Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Even though it was part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, very few people really expected 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier to be particularly great.

The first Captain America movie – 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger – was okay, but not brilliant, and Chris Evans’ character was hardly the flagship character of the franchise. However, this sequel blew everybody away.

It was a brilliant movie by anyone’s standards. Transcending the comic book genre, it was a fantastic conspiracy thriller with a gripping story, fantastic action, and a convincing antagonist (a nice change in an MCU movie). It is genuinely one of the best comic book movies ever made, and that came as a huge surprise.

And now we move on to another MCU offering.