What's amazing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that the less you know about the superhero, the better the movies turn out to be. Because you don't know the story lines, your expectations are much lower. You're also not so worried about the plot lines of the movie diverging horribly from the comics that you can enjoy and be surprised by the movie. The Avengers kind of works that way, but so does Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

This Captain America movie takes place in the present as opposed to the first one taken place during World War II. It finds Captain America in an America he doesn't understand. He can't compromise his principles even for his country, and he can't understand how his country had compromised its principles.

The Captain finds himself embroiled in S.H.I.E.L.D. intrigue. Can he trust S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect the country without compromising the American principles? It reminds me of Agent Mulder and the mantra Mr. X told him, "Trust no one." Alternatively, "The Truth is out there." And it is spelled HYDRA!

This is a better movie than the first Captain America. It didn't get slow towards the end. It actually picked up with all those revelations. And it made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a much better television show this past week.

Because I was never a big Captain America reader, I liked this movie.

4 of 5 stars.

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