will release in 3D. Robert Redford joins Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Samuel L. Jackson,  Cobie Smulders, Scarlett Johansson, Toby Jones, Anthonie Mackie, Frank Grillo, Hayley Atwell, Maximiliano Hernandez and Georges St-Pierre.

Rob Keyes blogs at Screen Rant.