Not content to rehash or mimic past comic book adaptations and sequels, Captain America the Winter Solider is a flawlessly executed film that raises the bar on superhero movies higher than it has ever been by stepping out of the confines of its own genre.

While struggling to find his place in the world, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) finds himself questioning which side he is on and who to trust when a mysterious assassin known only as the Winter Soldier emerges and kicks off a chain of events that puts Rogers on the wrong side of the law while fighting a shadowy enemy from the past. With only Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and new ally Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) on his side, Rogers finds himself embroiled in espionage, intrigue and enormous danger.

The above plot summary is very light and vague and although a lot of the details of it have been spoiled in trailers or are taken from the comic book source material, I don’t want to give away the twists and turns as there are a lot of moving parts to the story and it is much more fun and engrossing if you don’t already know. That isn’t to say that this is a difficult mystery to crack but there is a lot more intrigue and substance that one usually gets in a superhero movie and it would be nice if marketing didn’t spoil it for everyone.

There are a lot of reasons why the Winter Soldier works so well but the thing that I responded to the most is that it clearly shows why Captain America is a deep and well drawn character as opposed to a patriotic mouth piece. Here we see a Captain America that does not just tow the party line but rather stands for the ideals the government should be founded upon and not necessarily what it is up to at any given time. He is a symbol for freedom and justice and he upholds those ideals whether the leadership does or not. This puts him at odds with his superiors and takes him out of the ‘boy scout’ category and into a moral gray area that pits him against any one who wants to sacrifice the lives and safety of innocent people.

The film asks some hard questions about how far should one be willing to go before crossing the line and it follows the new pattern emerging in Marvel’s Phase Two films of taking its characters and placing them in different genres as well as putting them up against hard moral and personal choices. This is what makes the intrigue an espionage compelling because there aren’t really easy answers even for the good guys as Cap questions Nick Fury’s (Samuel L Jackson)methods and motives even as they fight on the same side. It could have just been a paint by numbers action film but Marvel is clearly not satisfied with that sort of thing and that is likely why their movies have been uniformly great.

The movie is very plot and character heavy but that is not to say there isn’t much action. With an emphasis on practical effects over CGI, the Winter Soldier’s action is some of the best I’ve seen from a comic book movie and it is both exciting and breathtaking to watch. Cap’s moves have improved quite a bit and the creativity shown in his fighting style and how he uses his shield was a ton of fun to watch. The addition of the Falcon to the mix added a whole new set of awesome flying scenes that were just frankly badass. Top to bottom the action was well executed and choreographed and far exceeded my expectations.

On top of the story and action, the movie felt very connected to the overall universe with references to the other films, as well as some future ones, and just felt exactly right. The nods and references had the perfect touch as well as it never felt jokey or gimmicky. This added further depth and texture to the overall world and brought back a fair number of characters from previous films. The Buzz Media’s own Jeffrey went with me to see this and said afterward that it felt more like Avengers 1.5, which is very true in terms of the scale and overall impact on the world. That is not to say that it doesn’t stand on its own but if you are into the Marvel films it is very rich with elements from that world.

The performances were excellent across the board. Again, Chris Evans perfectly embodies the conflict and idealism of Steve Rogers while cutting exactly the right figure symbolically. Scarlett Johansson turns in another great performance as Black Widow and shows her vulnerability while refusing to let that get in her way at all. She is badass and continues to be one of the most exciting characters in the series. Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, brings class and gravitas to the role and elevates every scene while calling back espionage films of the 70’s like Three Days of the Condor. Anthony Mackie is excellent as the Falcon and brings the character to life as a vital part of the story and not a side-kick. Samuel L Jackson Samuel L Jacksons here and he does it better than anyone else because he is Samuel L Jackson.

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

Another win for Marvel, the Winter Soldier keeps the streak going by not only being great but being better. I expected a good movie out of this but I got a great one instead and I would change absolutely nothing about it. As excited as I am for Avengers: Age of Ultron, I find myself even more excited for the next Captain America installment because now that I know what this kind of movie can be like I want a lot more of it. The only people I would not recommend this movie to are the ones who hate perfectly executed superhero movies and are allergic to fun. Other than that you should be sound as a pound.