Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a disappointing sequel to say the least.

Rating: 7/10 (7 April 2014)

It might have not came as a shock to others but the first Captain America movie of 2011 came out of nowhere for me. I found that the Captain American origin story in that movie to be one of the more interesting origin stories around and very much original. Steve Rogers was the slightly built soldier in World War Two who makes his way to the present day through a block of frozen ice. Captain America was a superhero that eventually brought the war, the Nazis, a cool villain and different time period to the Marvel universe in Captain's first ever film.
Now in 2014, Captain America is back with the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier directed by new directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. After Nick Fury (Samuel J. Jackson) is gunned down by a villain named White Soldier, Steve Rogers is now is a fugitive on the run and who must get down to business and solve the S.H.I.E.L.D vs HYDRA espionage battle in the Nation's capital.
Like the first movie, this sequel has a nice cast. Nick Fury is given more to do in this movie and even though the character goes some predictable ways, he still should be the character you most look forward to in upcoming Marvel films. As he was in the first movie, Chris Evans is flawless as Captain America. He plays the character as a very likable Captain America and adds depth and chemistry to the role. Scarlett Johansson is back as the Black Widow who again brings sexuality through her tight outfits. The newest member of the cast, and a very impressive character indeed, is Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. Redford's character can be described as unlikable and it is very impressive for an actor like Redford at the age of 77 to be doing high levels action scenes as he does here. The only character that is lacking is Falcon (Anthony Mackie) who really does nothing noteworthy or interesting but a character that maybe I could see some change or development for the next film. Last by not least is our great villain, the White Soldier who does come off as creepy and pretty cool twist comes to him yet again.
I do question the film's running time and structure. You have to question as to why this film is as long as there are many obvious places that it could have been cut down. The pacing is all over the place and the action often comes randomly. The action scenes are still very well done and do show off the big budget of this film but they are all kind of the same. The settings are numerous and kind of all over the place and the movie does drag big time.
Of course, one thing this sequel is doing is setting itself up for another sequel that has already been announced for 2016. This one works fine for what it is but between the other recent Marvel movies including two Thor films, three Iron Man films, the Avengers and the first Captain America film, it really comes up lacking. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a disappointing sequel to say the least.