Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 4, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Critics
Positive:
40
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
HitfixDrew McWeenyApr 18, 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a tremendous piece of pop entertainment, smart and engaging and featuring a home run movie star lead performance by Chris Evans. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMay 8, 2016
In his third outing as the Captain, Evans seems totally comfortable in the role. He manages to convey his character’s goodness without making him seem like a self-righteous stiff. There’s an ease in his performance, and a sense of humor that makes him very appealing. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanApr 6, 2014
What it comes down to is the difference between spectacle and craftsmanship. The Winter Soldier has plenty of the former – every dollar of its estimated $170-million (U.S.) budget is onscreen – but it’s also got an intricate dramatic and thematic structure holding everything in place. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonApr 3, 2014
The rare film in this genre that serves as both entry point and continuation. For a change, you can walk in cold and you won't be too lost. Read full review
88
Film.comKate ErblandApr 3, 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier neatly and entertainingly puts into motion some big changes in the Marvel universe, while still sticking to its own charms — no easy feat, but one fit for a hero. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 3, 2014
Co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo and the team of screenwriters have fashioned a story with just the right balance of superhero fun, nods to the greater Marvel Universe and genuine dramatic tension. Read full review
86
Paste MagazineMichael BurginJun 17, 2018
The newest Marvel blockbuster-to-be boasts an array of well-cast leads and supporting characters; a crisply paced, sensible plot; and above-average dialogue. Even more importantly, every scene and every character interaction prove that the movie’s creative team truly understands the core appeal of Cap himself—the tone of not just the character, but the comic book series from which he springs. Read full review
83
The Film StageJared MobarakMay 8, 2016
By far the best Part Two in the universe (not necessarily hard to achieve) it also rests at the franchise’s peak alongside Iron Man, Avengers, and its predecessor to show the viability of cinematic serials. Read full review
83
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanApr 3, 2014
This sequel is, by design, entirely absorbing and satisfying without being one whit memorable. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Apr 2, 2014
The best Marvel film since "The Avengers." Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanApr 2, 2014
The creators of Captain America: The Winter ­Soldier have brought off something fresh and bold. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianJamie S. RichApr 1, 2014
Despite some of its more rickety story elements, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is possibly the studio's best action film and the one most able to stand on its own since the original "Iron Man." Read full review
80
ScreenCrushJordan HoffmanMay 8, 2016
This entry won't win any new converts, but anyone already invested in this series is going to have a blast. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternApr 3, 2014
What makes "The Winter Soldier" so enjoyable, though, and what will make it so profitable, is its emotional bandwidth — all the vivid, nuanced life lived by its characters in between their frenzied escapades. Read full review
80
TimeRichard CorlissApr 3, 2014
Steve and the movie still fly high through plot twists and cool stunts. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 2, 2014
Count Captain America: The Winter Soldier as another success in the Marvel line. Thanks to the chemistry between Evans and Johansson and a willingness to shake things up, it's more than just a placeholder between "Avenger" films. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonApr 1, 2014
The script is solid, and the fight scenes are excellent. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierApr 1, 2014
Parents, take note: For all its heart, this is a tougher, more morally complex movie than its predecessors. Young kids carrying their miniversions of Cap’s famous shield may be in for a jolt. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 24, 2014
This installment delivers a heavy and welcome dose of paranoia, administered between fleetly paced smackdowns. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinMar 24, 2014
It may climax with an overly formulaic splurge, but The Winter Soldier benefits from an old-school-thriller tone that, for its first half at least, distinguishes it from its more obviously superheroic Marvel cousins. Read full review
80
The GuardianSteve RoseMar 20, 2014
In the first movie, an injection transformed wimpy Steve Rogers into strapping Captain America; similarly, this sequel gives the flagging comic-book movie an adrenaline shot of relevance. You've got to hand it to them. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt MaytumMar 20, 2014
With a string of gratifying action sequences, and a breakneck pace leavened by a frequently witty script, The Winter Soldier stands alone as a solidly entertaining blockbuster. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerApr 3, 2014
If we must endure yet another spring-summer cycle of comic book superheroes, this movie at least delivers the wham-bang goods (recycled though they may be). Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 3, 2014
It tells its own story and, unlike with "Thor 2" and "Iron Man 3," we don't feel the absence of the rest of the team. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 3, 2014
An often breathlessly exciting action thriller told with humor and intelligence. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 3, 2014
The new film isn’t nearly as bleak as Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman (in general, Marvel seems more risk-averse when it comes to fiddling with the crown jewels), but it still creates an action-movie landscape torn between patriotic ideals and harsh post-9/11 realpolitik. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsApr 3, 2014
The movie does its duty. It's a reliable commodity, delivered efficiently and well, like pizza. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversApr 3, 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is every rousing, whup-ass thing you want in an escapist adventure. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayApr 3, 2014
A baggy, at times brutal conglomeration of surprisingly deep character development and aggressively percussive action, The Winter Soldier is a comic-book movie only in its provenance. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallApr 1, 2014
It's a heady blend, at times requiring more speechifying than throwaway pop deserves. But it keeps one guessing between ill-staged and frenetically edited fight scenes. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo handle vehicular mayhem better. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinApr 4, 2014
Beneath the expensive, computer-generated busyness of this second Captain America installment is a bracing, old-style conspiracy thriller made extra-scary by new technology and the increasingly ugly trade-offs of a post-9/11 world. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirApr 3, 2014
It needs to seem cool enough that we want to watch it despite its obvious silliness, and viewed through that prism of canny analysis, the craftsmanship of “Winter Soldier” is first rate. Read full review
70
The DissolveScott TobiasApr 1, 2014
Arriving in the middle of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Winter Soldier is among the best of the nine films released so far—roughly on par with the first Iron Man and The Avengers—but if the film has one major flaw, it’s the obligation to serve a larger franchise that keeps taking on weight. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMar 20, 2014
For sheer plotting and audience involvement, this is a notch above any of the other Avengers-feeding Marvel entries, the one that feels most like a real movie rather than a production line of ooh-and-ahh moments for fanboys. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasMar 20, 2014
It’s to the credit of the Russos that they give the characters such room to breathe in a movie that easily might have been about rushing from one gargantuan setpiece to the next. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovApr 2, 2014
At over two hours, The Winter Soldier could have easily been trimmed by a good 20 minutes, but if it’s spectacular imagery and duplicitous goings-on that you crave, the film will not disappoint. Read full review
67
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonMar 20, 2014
The Winter Soldier is probably in the upper tier of Marvel pictures in terms of quality, but ultimately proves too muddled and frantic to match the heights of "The Avengers." Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaApr 4, 2014
The problem with Captain America: The Winter Soldier is that there's too much going on: the Marvel Universe stuff, the WikiLeaks-ish paranoia stuff, the video game-ish CG visual effects stuff, the epic John Woo-ish everybody-pointing-a-weapon-at-everybody-else face-off stuff. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 3, 2014
With his glorified Frisbee and good-guy smile, Evans is engaging, but “The Winter Soldier” might be stronger with a little less Captain and a little more America. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreApr 1, 2014
It’s OK for April, in other words, but not up to the higher standards of a Marvel summer blockbuster. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 4, 2014
So here's what moviegoers can trust from the Russo's Captain America: Winter Solider: They can trust it to be a brisk ride. They can trust it to be entertaining. They can expect it to be suspenseful. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 20, 2014
You can’t help but feel disappointed that a film with a relatively spicy premise becomes, in the end, so risk-averse. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisApr 3, 2014
Given how little creative wiggle room there is in properties like The Winter Soldier, it’s a minor triumph that the Russos imprint any personality on the movie, which is less a stand-alone work than a part of an ever-expanding multimedia enterprise. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensApr 3, 2014
The most memorable element of The Winter Soldier, besides Redford, is probably Scarlett Johansson, whose dryly funny Natasha at times comes perilously close to being … a well-developed female character? Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 3, 2014
Has the usual overlong running time, the half-hearted feints in the direction of human feeling and the obligatory action sequences that are big without being either exciting or particularly legible. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranApr 2, 2014
It's a product of the highest quality, but at the end of the day that's what it is: a machine-made, assembly-line product whose strengths tend to feel like items checked off a master list rather than being the result of any kind of individual creative touch. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickApr 1, 2014
Deeply mediocre and ultra-predictable. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineEric HendersonApr 2, 2014
Despite one or two moments of Venture Brothers-worthy fancy, the film is as by-the-numbers as any this series has ever offered. Read full review
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