“Captain America” Provides Feel-Good Enjoyment

There’s nothing like action-packed fight scenes, Scarlett Johansson in a skin-tight jumpsuit and Captain America’s unwavering confidence to make me feel truly patriotic.

All joking aside, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was an entertaining, feel-good addition to the latest Captain America reboot. It was exactly what you would expect from a Marvel movie: an enjoyable mix of self-righteous-but-emotionally-damaged heroes, gorgeous and well choreographed fight scenes and predictable plot twists that kept the story going.

The plotline follows Captain America (Chris Evans) as he finds himself entangled in a web of lies spun by S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization he works for. When S.H.I.E.L.D. sends out a hit on the Captain, he’s forced into hiding along with fellow agents Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson).

Early in the movie, it is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. is working on a brand new project — floating war ships that use NSA-esque surveillance to locate and eliminate “threats” to international security. This inspires a self-righteous Captain America to embark on a quest to destroy the ships, but another super-soldier, called the “Winter Soldier” (Sebastian Stan), stands in his way.

In many ways, it was the same old superhero plot, but the discussion of government surveillance was honest and timely after the alarm created by recent NSA scandals. And while the script wasn’t Oscar-worthy, it was clever and filled with a perfect amount of justice, courage and sexual tension between Johannson and Evans.

And if you are going to say anything about a Marvel movie, you have to talk about the visual effects. This movie was absolutely breathtaking and extremely stimulating. Every fight scene was intense and vibrant, especially when they took place on warships hovering over the ocean. The Captain’s scenes were larger than life, and the flight suit of the Captain’s newest sidekick, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), was a fresh surprise.

Captain America definitely wasn’t shocking or award-worthy, but it was everything that a superhero movie should be — adrenaline-pumping, lighthearted and fun. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and laughing for over two hours, and it already has me excited for the next installment.