Marvel's best film since Iron Man 1

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2014)

CA3 The Winter Soldier is the first Marvel film that I felt compelled to see in the theater since Avengers. I heard a lot of good things about it, and so in the midst of my curiosity, I grabbed my umbrella and traveled in a rainstorm just to go see it, hoping I wouldn't waste $11, and hoping the film would be worth soaking my boots for.
I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed. This film was tightly written, tightly paced, and had less camp than most of the Marvel Studio films as of late. Sure, the Marvel humor popped up out of nowhere, but it wasn't over done and cheesed up. This film had just enough plot driven and character driven elements, and makes for a mature, political conspiracy thriller that even mature audiences would enjoy. After just 5 minutes into the film, I knew that this film was a different animal than the first Captain America film. High production aside, the acting and directing were way better, and most of all--it made Captain America much more likable and appealing than the first film.
The action scenes were superb, and this is the way Captain America SHOULD have been depicted in not only his debut film, but in Avengers as well! Not since The Terminator have I been awed by a super-human's physical prowess. The choreography and stunts in this film are second to none. Outside of Asian Kung Fu flicks, this film takes the cake when it comes to hand to hand combat. A lot of real stunt men, real car crashes, equals a formula for success.
Now I docked a few stars because I'm rating it in comparison to other superhero films. After leaving the theater, I didn't feel the same buzz that I felt when I saw Man of Steel or The Dark Knight films. And it wasn't as emotional as the Spider Man films. And so...a 7/10.