10 Subtle Signs Movie Characters Weren't Telling The Truth
3. S.H.I.E.L.D. In The Shadow Of Watergate - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier's big twist is that peacekeeping organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. has actually been secretly infiltrated by the terrorist organisation Hydra for decades.
More to the point, senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) is ultimately revealed to be Hydra's covert leader and the movie's primary antagonist.
Yet there's one sneaky piece of visual shorthand earlier in the film which indicates that S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't quite what it seems, and Pierce just might not be telling the truth.
Moments before Cap (Chris Evans) has his famous elevator fight at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ and learns about the conspiracy, an exterior shot frames the HQ in front of an infamous piece of Washington D.C. architecture.
The curved buildings in the background are part of the Watergate complex, where of course the Watergate scandal originated in 1972 and ultimately resulted in the collapse of Richard Nixon's presidency.
It's a neat sliver of visual storytelling that should give eagle-eyed, politically astute audience members a hint that S.H.I.E.LD. isn't quite the unambiguous force for good it appears to be.