Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a superhero action movie by Marvel Studios and is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s set two years after the events of the Avengers and opens up with Steve Rogers going for his daily run when he meets Sam Wilson, a vet who has also been having a tough time re-adjusting to everyday life. Before they can get a true rapport going duty calls as the Black Widow comes to get the Captain for a highly sensitive mission. Apparently a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship was hijacked by pirates who were now holding hostages, so the two of them are sent with a S.T.R.I.K.E. team to neutralize the threat and rescue the hostages. But everything isn’t as it seems as the Black Widow had a secondary mission Captain America didn’t know about and it was to retrieve some data from the ship’s system under the order of Nick Fury. Fury believes S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised and with Operation: Insight on the verge of being launched he can’t be too careful considering this operation would drastically improve S.H.I.E.L.D.’s capabilities in his opinion. But when Fury can’t access the encrypted data he becomes even more distrusting of those around him, and he’s correct because those behind this hidden plot are even bold enough to successfully target the director himself. Can even Captain America uncover this plot in time when this secret organization has its own super-powered weapon, the Winter Soldier?

I was really looking forward to this movie and I stopped watching all its commercials and trailers a couple of months ago so I didn’t accidentally see any spoilers. But I enjoyed the tone from the trailers and even the Captain’s new costume was reflective of the more mature tone of the story. However I understood the need for the previews and such,  and of course from an advertising standpoint, but also due to the question that I hear asked very often and that’s what can Captain America even do? And this question is answered in spectacular fashion as the Captain’s strength, speed, mastery of his shield, and tactical expertise are all put on display while rescuing the hostages and taking out the pirates. The action was amazing and this was just the beginning. Yes this was exciting with many moves creating audible reactions in the crowd but one of the reasons this sequence was even more effective was because of how likable the characters came off from jump so it was even easier to root for them. So the character development was strong and the script was excellent with some great lines. Personally, the Captain has been struggling establishing a personal life and so he still throws himself into his work, and this comes off realistically by his early interactions with Sam Wilson using the perspective of a soldier as well as the Black Widow, who is determined to help him find a woman in his life. And of course it helps that the acting and the chemistry is top-notch so it’s easy to become engrossed in the story line. And what a story it is, and it’s easily the boldest and most mature story line in a Marvel movie to date and it doesn’t shy away from getting into some deep issues.

The story touches on the military-industrial complex, the reality of the world we live in today with the use of pre-emptive strikes, spying, and the balance between security and freedom. It’s not done in a boy scout type way either as the Captain and Fury disagree over the nature of the program Fury reveals to him. Fury touts S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new helicarriers and how they could eliminate all threats across the world in the matter of moments and the Captain believes this isn’t the freedom he and so many others fought for. The only concern Fury has about the program is the belief it’s been compromised since he can’t access the information the Black Widow retrieved and saved on a flash drive. And after he raises this concern in an attempt to delay the program he’s targeted in the most amazing action sequence Samuel L Jackson has been in since probably A Long Kiss Goodnight, and it was very fitting for Nick Fury. Just as impressive was the introduction of the Winter Soldier, who was the embodiment of this hidden organization as much as Captain America was a living legend in the eyes of others. This resulted in Nick Fury giving the device to the Captain and his final message was trust no one. And this was where the movie became a very engrossing thriller filled with its share of suspense and surprising revelations.

Think of the best Bourne movie and then add super soldier serum to the characters and the script, and then you’ll understand how marvelous Captain America: The Winter Soldier is. Chris Evans is at his best as Captain America than in any of his other appearances and does an incredible job, and of course the Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson is her usual charming, sly, and very capable self. And for the newcomers, Robert Redford was perfectly cast, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka the Falcon did an amazing job and now I’m truly hoping we get to see more of the Falcon in future movies. And the Winter Soldier is as badass as it gets. I can’t go through the entire cast so I’ll just say Marvel does a great job with casting. The classic good guys vs bad guys conundrum was blown away in this movie in a very mature way and it was very surprising that it was addressed in such a bold and unapologetic way, and I loved it. It had a twist of absolute power corrupts absolutely and how it’s dangerous regardless of who wields it. It also addressed it on a level of personal responsibility and just obeying commands in the face of what is clearly wrong so the story resonated even on the lowest levels, so to speak, as many were faced with a heart-wrenching but character-defining choice. And the story’s conclusion has massive ramifications all across the Marvel universe, and that’s not an exaggeration.

And what’s also not exaggerated is the intensity of the action sequences, which were some of the best in any action movie. And with some characters also being super-powered there were plenty of “get you out of your seat if you weren’t in a movie theater but still almost do so anyway” moments. Your adrenaline will definitely be flowing and you will be reacting to these sequences. And these aren’t sequences with just explosions but where the finer details can even be appreciated in the intense hand to hand combat scenes such as how many times the Winter Soldier’s switches his knife hand. And it never felt like there was too much action (if that’s possible for you) because the story was extremely well-developed, the pacing was perfect, and there were also plenty of easter eggs and comic relief moments to enjoy. The enemies in this movie may have been cold and calculating but watching this movie definitely warmed my heart.

SUMMARY

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an electrifying, thought-provoking action spy thriller that effectively addresses the sacrificing freedom for security issue while touching on the personal side of the characters as well. It says a lot that a Captain America movie boldly questions the use of certain tactics while many “serious” news outlets have shied away from doing so, and does it in a mature way. The characters are very well portrayed, the action is exhilarating and unlike other movies where the villains are built up and then fizzle out at the end, they hold up here and you’ll be left feeling extremely satisfied in addition to wondering how the ramifications will play out in future movies and series. So yes, I highly recommend Marvel’s best movie to date.