Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Captain America: The First Avenger was my favorite film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase One, mostly because it featured a hero who felt the most like a superhero. Now that I have seen Anthony and Joe Russo's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I think it will be safe to assume that this will be my favorite film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Two. Loosely based on Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline from his run on the Captain America comics, the film sees the return of Steve Rogers' past friend and ally Bucky Barnes as a brainwashed super-assassin who works for the sinister terrorist organization HYDRA. Two of my favorite things about the film are the depictions of Black Widow and Nick Fury. Unlike her previous role in The Avengers (2012), Black Widow is actually portrayed as a CHARACTER with FLAWS and MOTIVATIONS. She actually makes MISTAKES, unlike her Whedon doppelgänger who was essentially a cardboard action figure who existed to role her eyes at the silly boys in costumes and look flawless even during an alien invasion of New York City. Nick Fury also seems like a wizened old master spy with ghosts and skeletons in his closet. In most of the other Marvel films he was in, Nick Fury came off more like Samuel L. Jackson with an eye-patch. And here is one of the film's greatest strengths: its characterizations. I adored Chris Evans' Steve Rogers. Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson was a joy to behold. Sebastian Stan managed to make Bucky seem like a tortured character without coming across as unnecessarily melodramatic or emo (haircut notwithstanding). And for the first time in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I enjoyed watching Black Widow. Throw in some fantastic fight scenes (particularly the early mission where SHIELD confronts Batroc the Leaper and his host of pirates...even if the camerawork and editing was a tad bit too shaky and erratic at times), and you have a magnificent superhero film.

8/10