True Character Depth And Truly A Great Film!

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2014)

The first film was about giving Steve the opportunity to be the hero he was born to be. The Avengers gave him the chance to matter in the modern era. In this movie, we get true character depth and turmoil that we never saw in those first two installments. Both were great in their own way but this is the depth we needed to see now.
It was easier in the 1940's to judge right and wrong. Now, it's more difficult to gage how to combat the hidden evil that has taken root in the modern era. Threats are different now, and the debate on how to handle them seems ripped right out of today's headlines. How far to take precautionary measures? For a man who fought to serve with all his being, how much is too much? Steve is stoic and doesn't want to burden anyone with his struggles. It's exactly what a man from that era would do. Yet, that turmoil and moral self independence mixed with a "never give up" attitude is what makes the character so dynamic and interesting. He does struggle and he does connect with people and show vulnerability, which is tough for him to do. This does ground him and it certainly makes him more interesting.
All the characters used in this film work amazingly well. The ones we've seen before are fleshed out more. I love the Black Widow here, this is her best on screen stuff yet. Her morality is basically for sale and Steve's morality is set in stone. It's more than interesting what they find in each other. The new characters just shine. The Falcon is an absolute ace. Sam seeks out a friendship and then later that friendship proves to be invaluable. The bad guys are probably the best in any Marvel film to date. Let me say that again ANY Marvel film to date. One thing is for sure here, authority figures are not to be trusted and shades of gray permeate the plot's moral landscape.
I really loved the hard-edged, physical action. No wire-fu or even noticeable CGI. I know it was used in the fight scenes but you'd never know it. It exactly what this character should always be depicted doing. The action in Thor or Iron Man films is different because of the nature of their powers. Here, it's all brutal yet graceful and everything works tremendously well. Cap isn't just a guy who was given the ability of speed and enhanced strength. He's been training and his enhanced mind makes him just as dangerous as his muscles. His training and ability make him VERY dangerous and the movie shows that and then some. The fights in this movie are the most impactful that I've seen in years.
Overall, a great sequel that follows in the footsteps of things like Spider-Man 2 and X2 and that's a movie that's clearly better than an already good first entry.