You can't give this a miss!

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2014)

It has been 6 years since Iron Man hit the screens and since then Marvel Studios has been building one of the richest universes in movie history. The movies are well planned and the characters gets processed through their cycles, from cameos to full fledged roles in succeeding movies. It has worked out well for them as well as the audiences as there was not one movie unworthy of mention. They've also made it so that its impossible to skip one movie outta the franchise. While some of the standalone movies did have its flaws it was could be easily overlooked as it contributed to the Phase One finale, The Avengers. While I wasn't a huge fan of Captain America The First Avenger, I still thought it was a well made movie having done the origins story right. Obviously second to Iron Man and a notch above Thor, Captain America being set in the early 40s told the story of Steve Rogers, a petite kid to came to be the first Avenger, Captain America.
Marvel had been churning out good to mediocre standalone movies for its Phase 2, be it Iron Man 3 or Thor The Dark World, it could never be considered something as brilliant as its prequels and almost felt like it was made just for the sake of it. But Captain America The Winter Soldier is by far the best standalone Marvel movie and it has definitely upped the ante. It promises a ton of action, a brilliant script and a wonderful sense of humor. Greeted to a well choreographed, action packed hostage rescue mission set on a ship, Captain America The Winter Soldier never misses a beat. Steve Rogers, himself is done with the fish outta water sequences and trying earnestly to keep up with a world 95 years from his time. He definitely misses the world he was in and it was evident from his frequent visits to the Smithsonian museum reliving his 107th Battalion days. There was this particular sequence with Peggy Carter which was a tearjerker.
Captain America The Winter Soldier takes on a political thriller approach and it works so well that it carves a niche of its own in the Marvel Universe "Good luck topping that Marvel!" The stakes are definitely high this time and the Cap is on a run, with everything including SHIELD turned against him. Exhilarating could be an understatement. The plot's got some smart twists to offer and it never goes OTT.
Chris Evans has come far from his Not Another Teen Movie days and he plays Steve Rogers/Captain America with utmost sincerity, flair and a calm demeanor that it brings a quality of an unruffled leader. While he was good as the Human Torch infusing enough comedy in the role, it seems the Captain America suit best befitted him. Scarlett Johansson still livens up the screen with more than just her raw sex appeal and makes me want a standalone Black Widow movie than ever. Cap and Natasha makes for a splendid duo bringing out a chemistry we've rarely seen in the previous Marvel movies. Nick Fury played by Samuel L Jackson, need I say more? Its impossible to think of another actor in Nick's shoes the same way I can't imagine anybody other than Robert Downey Jr playing Tony Stark. Another good mention would be Anthony Mackie playing Sam Wilson aka Falcon and he does the job well. Amazing, Ace, Terrific are some of the words that rhymes with Robert Redford. I love Robert Redford from his Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid days and ever since I've been an ardent fan. Even in his 70s he packs the same flamboyance, the same charisma thats just unsurpassable and he carries the same here as Alexander Pierce, a senior member of SHIELD who had recruit Nick Fury into SHIELD.
The Winter Soldier, whose identity I shall not reveal here, makes for a compelling antagonist and you would be wrong if you thought the movie's all about Cap going head to head with him. But when it does, its just epic. The Winter Soldier is plain relentless in beating Cap and you can feel Cap's will and strength crumbling in each of the encounters. A lot of additions has been made to the cast including Frank Grillo and Emily VanCamp and I am definitely sure that the characters introduced in this movie will grow onto the next marvel movie. Makes me think of amazing planning and coordination that went into the movie. Agent coulson, though, was sorely missed.
The Winter Soldier's score composed by Henry Jackman would live upto his own compositions for X-Men First Class or Kick-Ass 2. Taking a Stand, Time To Suit Up and The Winter Soldier are some of the remarkable tracks that stands out from the OST assured to give you goosebumps. To top it all off Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man made me smile.
The twist was something that hit hard and will create some major ripples in the Marvel movies. Thats what makes it tick, the events from Captain America The Winter Soldier will have its repercussions on upcoming movies as well and who knows what'll happen to Agents of SHIELD. Words just fail me to express how awesome Captain America The Winter Soldier turned out to be, I went in to watch another mediocre Marvel standalone movie and I was blown out of my wits. Yes it's slightly less grander than The Avengers but while The Avengers had a bunch of superheroes working together and Captain America The Winter Soldier had just one keeping you on the edge of your seats. Its a must watch for any Marvel fan and could be considered the smartest Marvel movie till date.
And lastly do I even need to mention "Shawarma"? Wait for the credit rolls and I promise it'll be worth your time.