A lot of you have probably seen commercials for the new movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger sees Capt. Rogers (played by Chris Evans) in the present day after being frozen for 70+ years, trying to keep up with modern technology IE: Internet, Thai food and all six Rocky movies.

All of this while working for the military division called S.H.I.E.L.D. and being faced with a new kind of enemy code-named “the winter soldier,” a super assassin with a robotic arm that gives him a sort of super strength, this villain will test the captain emotionally and psychically in what could be his greatest challenge yet.

The film was released on Friday April 11, and I, not wanting to deal with opening night crowds, saw it the day after opening night. As a mild Captain America fan, I was expecting a well-done sequel that would be at least worthy of telling my friends next Monday at the lunch table.

What I got was exactly what I expected. A well-done sequel that featured a fairly well-developed plot, good character placement and more action than you can shake a well-timed explosion at.

Another thing I enjoyed was the emotional, not just physical struggle a lot of the characters went through. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone, but the winter soldier happens to be someone quite close to the captain so I think that really helps the emotional tension in the movie.

The thing about this movie is that it’s not a typical Marvel hour and a half of punches and explosions. It has at least some substance between the action sequences. Though lets be honest, unless this is 300 or Braveheart, most people prefer a building explosion to emotional monologue.

But don’t get me wrong; this movie isn’t four stars either. The action sequences are great and all, but I feel like now it’s just a giant explosion contest between all the big movie studios. That’s not to say that they weren’t well executed or there’s a problem with them, some of the scenes just feel like they’ve been done before.

Overall, I’d give this movie a three out of four stars. It was in my opinion superior to the first movie. I definitely recommend it to the Captain America or even just comic book fan, but if you hate action or superhero movie clichés, then you might want to pass.