So, why was this movie so good? I had heard going in that it was politically charged, and touched on drones (this was the only information I had going in) and that made me a little worried. Shoehorning politics into a movie like this hasn't always been done well, just look at the horrible drone allegory in the reboot of Robocop (on second though, don't, just ignore that movie completely), or the terrible occupy Wallstreet blah blah crap of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. But hey, if you're going to put politics in a marvel comic movie, then Captain America is the best place to do it, right? I mean, his name is Captain Goddamn America.
But whereas those movies painted their allegories with big neon lights and said "LOOK AT OUR COMMENTARY!" Winter Soldier does a really good job of keeping it all in universe. It's a direct sequel to some of the darker elements hinted at about shield in The Avengers, and really explores what they could mean to their full extent. It has the great surprise twist of Hydra not only still existing, but being in charge of everything, and having our modern world built by them. It's as if America didn't beat the Nazis, the Nazis just snuck in and became America.
The movie also did a great job with it's man out of time motif. Steve Rogers is from the past, living in a world that has drastically changed from what he had lived in. He had fought for an idea, and now is transported to the future to see how what he fought for has changed and mutated.
I've said before that I feel like Captain America is marvel's version of Superman. Not in their powers, but in who they are, at their core. Cap is very much the boyscout. He's not defined by his muscles, or even his shield, but by his willingness to do what is right. He's not perfect, he has his doubts, but at the end of the day he's willing to fight for what he believes is right, no matter the odds in front of him. And there's no better scene of the effect his personality has on the world than during the helicarrier launch, when he announces that Hydra has taken over SHIELD and is using the helicarriers as weapons of mass destruction. The action moves momentarily to one random engineer working at the launch, being held at gunpoint and told to launch, and the stressed but determined reaction on his face as he refuses. He knows he's about to die, that if he doesn't launch this man is likely going to shoot him in the head, but he can't bring himself to do it. "Captains Orders." Great scene.
Black Widow had some great moments in this, more development than she's had in any of the other marvel movies. And while I'm tempted to draw that as a negative in the previous movies, I actually think it's ok. She hasn't had a lot of development because she keeps everything in. She's mysterious because she doesn't want anyone to know anything. She makes a great foil to Cap because of how different her character is. Rogers is all about hope and trust, BW is about cynicism and keeping people at arm's length. They compliment each other that way.