Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Entertaining Big-Budget Superhero flick, JohnnyTwoToes gives you the details

Captain America - The Winter Soldier is a rousing adventure flick with loads of great action scenes and Chris Evans in top form really coming into his own as an actor. Seen in a good film earlier this year, Snowpiercer and the Marvel films, Evans has an All American quality which is quite winning and it comes through on screen. I was not a fan of his, based on his earlier films which were mostly garbage, but I have become a fan and here he is the star and is having a great time. You can tell, too and that makes Captain America such a fun time. 

Sure the plot is ridiculous (global domination, anyone?) but it exists solely as a set piece for very extravagant action in which there are fights in elevators, on planes, trains and automobiles, oh me, oh my. Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha Romanoff A.K.A. The Black Widow as does Coby Smulders as Maria Hill, last seen in The Avengers. Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury and a pleasing addition of Robert Redford (Yes, THAT Robert Redford) as Alexander Pierce. Anthony Mackie is terrific as the latest edition hero named Falcon or otherwise as Sam Wilson. 

I liked the first Captain America and REALLY loved this second film. It is wall to wall action but there are characters that have depth to them and are multi-dimensional so the action means something. We care what happens to them, quite simply. Directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo have made this film even more exciting and interesting than its predecessor and script writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have written an intelligent script that deals with the trappings of ultimate power and how the future could be shaped by those who wield that power; good or evil. It is an intelligent script but has a lot of humor, too, to keep you smiling. 

Not to be disappointed for film score fans, Henry Jackman's score is equally robust and elevates the action effectively and you will hardly know that this film is a good, solid two hours and sixteen minutes long with at least two additional scenes during the end credits. I truly thought seeing Robert Redford, who is in his mid 70's, in a Marvel comic book film was a complete joy for me. He is a fine actor and everyone in this film does a fine job of selling this plot, no matter how many times we see a global domination plot used. Here, it is fresh, exciting, fun from start to finish and worth viewing on DVD besides the film score is also a good buy. Captain America The Winter Soldier-****