Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Although recent years have brought a number of worthwhile contenders our way, we’re going with Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America sequel for this last slot. The film approaches the superhero genre like a political thriller, lending a certain sense of dread and paranoia to Cap’s increasingly complicated life in the modern world. A worthy follow-up to the character’s storyline from The Avengers gives birth to one of the few Marvel Cinematic Universe solo outings to dramatically affect the entire mega-franchise. Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson continue to shine as Black Widow and Nick Fury, while Sebastian Stan takes his character to far deeper dimensions this time around. A tighter narrative, more frenetic action and more character development make Captain America: The Winter Soldier one for the ages. Here’s hoping Captain America: Civil War proves to be at least as strong as its predecessor.

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