First, the short version: this is a very good action film, in the finest tradition of the Marvel machine. It hits all the right notes, from human drama to street-level action to full-on CG extravaganza. If you enjoyed any of the other Marvel films, you'll love this one.

Now the longer version. There were two things I really liked about this installment.

First, the storyline, which seems to have been instantaneously rewritten to reflect this past year's revelations about secretive governmental agencies. This movie is actually about something. I'm absolutely blown away that Marvel was willing to make such a strong, even controversial, political statement in what you might expect to be a 'throwaway' action flick.

The second thing I liked was how Captain America himself has been evolved, in light of the very topical storyline. This is Steve Rogers, archetypal All-American Boy, attempting to grow beyond jingoist gun-battles with caricatures of evil. The previous movies have shown Rogers as being naive even for the 1940s. In Winter Soldier, we see Rogers holding up a perfect mirror to a 21st Century public. What does true patriotism consist of? Are we thinking through our decisions, balancing legitimate fears against the truly noble ideologies we profess?

Deep stuff for a mere comic-book. The Winter Soldier marks Marvel's maturing in the medium of film, as it once did in the medium of printed comics. At some level, this is the superhero as an art form.

Is it *good* art? The Winter Soldier does serve up a big helping of large-scale action in its final act, perhaps at the expense of character development, or plot. This is very much in keeping with the conventions of the genre, so it's hard to call it a flaw. But I was hoping that the lower-key approach of the first half of Winter Soldier might have extended just a bit further into the climax. Captain America is really at his best in the early fight against Batroc.

But that's a very minor quibble. The Winter Soldier is an excellent action film, with more than enough substance to keep your brain from atrophying.

Best of all, it's a really powerful, evocative cinematic rendering of one of the great comic-book heroes. I can't help wondering how Jack Kirby would have felt, seeing his patriotic creation of the 1940s brought spectacularly to life in a 9-figure 21st-Century production. I think, at the very least, he'd have been touched both by how faithfully his vision had been captured - and how admirably it had been progressed.