[THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FILM.]  Okay, now — this was actually a pretty good movie; I’d give it an 8 out of 10.

And that says a lot coming from me — I gave only a lukewarm response to “Captain America: The First Avenger,” because I thought that film was an overly safe family film that had no depth or suspense, and some awkward fight scenes.  I’ve also opined that Captain America is one of the flatter characters on The Avengers’ lineup.  And he’s got a simplistic character concept, even by comic book standards (super-soldier serum, anyone?).

But “Winter Soldier” does improve greatly on some various weaknesses of the origin story.  The action scenes (my favorite is the highway fight) are very, very good, with well choreographed brawls and suspenseful shootouts that aren’t too hard for the viewer to follow.  And the space opera-level climax will definitely give action junkies their money’s worth.

Chris Evans actually is a really good actor, in my estimation.  He seems to do a far better job here than in the other Marvel films, and the script gives Cap a depth that lets Evans show a nice range.  (And dammit if he doesn’t look the part.)  He’s a charismatic lead that lets you more easily buy into the character.  And … Robert Redford in a comic book movie?!  That’s something I never saw coming.  But what a great actor.

My quibbles?  There were a couple.  (BEWARE – SPOILERS AHEAD.)

1)  Cap meets his best friend and (literal) wingman, the superhero Falcon, on a chance encounter after a run around Washington’s Mall?  DEUS EX EXERCISE.

2)  Winter Soldier is nice and intimidating with his bandit-like costume and metal (vibranium?) arm, and it’s a little unnerving when Captain America’s ostensible equal comes crashing into the scene.  But when his mask comes off and he utters one of his few lines of dialogue, he looks and sounds like a slightly dull, soft spoken, 16-year-old boy.  He’s utterly nonthreatening.

3)  I’ve always been hard to please when it comes to conspiracy storylines.  The larger the conspiracy, the less plausible — I refuse to believe that huge numbers of people can keep a secret so big.  S.H.I.E.L.D. is an utterly incompetent spy agency if it allowed Hydra to flourish as it did within its upper echelons.  Besides, Hydra is made up of weirdo fanatics — nuts like that would have a hard time blending in to a mainstream community.

4)  S.H.I.E.L.D. was more fun when it was made up only of good guys.  I never watched the TV show, but I rooted for them in the films.  It was America’s everyman response to a world of super-beings, and it was sort of the committed underdog.

5)  Again, we are never quite sure what Cap’s powers are.  He can withstand 15-story falls with no major injury, but apparently isn’t bulletproof.

6)  Why on Earth does nobody call  The Avengers for help?

But don’t let those minor irks prevent you from checking out this movie.  It’s pretty decent.

Comic Book Nerd Trivia — Winter Soldier looks a heck of a lot like an anti-hero named “Nomad” in the mid-1990’s.  He teamed up with Daredevil when he went to Las Vegas in the “Dead Man’s Hand” storyline.  It’s probably the same character; I am just too lazy to look it up right now.