It could have been a lot worse....

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2014)

Since I wasn't a huge fan of Cap's first outing, the levels of expectation were kept to a minimal here as I took my seat in a sold-out movie theater in the heart of Manchester; and to be fair, the events to follow were no less (and certainly no more) than I expected.
Substituting a well-thought out script, character development and an actual plot for cheesy one-liners, multicolored onesies and big-ass explosions, this second installment in the Captain America side-quel franchise simply fails at being anything more than a money-spinner. If this is your kind of thing then I would probably recommend the big- screen experience, especially if you're a Marvel-lover. However if you appreciate quality rather than quantity then you might want to head for the corner house down the road.
The main issue with The Winter Soldier is the main man - Chris Evans just fails to deliver a convincing hero that us, the audience, can relate to and root for. It doesn't help when he's placed in the company of Academy regulars such as the likes of Samuel L Jackson and Robert Redford, who almost have fun showing him up for what he really is.
Even with a half-decent lead this film still would have sucked due to the screenwriter apparently being on minimum wage and not able to care deeply enough about the characters to make the audience do anything else other than laugh at how pathetic they are.
The reason this film has a '6' as opposed to say a '2' is because of the action sequences, which were the only aspect of the film that kind-of succeeded. At the same time as being insanely preposterous and at times just plain ridiculous, the magic of cinema really did immerse you in some jaw- dropping battle sequences (of which there were many) and unintentional comic fight scenes; and since this factor is what these films are all about for most people, I suppose Russo was successful in that respect.
It must be said however that if I was watching this picture for the first time on the small screen, the rating would be considerably lower.