Another great addition to the MCU...

Rating: 10/10 (5 April 2014)

I'll just throw it out there: Ever since Marvel Studios put out "Iron Man" and started Phase One of their shared cinematic universe, I have loved every single second of every single movie they have produced. Currently in Phase Two that builds towards "The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron," Marvel came out of the gate running with a more mature "Iron Man 3," a vastly expansive but ultimately more personal "Thor: The Dark World" and now we have Captain America returning for a politically themed thriller/action drama in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and, not surprisingly, it is amazing!
The returning players like Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders once again prove why they were cast in their respective roles. Evans proves he's the man to throw the shield and it was excellent seeing more depth to Black Widow this time around. Additionally, adding Robert Redford to the cast was an amazing decision; for more reasons than just the fact the guy is a legend. Redford really captured the ambiguous, is he good/is he bad, mentality of senior S.H.I.E.L.D. executive Alexander Pierce. Furthermore, it was nice to see Sebastian Stan return as Bucky/The Winter Soldier, rather than just recast him with a more marketable name. Stan really delivered as this iconic Marvel character and was capable of being a terrific badass, an exceptional threat to Capt., and, as well as, a sympathetic character with a broken past.
Finally, I was very excited to see Falcon added to the story. I'm a fan of the character and he was brought to the screen very faithfully and played tremendously by Anthony Mackie.
Like all Marvel and superhero movies in general, "The Winter Soldier" delivered amazingly with the action—the fight scenes between Capt. and the Winter Soldier also entirely make the film because they are fast, hard-hitting and all kinds of exciting—but the added element of political and social commentary through the story and themes of paranoia, security and freedom in our post 9/11 society really made the film feel mature and an answer to the critics who think comic books are just cartoons.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is just another win for Marvel and their epic cinematic universe. The story is great, the action is beyond satisfying and the drama and political intrigue fit in perfectly—not to mention the usual mid-credit sequence made me geek out like crazy! I have no complaints about this film and, once again, Marvel continues to prove they are making something incredible.
Hey there! Feel like reading more of my rants, ramblings, bad jokes and reviews (including some that are not Marvel adaptations)? Well, you can head on over to my blog; revronmovies.blogspot.com. Or don't. It's up to you.