Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Of all the members of The Avengers, Captain America can be considered the most patriotic of them all. He was always concerned about serving his people, and it was a mission he kept through and through. He led soldiers into victorious fights, and even came to a point of sacrificing his own life for the sake of the better good. In his third movie, he was no different - willing to go the extra mile for the protection of mankind. While the first movie divulged in his history and origin, the second one brings us up to date with his work as a member of SHIELD, and how his past has somewhat caught up with him.

Of all the Marvel movies, I have found the Captain America movies the tedious one to watch - primarily because I found them lasting longer than they should have. The second movie certainly preceded the first, as it was fast paced, laced with explosions and action sequences, factors that make a big blockbuster movie. What makes the Captain America movies different from the other movies is that both have tackled the struggles and challenges that Steve Rogers faced, and how his mission in life was ever obscured by other possibilities. His passion for others never faltered, even to the ones that he loved but have hurt him. 

We meet Steve Rogers as an active member of SHIELD, living a simple life and doing his job. While he can be considered one of the organization's biggest assets, he was still out of the loop when it comes to certain projects - until Nick Fury brought him in Operation: Insight. The real problems started when Natasha was sent to retrieve important data containing SHIELD information, only to deny Nick Fury access to it, putting a damper on the operation on his advice. However, that was met with his assassination. In an attempt to save his life, he entrusts Rogers with the mission to uncover the ploy, only to have him meet more than what he bargained for - not to mention that the fate of millions of people were at his hands once again. 

As the man from the past, he certainly brought a lot of it with him. We get to see a glimpse of Peggy and she's not the only familiar familiar face to join us. There's Bucky, of course, who plays a detrimental character to the movie. As a person who barely looks into the background of a new release movie (until I've seen it myself), everything was a bit of a surprise, so I was pleased with the outcome. The story line did not border far from the roots of Steve Rogers/Captain America, who was still filled with his dedication to serve - whether it was facing an undefeated monster years ago, to battling supernatural beings, down to being in combat with someone who he has considered to be his brother throughout. 

Chris Evans certainly still fills the shoes, and this time there's more stunts and certainly more explosions. In terms of characters we get to see more of Black Widow, though Hawk-Eye could use a bit of a cameo here and there. We get the closure we need from the whole Steve-Peggy story. What works with this movie is that this is so much of a man's movie - in terms of it's practically all action, all the time. At the same time, Captain America might be the only Marvel franchise (so far) to show women who are not dependent on men. Sure, we meet Agent Hill and Black Widow in the Avengers, but they play much bigger roles in this installment. 

It was a fun, entertaining flick - a great preview of what is yet to come. This now connects us with The Avenger 2, as we meet two new characters (although I only know Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlett Witch). It won't be long now before Marvel wows us (hopefully) with Guardians of the Galaxy - the wait won't certainly feel long now.

Final word: Explosions, explosions, explosions! I do wonder if Captain America 3 will *spoiler* incorporate the Winter Soldier - that's very unfinished business *end spoiler*. 

Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson

Director: Joe Russo & Anthony Russo 

Year: 2014