re: Am I alone in thinking Robert Redford is a sub par actor?

He is a very up and down actor. He was great in some flicks, like Jeremiah Johnson, and fairly wooden in others.

Obviously being Paul Newman's best friend opened a lot of doors for him in Hollywood and he's been a fairly middle of the road actor for decades. Give him the right part and the right director, like the aging Hydra agent in Winter Soldier, and he will do just fine.