“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Review

I will admit that I’m not a comic book reader afficienado in any sense of the word. I was fascinated by Wonder Woman and her bullet deflecting bracelets as a kid, but that was a long 40 years ago. What I know about Marvel comics is what I see on the big screen, now on a yearly basis. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the newest movie in the Marvel Universe, pitting Captain America with – well, at one point it felt like he was against anyone who owned a gun.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier again teams Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in what feels like one action sequence after another, with a story thrown in to string them along. Natasha/Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) spends much of the movie trying to set up Rogers on a date, including with his neighbor who has a secret of his own. In fact, there are many secrets in this movie, with Nick Fury telling Rogers, “Don’t trust anyone”. The most ironic part of that is that, by the end, there are a host of people you find that Fury has trusted. It might have been easier to tell Rogers specifically who not to trust, though the movie would have ended sooner that way.

Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) add to the story. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was once the best friend of Rogers, but has a different mission here.

I was a little antsy during a few of the extended action sequences, they got a bit long at times. There was also more bullet fire than I’d prefer in a Marvel film. But overall, I expect Captain America: The Winter Soldier to be a wildly successful popcorn movie that should have a nice run through the spring months.

Mousesteps Grade: B

Rated PG-13

We sent a correspondent to the press conference in Beverly Hills. Here is our full video!