Taking place after the events of The Avengers, Captain America (Steve Rogers) is still a man trying to find his place in the world around him. When a familiar face and a familiar foe both come crashing down around Captain America and threaten to throw the world into chaos, Captain America, the Black Widow and the Falcon jump into action, protecting the world from the evils within.
The Marvel movies continue to just get better and better. One can make an argument that the first Iron Man was the best out of that trilogy, but Thor: The Dark World was better than Thor, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier is better than Captain America. Now, don't think I didn't like those first two movies. I did. I loved them, but that just goes to show that Marvel is really stepping up their game. This had a great mixture of comic book action with a real world spy game fusion. There are moments with really funny lines and wonderfully done action sequences. There are some slow moments, but those are needed to set up the action that follows them. Like a roller coaster ride, the lulls are there to set you up for the speed.
The movie is based off of the Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting story arc that brought back a character long thought dead in the Marvel Universe. The story arc is fantastic, and the film's writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, did a wonderful job of bringing such a great comic book arc to the big screen. This movie will have ramifications that have already started to make their presence known in Joss Whedon's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in next year's Avengers: Age of Ultron. That is a lot to consider when writing a single movie, but they did such an amazing job.
Chris Evans IS Captain America/Steve Rogers. He does such a great job at it that I will be saddened to see him hang up the shield when his contract is up. Really, anyone who has seen any of the Marvel movies knows exactly what they are getting with Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders. They are great as Nick Fury and Maria Hill respectively. There isn't much change there, and there isn't supposed to be. The real change does come from Scarlet Johansson's Black Widow/Natasha Romenov. She gives the character a lot more depth and a touch of humanity that, I think, hasn't really been seen since Iron Man 2 (and no, I'm not saying it wasn't there in The Avengers, just saying that there was more so in this film). The two new additions, however, are Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford. Anthony Mackie plays Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon. In the comic books, the Falcon has been Captain America's partner since he was introduced in the seventies, but in the books he can communicate with his pet Falcon and can fly (somehow) on his wings. In the movie, there is a great explanation of just what his jetpack can do and how he gets the nickname "Falcon". He is that foot that grounds the movie in reality. Robert Redford, as Alexander Pierce, was just as fantastic. I mean, it's Robert Redford. He brought his A-game to this film and gave it that "yes, this is a comic book movie, but that doesn't mean it has to be a comic book movie" touch.
For all the comic book fans, there are plenty of Easter eggs planted throughout the movie (obviously"¦ it's a Marvel movie) and YES! Do stick around after the initial credit scene. I know that there have been spoilers leaked onto the internet, but what you read and what you see on the big screen are two vastly different things. The credits scene, which was directed by Joss Whedon, made every geek in the theater squeal with joy, and yes I did say squeal. His scene leads directly into his aforementioned Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Whether you are a die-hard comic book fan, a fan of the Marvel movies, or just a movie fan in general, go watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was an amazing film, and the Marvel cinematic universe is just getting better and better by the movie. It is worth the price of admission.
