Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Steve Rogers (Captain America to you and me) is still adjusting to his new life, having lost everything after being frozen in the ice... or so he thought. The past finally catches up with him in the second installment of this superhero's films. Some old faces come back to haunt him, some only memories, some aged and dying and some scientifically preserved. After Nick Fury is shot and killed, the Captain doesn't know who to trust, and he must battle with himself and with the people he thought were his friends to find out the truth.

Captain America's second outing alone lives up rather well to the first film. This time he's teamed up with shield agent Natasha Romanoff (the Black Widow) to fight evil. The only issue is, they have no idea who it is that they're fighting. A dark secret is hidden away in SHIELD, and all of it links perfectly back into the Steve's past. This is the part that I love best; the flashbacks in time, the museum with all of the old outfits and all the memories captured inside. It really brings back the feel of the first film, which was definitely a sort of love letter to the 1940's.

The plot is fast-paced and really intriguing, with a nice scene between Rogers and a new face (known as Falcon later on, all you Marvel buffs) early on to ease you in, and then a shooting to leave you horrified. Steve and Natasha become fugitives, but despite this, they're determined to stop the threat to the earth that Nick Fury was trying to unearth before he died. Plenty of explosions, lots of fighting scenes and action sequences and a couple of mysteries to be answered make this film a really exciting watch. I loved it , and so did the boyfriend.

One issue that probably needs to be addressed here is the end credits. You know the little scenes? Well, things are getting a lot more complex, and I have a problem with this. While everything will add up in the end, it feels like Marvel are holding too many threads. We have multiple story-lines for each superhero, and issues for each one that have in no way been resolved. Does anyone remember the red-faced bloke at the end of the Thor credits? Well, no, and I honestly thought that he would come back in sooner, maybe into Thor 2 instead of giving him a whole new enemy to fight, which then stems off with this collector man at the end. There, two things already, and now there's yet another bad guy with his hands on an Asgardian weapon. It is getting very complex and quite difficult to remember, and I do wonder how this will all tie in.

Anyway, that is a small qualm, and surely it will all be resolved sooner or later. Apart from that, the film is really enjoyable, perfect for Marvel Studios fans and action lovers, and also a great carry-on from the first film. 9 out of 10. (Oh and also, the amount of naked muscly torsos on display are a lovely addition. Keep it coming, Marvel.)