Captain America returns with an incredibly gritty spy thriller.

Rating: 9/10 (16 April 2016)

The good - Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson reprise their roles as Captain America and Black Widow with every bit of energy as their previous performances. It's great to see the more human side of Natasha (a precursor to Age of Ultron) and Evan's Cap is more than capable of making me cheer for a true hero in an anti-hero world. If nothing else, you believe that people would line up behind him to fight.
The great - Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson (Falcon) is the heart, humor and humility of this film. He is a fantastic addition to the MCU and I bought his relationship with the Cap from the first moment. Being a big fan of the Cap and Falcon books as a kid, I felt this struck the exact right tone. I expect great things from the character going forward.
The awesome - I love the third act of this movie. The assault on the Triskelion, Cap's speech to S.H.I.E.L.D., the final battle with The Winter Soldier, Widow's twist...it all worked for me. One of the best third acts in a series that has always excelled in them. Something should also be said for the close combat fight choreography in the film. The elevator fight got my vote for best fight scene in all the MCU in a recent poll and some of the hand to hand knife work is simply outstanding.
The darkness - Following on the "dark" tone of Thor: The Dark World, the Russo brothers give us a spy thriller, wrapped inside of a comic movie, and I am not entirely sure it always works. The first act is rather disjointed, and a bit hard to follow (even after watching it a few times). The second act is a bit slow for me and while I loved Arnim Zola, I wanted him to stick around. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't take off until the third act, and, by that time, the spy thriller is pretty much over.
Summary - If I stopped watching this movie midway it would score much lower than it will. The third act pays off tremendously, and makes this one of the better MCU films. I don't get the absolute love this movie gets from many Marvel CU fans, as many feel it is the best of them. I certainly don't get that, but I think it might have to do a lot with the whole "dark and gritty" thing, exemplified by the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. I have a hunch that they also think The Dark Knight is a best comic book movie of all time, and while it is a decent answer, it is still wrong...that honor belongs to Iron Man. :)
Bottom line, for me, is that I love the lighter tone of (most) of the rest of the MCU, and while I enjoyed Captain America: The Winter Soldier (particularly the last act), it falls just short of the original.