Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dir: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
2014
****
Captain America has never been a comic book character that has ever really appealed to me. This is mainly because I'm not American. I'm not anti-America, I just wonder how many American boys read Captain Britain? And yes, Captain Britain does exist, he is even a member of The Avengers but I'm not going into that now. It is fair to say that Captain America was always going to have less global success than the other Marvel Avengers. Marvel know this and so they upped the game accordingly. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is more a Nick Fury/Black Widow/Captain America film to be fair as the other two Avengers get just as much screen time but it works to the film's advantage. If you're one of the few people who are watching Marvel's TV series Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D then your enjoyment will be even more enhanced. It's rare that a franchise actually gets better with each film but that is exactly what is happening here and long may it continue. The Winter Soldier is action packed but it does stop occasionally for a bit of intelligent story telling, with some strong performances and very interesting ideas. It's more than just a diet version of a Avengers film, it's a bit like a time-travel movie in many respects and fans of the original Captain America comics of the golden age should be more than happy with the story. Superhero films really aren't supposed to be this good, you have to thank Chris Nolan for that in some respects but Kevin Feige, Joss Whedon, the Russo Brothers and the Marvel team clearly know what they're doing. Favorite scene: Jenny Agutter kicking ass!