Captain America: The Winter Soldier ***½ (PG-13) Summer is a-comin’, and comic book-based action epics like this are as sure a sign as any budding flowers in your gardens. Chris Evans returns as one of Marvel Comics’ early heroes - a WW II soldier imbued with great powers via scientific tinkering - to fend off yet another threat to the world we live in, including the superhero and pals agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which one can also follow on prime-time TV. But the movie gives us Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and even Robert - freakin’ - Redford!!! Game, set and match to the big screen branch of the biz for that coup.
The story details only matter to hard-core genre fans, beside whom I confess to being a mere dilettante. For the rest of us, the story is pretty cogent, and more intricate than most such vehicles. The characters and their dire straits are sufficiently engrossing for all tastes. The epic scope of the slam-bang action sequences should satisfy both the adrenalin junkies and CG techies in the house, even with a running time over two hours. It accomplishes the rare feat for sequels of turning out better than the first.
As always, creator Stan Lee’s cameo is a fine perk. Stay through the closing credits for a couple of scenes that add to the fun, and presage the next inevitable chapter in the franchise that’s definitely on a fine roll. (4/4/14)