Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I had put off seeing this movie for a bit too long, it wasn't that I hadn't wanted to see it, it was that I just didn't have the want to go see a movie in the theater. I had been looking forward to this movie for quite a while, I like the first Captain America a bit more than most. I did have it as my 3rd favorite movie in the Avengers cycle.

I really like the different things that Marvel Studios has done with the different movies. The first Captain America was a war movie, and each of the movies that they have put out have had their own feeling to them. The feel of this movie was a bit difficult to explain, it is a bit of an espionage/spy movie, but also makes me think of movies like the Mission Impossible series. It was definitely a lot different of a feel than the first.

While it may have been different from the first movie, I actually think that it was even better than the first as well. Similar to Iron Man 3, this movie deals with what the characters do after The Avengers, with the added bonus of Captain America trying to adapt to the modern world after being frozen for so long in the Arctic.

This movie does pretty much everything right. The mystery and intrigue is very engaging. I really liked the performances in the movie, Chris Evans does a good job, and Scarlett Johansson does a great job in her role as The Black Widow, and actually the movie brings out a little bit of the character's back story. Robert Redford does an awesome job in the movie, and looks surprisingly spry for his age as well. I really enjoyed newcomer Anthony Mackie in his role as Sam Wilson/The Falcon, a character I knew of but didn't really know much about. I look forward to seeing him more in other Captain America movies, and possibly the Avengers. He is definitely a character that could have a peripheral role in future Avengers movies.

I don't really want to give away all of the details of the movie, but there are several twists and turns that occur, and some were more surprising than others, but they all worked well within the story. I really liked the story between Cap and Black Widow, I thought they really worked well together in the movie and their teamwork really worked.

The movie has some humor, not too much, not too little, but just right. There are a few different visual gags in the movie, the first one to look for is to read the things on Captain America's list of things he has missed, and the second is the quote on a grave. I wish I could say more about the 2nd one, but I really don't feel like spoiling any parts of the story.

I have placed below the rankings of all of the movies made by Marvel Studios, and this one is quite highly rated as you will see. I think what sets Iron Man above this movie is that Iron Man has Robert Downey Jr. in it. I like Chris Evans, I think he is great for the role of Captain America, but he just does not bring the same pizzazz that RDJ has.

Rankings of the Avengers Movies:
1. The Avengers
2. Iron Man
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Captain America
5. Iron Man 3
6. Thor
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. Thor: The Dark World
9. Iron Man 2

2014 movie rankings:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. The Lego Movie