A fun follow-up

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2014)

Of the many Marvel superhero movies that have come out in the past few years, the first Captain America was my favorite. While this sequel lacks the Indiana Jones-ish vibe of the first one, it still has that human-scaled quality that is missing from the other movies, which often emphasize spectacle over quiet, human moments.
This is not to say the movie doesn't have some absolutely terrific action sequences, but rather to say that, unlike something like The Avengers, this movie takes time to breathe, let's us get to know the characters, and seems more like a movie than a special effects sizzle reel.
There are some issues. Sometimes the bad guys don't do things in the most logical way. More notably, they are a level of evil that comes across as cartoonish and ludicrous. But it's a silly movie no matter which way you slice it, so you can't complain too much about the particular quality of the silliness.
The cast is quite good, it has a solid number of jaw-dropping moments, and while I might not like it quite so much as the first one I do like it better than the non-Captain America films in this series.