Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Return of Bucky

*Image taken from Wikipedia.

I'll be honest; when I watched this movie for the first time, and Winter Soldier's mask finally came off, I didn't realize it was Bucky till Cap outright said it. Maybe it was because I didn't rewatch Captain America: The First Winter Soldier before watching this. Maybe the MCU relied too heavily on that we would keep the image of Cap's friend fresh in our minds; to be honest, they did show a photo of Bucky at the Smithsonian, but still, I wasn't expecting a return of Bucky, so he was the last thing on my mind during that fight.
That being said, the movie blows away its predecessor. Cap is shown finding his footing in today's world, all while it is revealed that Hydra has actually infiltrated SHIELD all this time.
Cap himself grows more likable here, though I dislike his need to comply in fighting without his shield. Sure, this shows that Cap is an actual fighter, able to hold up on his own, winning, but what if he hadn't? The mission would have been ruined because of his pride. Still, this whole movie is basically one big, epic collection of fight scenes, Chris Evans now completely different from his Fantastic Four days.
Black Widow's appearance for the first chunk I find unsettling; I just don't buy her look. It's like someone got an overdone spray tan, her looking like Rachel Berry in Glee, unlikable. Still, after that wears off, she returns to her likeable self, though her fighting is no match to Cap's here. They also play with a Cap-and-Natasha ship here, but to me it always felt like they were friends, no real romantic feelings between them, just friendship.
The Winter Soldier is great in appearing menacing, and his fighting enhances this as well. Now, if you know a bit about the comics, Black Widow and the Winter Soldier are a thing, but the MCU doesn't really play with that here, which I like because, to me, Black Widow is great solo (I'll get into this more in Avengers: Age of Ultron).
And Fury. Wow, a fight scene all while sitting in a car, feeling like one of the most intense scenes in the movie, if not the most intense, period. His "death" is believable, causing a sigh of relief when it is revealed that it was all a ruse.
Doctor Strange, or, well, Stephen Strange, is mentioned here, though, because of the MCU timeline, it is just because of his talents as a surgeon. Hydra knows to not my cautious of super powers, but intellectual powers as well, and Strange is the Stark of his department. So no, this wasn't an MCU timeline miss up, it's shown to demonstrate how cautious Hydra is, an example as to why they have lasted so long.
Obviously, in terms of Civil War, it is a must see. Still, for Infinity War and for Endgame, it helps further the presence of this friendship - or more (Stucky fans) - that would have been stripped away from Cap in the dusting. Besides, it is one of the MCU's top films; would you really throw this to decide? Rewatch for Endgame, rewatch for Cap, rewatch just for the MCU and your love of their movies. Trust me, action fans will adore this.