Movie Review: "Captain America: The First Avenger"

Seen on: July 20, 2011

The players: Director: Joe Johnston, Writers: Stephen Mc Feely, Christopher Markus, Cast: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell

Fact of interest: To achieve the "Small Steve" effect at the beginning of the movie, Chris Evans was filmed as himself and digitally "carved out" most of his height and bulk.

The plot: The origin story of superhero Captain America. Undersized runt Steve Rogers wants desperately to enlist in the Army and join the war effort in WWII, but he is turned down repeatedly, until he is chosen for a secret experiment that turns him into a super soldier.

Our thoughts: Since the early news and images started leaking out regarding "Captain America: The First Avenger," hope has run high among the fanboy community. The expectations for this adaptation and the lead up to the upcoming "The Avengers” have been great.

However, given the somewhat disappointing "Thor" (a two-hour long setup for "The Avengers" with a really weak story), there was some doubt cast as to whether "Captain America" was truly going to be a great movie in its own right, or just another slapped together movie purely made to set up this character for the event that arrives next year. Thankfully, this is a fantastic movie on its own, and one of the best movies from the Marvel comic universe.

Primarily set in 1941, "Captain America" tells the origin story of one of Marvel’s Avengers against the backdrop of World War II. As a period adventure, "Captain America" is near perfect. Trust me, it really is. The sets and production design are very much in period, all while maintaining that comic gloss befitting a true superhero (or villain, for that matter).

Director Joe Johnston has this film brimming with that “Golly-Gee” earnestness that marks most adventure movies set in that period (like “The Rocketter," “Pearl Harbor,” or “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” to name a few). The performances are also pitch-perfect, staying true to both the comic book aspect of the piece as well as the period in which it plays.

As our hero, Chris Evans really sheds his generally cocky smart-ass delivery for one of the most genuinely “good” superhero portrayals since Christopher Reeves in “Superman” - he really delivers a hero to cheer for. Tommy Lee Jones is… well, Tommy Lee Jones, and he does a fine job brilliantly as the Captain’s superior officer. As the villain Red Skull, Hugo Weaving continues his run of excellence playing fairly understated, yet deliciously evil characters.

While it may lack a certain intelligence and emotional gravity like “The Dark Knight” or even “X-Men: First Class” due to that earnestness, this is still a very engaging adventure. The story is strong and well-paced. The action is well directed (although edited a little too tightly from time to time). No, the movie may not bag any Acadamy Awards, but it is still a highly entertaining way to spend two hours and some moola! It's fun; just plain fun.

Freaky quote: "If you have something to say, now’s the time to keep it to yourself." - Tommy Lee Jones

The final word: Not just a great superhero movie, but a great adventure in general! Make sure you don't miss this one!

On the web: http://captainamerica.marvel.com/

Article by Danny Alves

Comments

[Da Draken]

I can never take Chris Evans seriously... so maybe I shouldn't see cap america. plus marvel is annoying.