Let's get something out of the way. Captain America has gotten a little bit of hate after Avengers came out since his powers weren't super crazy or high-tech (Black Widow and Hawkeye got the same treatment as well). I've liked Captain America since I first saw him in Marvel: Civil War and, after reading some older comics, he's really one of the coolest characters in the Marvel roster. This movie really shows how great he is as a fighter and symbol. It also shows his somewhat naive view on life and the problems found in it.
Captain America takes place sometime (probably a year or two) after the Avengers movie. There are a few references to the Avengers in Winter Soldier, but nothing quite like Iron Man 3 where that was a defining thing in the movie (Tony Stark's PTSD from almost dying). Cap is doing exercises where we meet Falcon (Cap's second sidekick, but who could easily be part of a team with Black Widow and Hawkeye). Cap then gets called on a rescue mission with Black Widow to take out some pirates that have hijacked a S.H.I.E.L.D. frigate. The mission goes mostly as planned and there are some great fight scenes. You also really get to see how tough Cap actually is by the way bodies go flying when he hits them.Things go a little awry when Black Widow isn't at the right location and is found instead backing up data. This turns out to be important later. Upset that she was given a separate set of orders than those he was given, Cap confronts Nick Fury. Nick reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting ready to launch 3 new heli-carriers that, with new tech, can stay lifted indefinitely and "neutralize threats before they happen". This doesn't sit well with Cap (Not that it should really sit well with anybody). This then leads to a scene where Nick gets attacked on the road (and there's some pretty darn cool action shots there) and he winds up at Cap's place ready to die. He then gets shot...three times...in the back...BY THE WINTER SOLDIER!! I don't think I should talk more about the plot and story of the movie other than it's going to pull the rug out from under you so hard...so very very hard.
The acting is great as it should be. It's good to see these previously secondary characters (Black Widow and Fury) get a little bit more screen time than in the other movies. The coolest character though is by far Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie). He fits in very well with the cast and he adapts to a super hero side-kick roll with ease. His suit is also easily the coolest thing to see since Iron Man's armor. One thing that I did think was strange though, and I didn't see this coming, was that Sebastian Stan has a bit of a baby face. He does a hell of a job as Winter Soldier though, but when you see him without his mask...it's a little pouty. But the emotions that you can pick up just from his face while he fights Cap...it's superb.
This movie also has a different feel from any of the other Marvel movies in that it's a lot more serious and a lot less fantastic. I mean, it has cool tech, and super strength, but it doesn't have Tony's snark fighting other suits of armor or high powered beings. Nor does it have all the mythological elements that make Thor so magical...or Tom Hiddleston (Fangirls go crazy for that guy). I think that this lack is a big bonus for this movie. That's a big pull to why this movie is really good. Most of these characters, they can die...and that adds a permanence to the action scenes. They have to recover for some time before they can kick more bad guy butt.
I nerded more than a few times while watching this movie. They mentioned Stephen Strange and I'm sure that I missed more than a few more after that. They stayed true to the comics and made them great. I don't think they could have handled it much better.
The only real problem I have with the flick is...where the *&%@ is Hawkeye? It's not that he needed to be there mind you, Falcon more than fills his role. But could we have gotten at least some line saying "he's still in Tahiti after having Loki in his brain"? It's the same problem with Dark Knight Rises. Yes, lets talk all about the first movie, but never mention the villain....It's a bad idea and is, in my opinion, really rather disrespectful to the character and actor. However, in this movie, it's not as near as bad as Dark Knight Rises.
The roll of the dice give the movie a 9/10. Go see it in theaters and add it to your collection of Marvel Movies.
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