Captain America: the Winter Soldier

Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers (aka star-spangled super-soldier Captain America), this time joining forces with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Anthony Mackie's Falcon to take on a mysterious assassin. The colourful cast of heroes, undercover villains and ghosts from the past bring nimble nuance to a deviously well-constructed story that plays like an old-school political thriller as much as a classy comic-book adventure. The action covers the full gamut of spectacular destruction, from highway car chases to heli-carrier sky battles. Yet it's the character interplay, astute direction (by Anthony and Joe Russo), and emotionally strong themes that make it all so compellng. If Robert Redford looks stiff in the Marvel universe (evoking the spirit of All the President's Men), new addition Mackie fits right in and Evans grows into his role with supreme confidence.