Critics Rating: 3.5 stars

Cast:Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders

Direction:Anthony and Joe Russo

Genre:Action.

Duration: 2 hours 16 minutes

The superhero summer blockbuster is finally here! And it is better than its predecessor, Captain America: The First Avenger. The origin story had established Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) as a puny, bullied kid who becomes a lab-manufactured super soldier. After leaving the horrors of World War II behind, Rogers is recruited as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, led by Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson).

Then came the events of The Avengers. Captain America: The Winter Soldier picks up a couple of years after that. It’s business as usual for our superhero, who, when he isn’t outrunning fellow comrade Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), is fighting pirates out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel. On the personal front, his clean-cut looks are frozen in time while the characters who saw him through his turbulent adolescence are now either aged or dead. Or so they would have us believe.

There are several nods to his humble beginning scattered in the film, so you don’t need to lunge for prequel DVDs before sitting for this one.

 

Things go south for Rogers when a key character is fatally attacked and he is a suspect. Senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) is hot on his trail. With only shadowy agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as his ally, Captain America must don his suit and get to the bottom of the deadly Project Insight before the bad guys flick a switch.

The first film may seem to many as a poor imitation of an Indiana Jones premise. It is the second film that truly casts it into a superhero mould. This could be because of a change in directors (since Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are still the screenplay writers), because sitcom makers Anthony and Joe Russo are off to a flying start with this one. It raises the bar for the next film, which they are set to direct as well.

A stand-alone superhero film after The Avengers may seem like a road paved for disappointment, but there are enough intrigues and double crosses happening to distract you from the absentee cast.

The action has to be the mainstay of the genre and here it delivers in spades. Said genre also relies in blowing things up, but at least it is done here without seeming like a pyromaniac gimmick.

 

What is a superhero film without some emotional drama thrown in? It gets a little hammy towards the end with some Bollywood-esque flash cuts thrown in. But a mega Mexican stand-off towards the end and some last-minute escapes are bound to keep you at the edge of your seat. That, rest assured, is money well spent.

Keep an eye out for Stan Lee’s cameo appearance as a security guard. It’s a blink-and-miss part. And stay patient even as the film comes to an abrupt close. There are two scenes that pop up in the mid and end credits respectively.

To the A-list cast already accustomed to the leather and spandex drill as if it were second skin, Anthony Mackie makes for a great addition. There should be more of him to see in the next film.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a great bet for the weekend. Marvel fans should be delighted. Even those unfamiliar with the glittering universe of modern-day protectors will have a whale of a time with this offering.