Captain America: The Winter Soldier

         Disney has made so much money off of these Marvel movies, it's ridiculous. Of the nine Marvel movies put out by Disney, they have made almost a combined six billion dollars; making it the third highest grossing movie series behind James Bond and Harry Potter. The problem I have with the Marvel movies is that they aren't always particularly good. Other than the first "Iron Man" and "The Avengers," none of the movies have been great; some of them were even subpar. Disney doesn't really have to try with these movies to be honest, they know that they could throw just about anything together in one of these movies and they know people will go see it. After "The Avengers," Disney started with the second generation of Marvel movies. But with "Iron Man 3" (which I plain didn't like) and "Thor 2: The Dark World" (which I enjoyed but wasn't overly impressed by), I was starting to worry about the future of these movies and if the people behind them were just looking for a payday and not looking to make a good movie. Fortunately, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" has arrived to put my fears to rest.

     Taking place after the events of "The Avengers," Captain America has become an important asset of the government agency SHIELD while at the same time is attempting to adjust to modern day life. The Captain is having trouble coming to terms with the way SHIELD operates, especially after a rescue mission that got a little sketchy. He learns that SHIELD is about to start an operation that would virtually eliminate any threats to the world's security using these giant helicarriers that could target people from the sky and eliminate them. One sday, SHIELD commander Nick Fury is attacked and almost killed; he manages to escape and make it to the Captain's apartment. He tells him that something is up and gives the Captain a flash drive with some very delicate information; just then, Nick is shot multiple times. The Captain goes after the assassin only to catch a glimpse of a legendary hitman known as the Winter Soldier. In Fury's absence, SHIELD decides to go forward with the operation involving the helicarriers. The next day the Captain is called in for questioning about the event, he says he knows nothing and leaves. Shortly after he is attacked by SHIELD agents and is wanted for withholding information. The Captain escapes, and with the help from Black Widow, is forced to track down the Winter Soldier and learn what is going on with SHIELD.

     In short, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is one of the best movies taking place in the Marvel universe; expanding on that, it works not only as a great superhero action movie as well as a smart and entertaining spy thriller. "The Winter Soldier" brings on an all star cast just like any other Marvel movie, and as always they deliver. Chris Evans and Scarlet Johansson are the main stars, and both give particularly strong performances. Robert Redford is also added to the cast, he adds an even higher level of credibility to an already stacked movie. One of my favorite aspects of the film would be that Scarlet Johansson is more predominately featured than in the previous movies in the franchise. Johansson has always been known for being very attractive, and because of that she's often been type cast as the pretty face; but she really is an exceptionally talented actress and that shows in this movie. On more than one occasion, "The Winter Soldier" produces some of the best action sequences you'll see in a movie all year; but it is so much more than just an action movie, the story really is great and is thrilling in its own right and brings forth some interesting political aspects we are seeing in real life. I also appreciate that the CGI in the film is much better than what we saw in its predecessor. Like all Marvel movies, the writers interject a good bit of humor in it; but unlike "Iron Man 3," it doesn't feel as forced and is much funnier. One of the best aspects of the movie has to be the villain, but at the same time it is its biggest fault. The Winter Soldier is an incredibly menacing villain; he is of equal skill of Captain America and really gives him a run for his money. He might not have the charisma of the Joker "The Dark Knight" or Raul Silva from "Skyfall," but he is still quite the badass; but the biggest problem with the movie is that the Winter Soldier is extremely underutilized. To be honest, I'm not even sure why they put his name in the title; he's arguably not even the main villain, I just wish he was in more of the movie. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is great, plain and simple. It's not just a great superhero movie; it's a great movie in general. Minus an underutilized villain and that it gets a little sappy when it tries to be dramatic, it does just about everything right. From the acting to the writing to the action, everything comes together and culminates into what has been one of the best movies of the year. 

Pros: Great performances from the entire cast, particularly strong performances by Chris Evans and Scarlet Johansson, awesome action sequences, great sense of humor, Johansson plays a much more prominent role, menacing villain, interesting political aspects, much better CGI than in the previous movie.

Cons: Underutilized villain, gets a little sappy at times.

4.5/5 Stars