Reviews, Interviews , News, Commentaries, My Top 5 Movies, Best-Of Lists, Filmmakers of Faith, Film ForumCaptain America: The First Avenger
I fear that the most intriguing, captivating thread of Captain America's story will fall largely off-screen in the gap between his origin story, Captain America: The First Avenger, and 2012's The Avengers. This film, Cap's fifth live-action adaptation, is a capable, safe, and simple—if bland—movie squarely focused on the hero's creation and derring-do during World War II.
For the majority of the movie, Captain America doesn't have much complexity or struggle—internal or external—beyond stopping the bad guy, looking dashing, and winning the girl. But in the film's final minutes, his journey hits a yet-unseen gear of intrigue as Cap is thrown into a world he doesn't understand. Suddenly, I felt the energy ramp up and the character come alive. Much drama is promised in the concept of this stalwart, patriotic war hero of the 1940s suddenly having to wrestle with regret, confusion, and times he doesn't understand.
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers and Captain America
Then the credits roll.
The compelling fish-out-of water plot point—a unique distinctive for Cap's comic book journey—is used simply to keep the ball rolling toward Marvel's The Avengers movie, coming next May. Meanwhile, the main plot is more common and ho-hum.
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a scrawny, plucky Brooklyn kid who wants nothing more than to serve his country and fight bullies—"wherever they're from." After repeatedly being deemed unfit for service for a litany of ailments, a mysterious scientist (Stanley Tucci) approaches Rogers with an alternative. The government's Strategic Science Regiment (SSR), run by Tommy Lee Jones' Colonel Phillips, is looking for a candidate to be the war's first super soldier. Soon, Rogers is known far and wide as Captain America, a true American hero who is pitted against Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), a diabolical figure who leads Adolf Hitler's "deep science division," HYDRA.
Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
As Rogers longs to be a soldier, vies to be the SSR's guinea pig, and discovers his new self, the movie sparkles with an innocence and discovery—much like the first Spider-Man film. This is followed by a lot of nostalgic fun and charm in a sequence where Rogers serves his country as a sort of mascot—a symbol—to boost America patriotism and sell war bonds. (Included in this: a great wink toward the hero's first comic book cover.) But once Cap enters the war, the film goes on cruise control. The central plot is simple, been-there-done-that action movie stuff that plays out as you expect. The story is a bit weak with holes that make you think, "So, why did he have to do that?", followed by a climax where lights flash and winds whirl and then everything is magically okay.
Captain America is a no-risk, by-the-book superhero movie. The flaws aren't egregious; it's just meh. The movie hits its plot points and often replaces real emotion with manipulation—forcibly signaling when you're supposed to cheer, cry, laugh, etc. I felt like I wasn't experiencing an adventure, but was just being told about it—as if I were being read a book instead of living it. I was surprised that during some climactic, action-filled sequences I actually felt removed, detached and even bored.
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kevin massicotte
It was total garbage, the special effects are so over the top silly that I wondered if the directors were intentionally trying to ruin the movie. The technology portrayed in the 40's is totally unrealistic (antimatter gun). Story line was cheap and predictable. "what are we gonna do? we can't just walk in the front door" "thats exactly what we're gonna do" COME ON!! he has no real super powers to begin with how on earth is that possible. Other marvel movies have much more credibility. Why do people enjoy watching "shoot em up" movies like this where the super hero is just jacked up on confidence and testosterone?? Please explain to the non captain america comic book fans why he does not age? I honestly had to pause the movie every 10 minutes for the last hour to get a break from the cheezy terribleness of this garbage movie. I can't beleive the reviews are good... P.s. you really can't compare this to Raiders of the lost ark.
Maya W
I enjoyed the movie. The acting, directing, editing, special effects, and plot were all quite good. Spoiler Space Obviously, the character of Steve Rogers/Captain America is not Jesus Christ; however, Steve showed Christlike qualities when he was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save others, especially in the fake grenade scene and the airplane scene.
Joe brooks
A good, but but not great movie. It is, however, interesting to compare the recent spate of superhero movies to the tween lit. genre giving us Twilight, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, etc... Unlike the tween lit, with the superheroes, you have a real mythos with grand archetypes, a whole cosmology where the whole is much, MUCH greater than the sum of its parts. The "god becomes man" archetype of both Thor and, to a lesser extent, Superman, the Nietzchean and Freudian undertones of Batman, the admirable defence of capitalism in Iron man, and the underdog/sacrifice of oneself for the greater good in Captain America. These characters and their genre are easily dismissed as being for children, but they offer a depth and complexity that Rowling, Meyer, et al. can only dream about...