Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Review

The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger gave us a taste of the patriotic superhero of Marvel comics past and his fish-out-of-water story.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes that story and expands it in a clever new direction.  Changing from a rough and tumble story of action to a story of espionage.

After the events of The Avengers film Captain America, played by Chris Evans, is still doing missions for S.H.E.I.L.D.  Not happy with the secrets that the government keeps from the solders in field, Captain America finds that Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, and Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, are compartmentalizing missions of S.H.E.I.L.D. and keeping vital information from other members of the team. After a mysterious assailant attacks Nick Fury for a USB drive retrieved during a recent mission, Captain America must uncover a massive conspiracy within the military organization.

The acting is great.  Chris Evans is still a believable hero and his chemistry with Scarlett Johansson is really fun to watch. Anthony Mackie as the Falcon is a welcome addition.  He seems like a natural extension for the Captain America character.  Even Samuel L. Jackson brings his A-game and gives his usual passive character a more heroic face and adds a great deal to the action.

The story is really fascinating. Going into a story of deception, betrayal, espionage, and action. It is a fascinating and dark follow up. With so many twists and turns you won’t know which character in the movie to trust. For this reason, seeing the first film is beneficial. However, this new film does a nice job of reminding the audience of important characters from the previous film.  

If you are a fan of superhero movies this is certainly a good one to watch.  It takes a concept well beyond the origin story and gives audiences a truly fun and original take on government and freedom vs. security.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier is certainly worth seeing in theaters. Just remember to stay after the credits, as there are scenes that hint at the Avengers: Age of Ultron.