Return of the non-jerky Avenger...

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2014)

The first Captain America movie, like Thor, was one of the better introduction movies. Both had a unique feel about them that set them apart from the yawn-inducing (at least for me) Iron Man movies. I enjoyed Cap 1 being set in the past and felt its ending - which set Cap up for The Avengers - came at the expense of the film. It wasn't given its own proper ending. Maybe it's because I enjoyed the first film SO much, that this new one didn't feel like it quite lived up to it. That's not to say Captain America: The Winter Soldier is *bad* in any way (it's still better than snarky Iron Man), but while the first kept me glued to the screen throughout, I felt there was some slow stretches this time around.
As with Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans continues to be very likable as Steve Rogers/Cap (unlike certain other Avengers). He was very noble in the first film, living up to his 'Boy Scout' rep, and still manages to keep the character's best qualities here. Little references to how old he is/what time period he grew up in were highly welcome and provided some nice subtle humour (see? We don't require Tony's "witty" one-liners all the time. One doesn't have to be Tony Snark to bring the funny). Cap also shows how skilled he is at not only Frisbee-ing his shield everywhere, but also hand-to-hand combat, as we see him take down almost a whole ship's crew single-handedly. Also, costume-wise, after finding his costume change in The Avengers to be a step down from his original outfit, it was a welcome surprise to see him back in it near the end of this film (as the one he sports for the majority is rather colourless/only blue & silver). Hayley Atwell, as Peggy Carter in the first film, was one of the best Marvel "love interests", and it's nice to see her share a scene with Steve here. The effects used to age her are some of the best in the film. Truly some of the most convincing aging up ever done in movies (though I'm glad we also got a scene of Peggy as her young self too). Atwell and Evans are a perfect match, and it's a shame they can never regain the romance between them that was unfairly cut short in the first film. Cap also has a nice rapport with Natasha/Black Widow, and anything more than friendship between them is only used as a 'cover'. They make a good team. ScarJo is decent here, though was better in The Avengers (which could be attributed to Whedon bringing it out of her). Also...she should've kept her Avengers hair (which was quite flattering/suited her), as it's SO straight/boring/lifeless in this film.
Anthony Mackie is a welcome addition as the Falcon. His introduction scene and subsequent scenes with Steve make it believable that they grow a fast friendship and loyalty to each other. Revenge's Emily VanCamp does the most with what she's given as Agent 13/Kate (we later learn her real name). She makes her character mysterious, kick-arse and shows chemistry with Evans in a small amount of screen time. Hoping for more of her next time around. Someone I'm hoping for LESS of is Samuel L. Jackson. He already took over the RoboCop remake, and he comes dangerously close to doing the same here. For a while it feels like HE'S the main action star of the film, especially in a chase scene involving him and his talking SUV. And in any scene that *doesn't* feature Nick Fury? They sure talk about him a hell of a lot. Like with Thor in Thor 2, sometimes it doesn't feel like Cap is the focus of his own film here. And really, is the Fury reveal towards the end a surprise to ANYONE? The most interesting thing with him is we finally get to see his bad eye. Least Cobie Smulders gets to be awesome as Maria Hill. More of her, please.
Robert Redford as Pierce was a rather dull villain, I thought. His long talky scene with Cap kinda bored me (and I usually don't mind talky scenes). That's the same with a lot of similar moments in this film. I wasn't bored for a second with Cap 1, but here I felt my mind wandering at times. Sebastian Stan's more effective as an antagonist for Cap. While the first Thor had Loki, a more personal villain for the hero to fight, the sequel didn't. It's the reverse here, with the Cap sequel having the Winter Soldier being Bucky, Steve's close buddy. It makes you invest in them when they're fighting one another. Stan does a lot with a little, and although most probably predicted his reveal, it's still very emotional seeing Steve's reactions to him. The after credits scene promises more of him to come.
There are some ridiculous moments in the film (the mind of Red Skull's henchman, Zola, inside decades-old supercomputers at the secret site of the old army camp, to name just one), but these Marvel films gave up any sense of 'realism' long ago, so it's a moot point. On that subject, at least the mid-credits scene here is thankfully a bit less WTF than Thor 2's, and promises a couple of interesting new characters for Avengers 2. Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch particularly grabbed my attention. The action, although a bit too shaky, is up there on the scale of money well-spent sequences and the art style used for the first part of the end credits sticks with the interesting art style of Thor 2's. I wasn't as into the story of this film like I was the first's, and we were sadly lacking as amazing a sequence as the Star Spangled Man scene from Cap 1, but I did think this was a fairly worthy sequel. I still like Thor 2 better, though.