Captain America: The Winter Soldier raises the bar even higher than the Avengers

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2014)

After I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the two post-Avengers movies (more so from Iron Man 3 than Thor: The Dark World), Captain America: The Winter Soldier served as the movie that made me love Marvel all over again.
This movie features several plots woven into a gratuitous scenario which will please even the pickiest of Marvel fans, such as myself; literally, the only reason I extracted half a star is that I didn't get to see the Winter Soldier as much as I wanted.
Do not let the title fool you, this movie is way more than the former Soviet Union's greatest assassin. Questioning the political, and human, right of the privacy of people's personal identities, and the reasons behind the surveillance we live through under a government's watchful eye, we start to wonder who are the heroes and who the enemies. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a man who has still not acclimatised to the gray areas this world has delved into, be it the right to punish people before they even act on a crime or to question the orders someone receives from above, is caught into a chaotic war between foes from his past and newfound evil from this time. He does so with the help of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and new member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Wilson aka The Falcon (Anthony Mackey). But when the Captain is faced with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), he will be forced to choose between saving the world, or sacrificing himself to, as Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) said in the movie, to built a better world on the wreckage of the old one.
One thing that blew me away in the movie were the fighting scenes. Superb choreography, not the one that will get you dizzy with fast paced cameras, but the one that holds you on the edge of your seat. Lacking the excessive use of CGI upon the request of the directors, you'll marvel at the simplest throw of the Captain's shield, when it crashes straight upon its target seemingly with ease.
Every actor delivered, and more so Anthony Mackey, who beautifully balances humour and seriousness, and stars in some really nice shots of him flying through the air as he tries to disengage a whole aircraft on his own whilst avoiding shots from every side. Yeah, he is really badass.
I also loved Sebastian Stan, even though I think we could have seen more of him and his backstory. He does not talk much, but when he does, his emotion-filled expressions make you actually sympathise with his predicament. Especially, the last fighting scene he shares with Captain America is exceptionally played, filled to the brim with flowing emotion and the struggle both characters feel when faced with each other.
I don't know if Joss Whedon wrote any of the script, but you can feel his influence on it, especially when not one, but three women (plus one from the past) manage to hold their own to the story, and help the plot move on evenly. Not to mention that they actually save Captain America a couple of times.
I loved the music, as well. The score is action packed itself, with wonderful eerie pieces here and there, which fit perfectly to the tone of The Winter Soldier and the darker parts of the movie. Make no mistake, it may be rated PG-13, but I felt it was much more adult themed than the rating suggests.
All in all, a strong, beautifully written, excellently directed sequel, and a scrumptious add to Marvel's growing list of superhero blockbusters. It does what the two previous movies didn't do (weave with the Avengers), and basically gives you what Captain America: The First Avenger did not. This one's a film I will certainly watch again, and again.