Of the mainline Avengers, Captain America is probably the oldest, having first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 in 1941. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character was designed to be a patriotic superhero. His first comic probably has one of the most iconic covers ever: featuring Captain America punching Hitler in the face! While the character was very popular during the war, the years following the war saw the character decline in popularity. Once Marvel comics was established in the 60s, Captain America was brought back as one of the original Avengers. Since then, he’s remained one of Marvel’s most recognizable characters and has spanned countless generations. There were made-for-TV movies in the 70s, plus a movie from the early 90s meant for theaters but released direct-to-video. Eventually, the character made it to the big screen with Captain America: The First Avenger.
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Synopsis
At the height of WWII, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to join the army but can’t due to physical problems. That is, until his patriotism catches the attention of Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who can help Rogers enlist. Erskine is working on a super soldier serum and he wants Rogers as the prime candidate. While Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) is skeptical, the experiment works, though Erskine is killed and the serum is destroyed. With his new abilities, Rogers is initially enlisted merely for entertainment, but Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell) knows he wants more. Steve learns of several POWs being held captive by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) and sets out to rescue them. Schmidt, aka Red Skull, and his partner Dr. Zola (Toby Jones) are harnessing a strange power source for their army. With his new howling commandos, Rogers, aka Captain America, sets off to stop Red Skull for good.
Review
After entries like Iron Man 2 and Thor proved somewhat underwhelming, this more than makes up for it. This is a fantastic WWII-era superhero movie that has some fantastic performances and a fun 40’s era pulp style. It’s not surprise that director Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) was hired given his work on The Rocketeer. Much like that film, this one has that same aesthetic of an old wartime film with a somewhat modern feel. In addition, the cast is terrific, especially Chris Evans, who you immediately identify with given his situation. While the CGI used to make him shorter and skinny is slightly dodgy, his performance makes up for it. In addition, you also have great performances from Hayley Atwell, veteran Tommy Lee Jones, and a very sinister Hugo Weaving. Everyone plays their parts incredibly well, and even the smaller characters are memorable.
If I do have any complaints, one would be the somewhat excessive use of montage. I understand that you want to convey a lot in a short amount of time, but it feels like padding. Something tells me there were several scenes left on the cutting room floor, and the montages make up for that. Also, from a story perspective, it’s somewhat ridiculous that they would take a bonafide super-soldier and make him an entertainer. It’s that old cliche of “authority figure doesn’t understand, but the good guy does, but no one listens to him.” Plus, the beginning of the movie kind of spoils the end of the movie, so there’s no suspense. That said, the characters, style, and action more than compensate for the some of the movie’s problems. While it has some flaws, Captain America: The First Avenger is a fantastic WWII-era superhero movie for our inner patriot.
‘MERICA!
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