Chris Evans stars as Captain America in Marvel’s latest superhero comic sequel, Captain America: The Winter Solider. Captain America enlists the help of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and, notably the first African-American superhero, Falcon (Anthony Mackie), to expose the internal misrepresentation at S.H.I.E.L.D. Secrets stemming back to World War II are revealed after Captain America finds out his childhood friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), is still alive. The three team up with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), to save the organization’s reputation and infrastructure. The movie also stars Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, and Robert Redford.

Anthony Mackie chronologically gets better with every movie. It is hard to believe that the same slinky guy who played “Papa Doc” from 8 Mile (2002) would Marvel’s first Black superhero. He is outstanding, persuasive, and balanced. Mackie’s recent increased number of acting gigs is evidence that he is competition now. Typically, we see the same Black actors and it is refreshing to see some different, long-lasting faces.

The fighting scenes are superb! Minutes in the movie some of the best combating occurs and it consistently continues throughout the movie. The choreography, timing, and precision with the fighters is multi-dimensional and believable.

I have always been a light Scarlett Johansson fan. Since ‘Her’ (2013), I have placed the red head on an idealistic pedestal. Merely her voice was featured in the winter movie, but in Captain America: The Winter Solider, the audience gets a glimpse of everything (well not everything). Johansson is drop dead gorgeous. Her beauty is only a drop in the bucket compared to the effort she spends on screen acting. Johansson was fierce as Black Widow.

The movie’s initial Captain American uniform looked like when Marla Gibbs concocted a homemade superhero uniform for Robert Townsend in The Meteor Man (1993). I am not quite sure if Marvel was going for a vintage look, but it surpassed the thrift shop sale rack. Although the uniform is microscopic compared the rest of the elements, I thought a brand new, shiny Captain America suit would be the least expected.

Any movie more than two hours is a mini-series. I should not be subject to endure more than 120 minutes without the option of pausing or stopping the movie. Captain America: The Winter Solider was too long and I have identified the long movies as a trend previously. Give me 110 minutes, a cliff-hanger ending, and I’ll patiently wait until the next film. The movie should have had some more deleted scenes for the DVD.

As a mother of a 6-year-old boy, I think I am forced to familiarize myself with the comic book affairs of Captain America, The Avengers, and any other supernatural human being. But, please do not proceed by quizzing me on the origin of any superhero, villain, or storyline because I literally watch the movie. I do not follow the superheroes. I am intrigued to find out more information about Marvel’s first Black superhero, Falcon, who was created in 1969.

3 STARS: The movie is too long but I suspect it’s the perfect length for all superhero and Captain American fans. Scarlett Johansson and Anthony Mackie got more points with me and the fighting was on point. Plans for Captain America part 3 are in the works now and the movie is slated to be released in 2016. In the meantime, you can catch Captain America: The Winter Solider this weekend in theaters.