Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Whereas Captain America: The First Avenger played up the gung-ho, patriotic militarism that suited its WWII setting, its sequel has been touted as tonally similar to a 1970s-style conspiracy thriller, owing to it taking place in our modern, paranoid era. This first trailer certainly bears that out: There’s a lot of discussion about the nature of protecting freedom that strikes a definite NSA scandal chord, and Cap seems to be fighting with a lot of ethical questions here—in addition to a lot of military guys, cars, planes, and the titular, not-mysterious-if-you’ve-read-the-comics super-soldier. And having conspiracy movie vet Robert Redford and Hurt Locker star Anthony Mackie (as the Falcon) around certainly helps to lend it that undercurrent of political unease.  It’s a tension that’s so prevalent, it makes Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow seem like the de facto comic relief. Still, with Community vets Anthony and Joe Russo directing, there’s probably also an undercurrent of humor lurking in the shadows, just waiting to be revealed in the actual movie.