I’ve always had a soft spot for Captain America, though he isn’t always portrayed very well. I like that he is old fashioned and wears his heart on his sleeve. I like his humble origins as a good kid trying to help out his country. I like that he although he might seem like a walking, talking, propaganda machine, the America he fights for doesn’t exist; rather Cap is striving for the ideals of what the United States promises (dare I say, the American Dream). I like that his main weapon is a shield used for defence, which he uses to bludgeon everyone in his path (allegory for United States foreign policy? Maybe?). Long story short, I think Cap is probably a more interesting character than he is allowed to be.

In the 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, super solider Steve Rogers wasn’t given much depth. It was a World War Two boys own adventure story which was basically leading into The Avengers. Captain America: The Winter Solider finally unlocks Rogers’ third dimension, when he begins to question his superiors and expose a giant government conspiracy, while forging new alliances and fighting demons from his past. Steve Rogers is forced to go on the run and has to fight for America the country, not America the government.

It’s a natural, exciting and fulfilling emotional journey for Cap’s character. It would be so easy to create a film where the guy with stars and stripes on his uniform kills a bunch of brown people in the desert and receives a medal from the President and the key to New York City. Shit, that might even be appealing to some people in this post 9/11, War on Terror world we live. But writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely know the real truth, that the most suspicious government is our own. With plenty of oblique references to recent political events (Wikileaks, Snowden, drone killings), they carve out a superhero narrative, which actually doesn’t sound too far-fetched. The film is never slow and some of the twists might make you gasp (depending on your comic book knowledge).

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo come mainly from TV sitcoms such as Community and Arrested Development, so the film’s humour is assured, but there’s a real confidence to the whole film, especially their action sequences. One involving Samuel L Jackson’s bad ass Nick Fury is as good as, if not better than anything in the other Marvel films. There’s no wonder the Russo brothers have been signed on for the third Cap film in two years’ time.

Chris Evans as Captain delivers another strong performance. He’s a better actor than he’s given credit for, and a lot of what works in the film is down to his performance. Newcomer to the series Anthony Mackie holds his own as Captain’s new ally, Falcon and Scarlett Johansson manages to turn a previously middling character from Iron Man 2 and The Avengers into someone worth watching. Samuel L Jackson is tremendous as always and Robert Redford acts everyone off the screen in a comparatively small but important part. In another life Redford might have been Captain America, and he has a history in political thrillers from the 70s, so his presence is a real thrill. Also, the titular Winter Solider is solid in a role smaller than one might expect.

That brings me to a few minor problems. The Winter Soldier’s story is interesting, but stalls; it is seemingly a tale that is going to extend over multiple films. I love long form narrative and the shared universe The Avengers’ characters inhabit, but it is frustrating waiting years for it to play out before you can fully experience the story. Another problem with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films is that they can, narratively speaking, feel a little like they’re simply moving pieces on a chessboard before the next Avengers movie, though it is done reasonably okay here. Also, the film’s climax is giant special effects driven action set piece, which is not surprising but also a little like we’ve seen this all before. I’m not sure how I feel about them now. I go to an action adventure superhero movie to see action adventure and superheros and I’m not sure how I would end them any differently. But I know when a writer figures out how to successfully end one of these movies without having to save the world from a generic apocalyptic special effect clash, they might just become a multi billionaire.

The best of Marvel’s Avengers movies, and one of the best superhero films, full stop. 5/5 (that is, until I watch it again and see all the plot holes).