Manages to Be Better Than the First

Rating: Null/10 (1 May 2016)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
*** (out of 4)
Captain America (Chris Evans) is still trying to come to terms with who and what he is but now he must face someone he remembers from his past. It seems the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is the strongest creation and it's up to members of SHIELD to try and stop him as well as a criminal (Robert Redford) wanting to cause mass destruction.
CAPTAIN America: THE WINTER SOLDIER is a rare sequel that actually manages to be better than the original film. That's not to say the first film wasn't good but this one here pretty much adds a lot of steroids to the action and makes for an overall much better film. The cast is certainly in top form and directors Anthony and Joe Russo certainly know how to milk an action scene for everything that it's worth.
There's no question that the highlights of the movie are the extended action scenes that features some terrific looking CGI that perfectly mixes in with the live action on the screen. It's really amazing to see how far technology has come over the past decade and this film certainly looks tremendous. The action scenes contain so much chaos and destruction that it's really a wonder that this stuff can be pulled off. There's one great action sequence after another and this here certainly makes the film.
Evans is obviously quite comfortable in his role as Captain America and he's perfectly able to bring the human element that the story needs. The supporting cast is equally good with Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Anthony Mackie all doing nice work. Stan is also extremely good in his role as the villain and when you've got someone like Robert Redford it just brings your film to another level.
CAPTAIN America: THE WINTER SOLDIER is a fun, fast and over-the-top summer movie that actually delivers a good time.