“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is a movie so nearly flawlessly executed and with so much tension derived from its secrets that in order to avoid spoiling the film, this review will be exceptionally light on plot details.

“The Winter Soldier” is more than a worthy successor to its predecessor, “The First Avenger” and for much of the movie it feels more like a sequel to “Marvel’s The Avengers,” than to the first film in Cap’s movie career, with its focus heavily involving S.H.I.E.L.D.

“The Winter Soldier” keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the film. Very early in the film you find yourself unable to trust any of the characters, other than Captain America himself. Even Marvel mainstays are suspect in this epic action-suspense film.

I had unknowingly been a fan of the directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, for some time. The only film I had seen by them was “You, Me and Dupree,” as they have not directed very many feature films. They had however directed many of episodes of two of my favorite television shows of all time, “Arrested Development” and “Community.”

When it was announced that they were directing this film I was a little shocked. But, they pulled off something very special, making a movie that was not just a great sequel, but something that was very new and fresh within the superhero genre.

The Russo Brothers, aside from telling an amazing story, execute some of the greatest action sequences I’ve seen in some time. The cinematography is fantastic, if slightly over-reliant on CGI.

Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”, “Sunshine”) reprises his role as Captain America, and continues to prove that he really gets Cap. Scarlett Johansson (“Lost in Translation”, “The Prestige”) also returns to the role of Black Widow, and receives much more screen time than she did in “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers,” allowing her to give the character more depth and prove that she, too, really owns this role.

Other returning Marvel characters include Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan (“Black Swan”, “Hot Tub Time Machine”),  Agent Maria Hill, portrayed by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”, “Delivery Man”), Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell (“The Duchess”, “The Sweeney”), and the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”, “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) as Nick Fury, all of whom surpass expectations.

New additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe include Robert Redford (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “All the President’s Men”) as Alexander Pierce, and Anthony Mackie (“The Hurt Locker”, “Million Dollar Baby”) as Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon. Both are excellent in the film.

One of my few complaints about the film would be how quickly they breezed by The Falcon’s origin story, but after seeing so many superhero origins on film, I probably would have been disappointed had they wasted too much time on it.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is easily one of Marvel Studios’ greatest accomplishments and stands next to “The Avengers” and the first “Iron Man” film as a movie that transcends the superhero genre in new and unexpected ways. While this movie is obviously a must-see for any Marvel fan, I would go so far as to recommend it to anyone. It is one of the rare sequels that can stand on its own two legs. 5 stars out of 5.

For showtimes at the Stephenville Cinema 6 movie theater click here: http://www.cinemark.com/captain-america-the-winter-soldier.