Strongest Marvel Studios Film to Date

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2014)

This is the most serious, fully-realized, across-the-board result that Marvel Studios has produced thus far, in my opinion. While it may not be quite as big, or have quite the flashy lineup of superhero characters as The Avengers, CA: The Winter Soldier is clearly a better film.
Good, real-world relevant story, excellent visuals, thrilling (really thrilling) action. Terrific ensemble cast. Robert Redford, Emily VanCamp and Anthony Mackie are all wonderful additions. Redford especially lends a crucial weight of charisma.
This is really a SHIELD movie, and it does a great job of both building and breaking the backbone of these Avengers-related films. It also provides a great series of question-mark setups for the future of this saga.
As far as weaknesses, I found the humor to be a bit flat in several cases. Other than that, though, pretty solid overall.
Once you accept that this genre (superhero) is all about painting with broad strokes -- meaning relatively simple plot structures, archetypal characters and emphasis on visual impressions -- this film can be given credit for being remarkably mature and literate. A good sign for the future of the Marvel Studios machine.