Captain America 2: full of heart, humor, and explosions.

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2015)

Thrilling, suspenseful, and clever—these words can be used to describe almost every feature film that the very busy employees of Marvel Studios manage to crank out year-after-year. However, in April of 2014, Marvel Studios just may have outdone themselves.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the second installment in the Captain America franchise, picks up a few years after the first installment left off (The continuity of the Marvel Universe is a beautiful thing). Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)—a.k.a. Captain America— is still trying to orient himself to the strangeness that is the 21st century. To recap the first installment: at the start of World War II, Steve Rogers was turned into a super-soldier, rising to fame for his fight against not only Nazi Germany, but also for his fight against the sinister organization Hydra. The first installment ends after Rogers wakes up and discovers that he's been asleep for nearly 70 years—a result of being frozen in ice following a plane crash in the Arctic Ocean. Rogers is now "a man out of time." Adjusting to modern life is hard especially when you're a chemically engineered super-soldier who has been tasked by an organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. to help protect the world.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers in the middle of his daily workout—jogging around Washington D.C. landmarks. Over the course of his workout, Rogers meets and befriends Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Their friendly banter is interrupted when Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) a.k.a. Black Widow whisks Rogers away to a meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The skills of Black Widow and Captain America are needed to rescue hostages after a S.H.I.E.L.D. boat was taken over by pirates. However, Rogers soon realizes that their true objectives for this mission are more nefarious then a simple hostage rescue.
Over the course of the film, Captain America and Black Widow come to realize that S.H.I.E.L.D. been compromised. They discover—through a series of complex and violent events—that a S.H.I.E.L.D. bigwig has ties to an organization long-thought to be destroyed—Hydra. That's right; Hydra is back and ready to attack. Now outlaws within their own organization, Steve, Natasha, and Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon, have to navigate through a web of deceptions and secrets—both new and decades old—in order to save S.H.I.E.L.D. and destroy Hydra once and for all. However, Hydra has a not-so-secret weapon—an extremely deadly assassin with an extremely secret identity. This unstoppable assassin comes fully loaded with an arm that's deadly and robotic, and a face that's a major plot twist. He is known worldwide as The Winter Soldier, however Steve Rogers knows him by a different and more familiar name. A name that, like Rogers himself, is "out of time."
The Winter Soldier's name will not be mentioned in this review because doing so would reveal one of the film's better plot twists. That being said, the Winter Soldier's identity is a huge plot point but surprisingly is not the major focus of the film. So many major events occur within this film that it is hard to distinguish which of the events is the film's true focus. Is the focus on The Winter Soldier's identity? The rise of Hydra? S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new top-secret project? The choice made by directors Anthony and Joe Russo to have the focus shift constantly between these plot points allows the film's action and suspense to build and build. Just when it seems that our heroes have tackled one problem, they are thrown another curve-ball.
The acting in this film was superb. Evans, Johansson, Mackie, and Jackson all brought their A-game to every scene. Throughout the film, the audience witnesses the bond between the characters grow stronger and stronger though their dialogue and body language. And of course, Captain America: The Winter Soldier wouldn't be a Marvel film without the signature witty banter and dry humor laced throughout a majority of the interactions between characters.
Even though this film may be labeled a "superhero movie;" Captain America: The Winter Soldier is anything but a mindless action flick. Don't worry; this film does deliver your daily dose of destruction, fight scenes, and massive explosions. Special effects are in heavy demand by the audiences of today. Every explosion must be bigger, blood must run redder, and car chases must be cooler than ever before. These massive special effects and their subsequent massive budgets are trademarks of films created by Marvel. It is now the widespread expectation of audiences globally that Marvel will deliver bigger, better films year after year. When used effectively, special effects are wonderful devices in which to capture the full, undivided attention of an audience. The special effects in this film do not detract from its overall humor and heart.
In my opinion, Captain America seems to have the most heart out of any Marvel superhero. This film proves my point; exploring subjects such as the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the pain of past loves. Captain America: The Winter Soldier blew me away with its action, humor, and heart. It truly is a must-see film.