(Long Island, N.Y.) Marvel Studios certainly seems to know how to pick their directors. Kenneth Branagh, with his vast history of Shakespeare productions, seemed a natural choice for the recent hit movie Thor (starring the Norse God of Thunder). Joe Johnston, who apparently once made some movie set in (I think) the 1940’s called The Rocketeer, seemed to be the fan’s choice to direct the World War 2-set Captain America: The First Avenger…the subject of today’s review.
Now, I never saw the Rocketeer, but I can certainly say that this Johnston guy certainly nailed the whole 1940’s vibe needed to make this kind of movie work. The result? In my opinion (the only one that counts!), Captain America is the best Marvel production since the original Iron Man…a lofty accomplishment, indeed.
Wait, I have to explain who Captain America is to you? He’s one of the most iconic comic book superheroes ever created! Well, okay…real quick, Captain America started life as Steve Rogers, a scrawny nothing of a kid from Brooklyn who desperately wanted to enlist in the Army and help fight those perky Nazis in Europe during WW2. Being an uber-pansy, Rogers is rejected over and over again,
until his perseverance gets him noticed by a big-wig Allied scientist who decided to use his special “Super Solider” serum on Rogers (which is basically some hyped up Dianabol), which in turn gets Rogers all tall and buffed out. Armed with a special indestructible throwing shield, he then heads to
Europe and fights against this dude called the Red Skull, a Nazi weapons developer and Hitler’s right-hand man whose head is…well, a red skull. He’s aptly named, folks.
The film pretty much follows the comic’s origin exactly, with small minor little changes that only the most socially awkward of
basement dwellers would care about. Steve Rogers/Captain America is played by an excellent choice: Chris Evans, who you might remember from his other superhero movie gig: The Human Torch from the so-so Fantastic Four movies. Evans, normally a pretty jacked individual, is digitally crammed into the body of a 90-pound weakling at the start of the movie, but once he gets that “Super Solider” serum, we get a look at the results of all the weights he’s been lifting and protein he’s been eating while prepping for this role. The dude’s big. But more than being physically right for the role, Evans (previously known mostly for his comedic work) delivers the goods in the acting department as well, capturing the humble nobility and never-say-die attitude of little Steve Rogers. Once he becomes Captain America, you’ve already been rooting for him.
It’s rare when a character is this likable in a superhero action movie…you see, most comic book origin movies just become an exercise in impatience while you wait for the boring stuff to pass by so you can finally see the hero don his costume and flex his powers for the first time. It’s all filler up to that point. But in Captain America, I found Steve Rogers’ story and the super-authentic 1940’s setting so compelling on their own that I wasn’t in a rush
for him to get his red, white, and blue tights on. But when it finally happened, a good movie got even better. This is an origin tale that, like X-Men: First Class, feels natural and organic as opposed to forced and rushed.
Really solid backing cast here, too. Agent Smith himself, Hugo Weaving, perfectly plays the evil Red Skull, a diabolical, disfigured fiend who has stolen a mystical relic to power his weapons of mass destruction, eventually planning on turning them against even his own Nazi bosses in his bid for world domination. Also high on my list is Hayley Atwell, who plays British SSR officer Peggy Carter. Of course, since she’s the only major female character in the movie, this means that she’s Cap’s love interest, but, playing it against type for movies of this sort, she’s not a useless, brainless bimbo, but instead spunky, tough, witty, and capable. Plus, the love story is very solidly done, making it actually kind of fun and yes, even touching in the end. “Super Solider” serum inventor Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) and Cap’s commanding officer Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) are also bright spots in this movie.
The film has fantastic attention to detail, with the 1940’s perfectly re-created down to every little detail.
The physical, practical effects are all top-notch, as is the abundant CG. Costuming is amazing, especially when it comes to Cap’s WW2-era outfit, which is a perfect real-world re-creation of his famous comic book duds (the original funnybook-style outfit appears also, in an amusing subplot that sees Cap first used to sell War Bonds before filling his true potential on the battlefield). The pace is brisk, the action hard-hitting (Cap’s shield is a very cool weapon), the humor plentiful (but not even close to overdone), and the ending ties in with the release of next summer’s Marvel superhero team-up extravaganza, The Avengers.
So, yeah, if you couldn’t tell, I really liked Captain America: The First Avenger. You will too, once you watch it, which you now will, because I told you so. Right? Right. Now get going!
