Captain America: The Winter Solider - If only 'The Dark World' was like this

I don't know why some people didn't really go much for the first 'Captain America' film.  Yes, I know it was a success, but it's never really talked about as one of the MCU's vest offerings.  Maybe it was because it wasn't set in the present and therefore somehow felt less relevant to some cinema-goers?  Anyway, I liked it.  But, for those who wanted to see our (now UNfrozen) 'First Avenger' getting to grips with the modern world, they really got what they were looking for here.

I think the best way to describe the 'Captain America' sequel is by calling it a 'Jason Bourne film with superheroes.' If you're familiar with the 'Bourne' franchise then you'll know the titular character is a spy who uncovers some disturbing truths in his own intelligence organisation and has to go on the run, pursued by rogue agents who were once on his side.  This is basically the plot to 'The Winter Solider.' It may not be completely original, but it is damn good fun.

There's all the action and chase scenes you'd expect from a spy thriller, plus it's naturally 'beefed up' as many of the protagonists have a multitude of special powers to give the action an added boost.  Plus, because it's all set in our modern surroundings (no need for a 'Ragnarok-style' alien planet to be created here) the computer effects required aren't too overbearing and noticeable.

I guess the best thing about 'Part 2' is that it has more 'character development' that your average superhero movie.  We last saw 'Cap' in his 1940s world, so there's plenty of time for the story to show us how a man from the past deals with present day, not to mention the fact that he was once used to fighting for an 'honourable' power system whereas now the lines of good and evil can sometimes get a little blurred, even on our own side.

If the film has a flaw then it kind of falls into that oh-so familiar trap than many Marvel films do (or at least the ones not featuring Loki) and that's the fact that the villain is a little underused.  I guess you could say that 'The Winter Soldier' has two villains - one you'll probably forget completely and the other is the titular 'Winter Soldier' himself.  The problem is that he just pops up here and there to cause a bit of bother for Cap and then we don't see him again for a while until the next action scene is upon us.  There's also a bit of an over-used plot device in which characters 'die' only for us to find out that they're not really dead later.  I won't say who or how many as that runs into 'spoiler' territory.

But, don't let those minor gripes detract from what is one hell of a fun ride.  It really does cover more than a few genres, i.e. superhero, action, spy, chase, thriller and does them all justice here.  There's pretty much something for everyone here and Marvel show that not all second instalments have to be a 'Dark World' (that's a 'Thor' joke, that is!).

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one