After almost dropping the ball with last year's fiasco – Iron Man 3 – Marvel is back with a bang and it's a good bang for your buck. Captain America: Winter Soldier is a smack-down superhero film that finds itself wedged in the higher echelons of the Marvel franchise.

X-Men: First Class (2011) was one of the first films in Marvel's nine film franchise to successfully graft superhero fiction with real world events. Picking up on the ethos that the world as we know it is not what it appears to be, Winter Soldier begins with a prologue similar to classic espionage thrillers. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), our titular star spangled super soldier, is air dropped onto a S.H.I.E.L.D vessel captured by Algerian pirates. Standard fare breach and entry tactics if you asked me, but before you know it, Rogers finds himself entangled in a web of conspiracies perpetrated by sleeper cells within S.H.I.E.L.D. Barely able to bridge the gap between the 1940s and modern day advancements in technology, Rogers is now weary of who he can trust. To connect the dots he must now backtrack all the way to the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D. and figure out who is the friend and who the foe – Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) or senior official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). But even before Rogers unmasks the villain, an old threat resurfaces and proceeds to wreak havoc with a secret weapon – the deadly stealth assassin known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

Going in for a superhero film, it is only natural to expect high doses of CGI fuelled action. But what happens when you are 'fed' a lot more than you expect? The three-word answer to that question is Man of Steel – DC Entertainment's self embarrassing rendition of brawn over brain. In comparison, sibling directors Anthony and Joe Russo, along with returning screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely work with plausibility by wisely choosing mind over muscle. That doesn't mean action takes a back seat either. After the low profile opening act, wait exactly thirty minutes for the action to pick up and then surge towards a cliffhanger finale. Despite the plot looming towards world domination, albeit a familiar theme in similar films, the setup is layered with a background story that develops like photographic film. This is where we learn why the Winter Soldier is a diabolic mirror image of Captain America - a pawn (or should I say Trojan horse?) in a terror threat orchestrated by a shadow organization that has manipulated worldwide chaos for decades.

Once again, Evans doesn't disappoint as a superhero who is a patriot first and a hero second. Supporting Evans is the super suave Scarlett Johansson returning as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, a highly skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who turns out to be more than just a pretty face. Also scripted for this film is Marvel superhero Falcon (Anthony Mackie), an ex-paratrooper who becomes Cap's friend and vital aid during some white-knuckle aerial battles. Jackson and Redford blend in as the 'powers that be' while Stan puts on a terrific show as a villain who is as cool and powerful as Cap himself. They all contribute to the film's look and feel and each of their characters comes with at least one witty line to boot. This again echoes my sentiments on how well this film is written and directed. Captain America: Winter Soldier is a good film if you have a thing for superhero movies. On the other hand, true Marvel fans will march a step forward and even call this a 'Great' film and a welcome addition to Marvel's long running superhero franchise. And by the looks of it, this franchise is far from over; two end credits scenes reveal more to come, where the first one introduces viewers to Magneto's children. Stay seated and buckle up, that's all I'll say!