In recent years, Marvel has been known for churning out quality products and Captain America: The Winter Soldier is no exception. It's a film that is high in action, but also high in substance and characterization. Unlike the first Cap film or the Avengers, this film is unique because it is an intriguing political thriller that was influenced by similar 70's thrillers. The film has great visuals and some darn good action scenes. y favorite is the car chase featuring Nick Fury and the opening action sequence with Cap rescuing SHIELD hostages from pirates.

Anthony and Joe Russo's film deals with Captain America in the aftermath of the events from the Avengers as he struggles with the modern world and the complexity of this world. Captain America, along with Black Widow and new ally Falcon, are put to the test when Fury admits that SHIELD has been compromised and they must go on the run and try to infiltrate SHIELD and get rid of the bad guys as well as deal with the past when he finds out the Winter Soldier is actually his best friend.

The acting, once again, remains spectacular. Chris Evans really builds up Captain America's persona from the events of the first film and the Avengers. Scarlett Johannsson is beautiful as ever and is a fine Widow. Samuel L. Jackson thankfully returns as Nick Fury and as always, I love his demeanor. Anthony Mackie makes a fine Falcon and trade wits with Evans very well. I am surprised Robert Redford would appear in a Marvel movie, but odder things have happened. I thought he did an excellent job.

Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a film that takes the success of recent Marvel films and pushes it to a new level. I love how they tonally changed the film and turned it into a spy/political thriller. As a cinema buff, that makes me very pleased that Marvel is willing to stray away from formula. With most Marvel films, the action is great as the stunts are regularly growing bigger and bolder. The film is more complex as we see Captain America face his inner moral dilemmas in the modern world as he tries to take down the bad guys. I cannot wait to see Captain America again in the Avengers sequel.

My Grade: A+