Captain America: The First Avenger

 

 

Create your own review

I have to admit, I didn't have high expectations for the Captain America movie. They're tried to adapt it twice before and... well, it was ridiculous. And I'm not just talking about the costume.

So it came as a pleasant surprise that this latest comic book movie is not only better than the previous adaptations of Captain America's story, but is a robust, action-packed thriller in its own right. "Captain America: The First Avenger" has an earnest, idealistic tone mingled sometimes poignant realism -- exactly what it needs to have.

The time: World War II. Scrawny asthmatic Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) desperately wants to defend his country, but he's too puny to enter the army. Dr. Abraham Erskine sees the goodness and courage in Steve's heart, and enlists him in a top-secret experiment to create a super-soldier. Within minutes, Steve has superhuman strength, speed and big shiny muscles. HOORAY!

Unfortunately, the army seems more interested in using the superpowered Captain America as a mascot than a fighter. Are you really surprised? This is the GOVERNMENT we're talking about.

When Steve learns that his best buddy has been captured by the Nazis, he singlehandedly invades an enemy base and rescues dozens of soldiers. But this brings him to the attention of the Nazi super-science division Hydra, and its malevolent leader Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) -- who is the only other man as strong as Captain America.

This summer has had a lot of comic book movies -- some were horribly disappointing ("Green Lantern," "Priest") and some were wonderful ("Thor"). I wasn't entirely sure which kind of movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" would be, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well-written and solidly-plotted it was.

There's also a lot of gritty, smoky action with flying bullets (and shields), fiery explosions, and speeding trains carrying machine-gun robots. But the writers don't neglect the human side of Captain America's story, whether it's his friendship with a fellow soldier or his budding romance with an icy sharpshooter.

My biggest criticism is the MacGuffinness of the subplot MacGuffin, which really doesn't do anything except also be an unnecessary deus ex machina. Really, was there ANY reason for the Odin cube to be in this?

As for the cast, they're uniformly solid. Chris Evans plays Steve as earnest, sweet and loyal, but with iron-clad determination and plenty of courage, and he's backed by excellent performances by Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones and a steely-nerved sharpshooting Hayley Atwell. And Hugo Weaving is AWESOME -- this guy can play a Nazi in a red latex mask, and still come across as insanely scary.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" is a lot like Captain America himself -- robust, action-packed, with a good earnest heart at its core. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Nice and fast service! Fast Shipping. The product is in good condition and is really what i want. Its pleasent to trad ewhit you.

As with other recent superhero films (since "Watchmen") this one is also set in the past. Steve Rogers is too small and weak to pass the army medical exam to help fight the Nazis. But then he's chosen for superhuman enhancement (involving both science and magic) which makes him a superhuman being to inspire their soldiers. He becomes Captain America, battling a Nazi super-villain named Red Skull. It was a great idea to set it during this time period but unfortunately this film has a number of setbacks:

Tommy Lee Jones looks too old to be commanding troops. His voice isn't loud enough (he can't yell) and his posture is poor. This is nothing against Jones as an actor, he was simply too old for the part. Ironically, his personality stands out far above Captain America's.

Like many films lately the visual style comes first: actors are often doing very little in order to stand still in a costume for a stylistic visual. This is *boring* and doesn't feel natural. That being said, the historic street scenes are the best I've ever seen (having seen many historic films I can say they accomplished something special here due to depth of detail.) However, the focus on visual appeal takes away from character development and the relationships.

The action scenes feel too perfect to me, reminding me of recent James Bond films and "Inception": every move is perfect, as if the characters are acting from hindsight (over-choreographed fight scenes.) This always looks robotic, exchanging grit and emotion for slickness and style. It might look cool in a video game but for a live action film it loses its realism and thus tension dissolves away.

Many action scenes cut too fast to the next. Sometimes this works well (as with the original "Star Wars") but with shadow, mist and blurry colours mixed in, human eyes can barely follow what's happening. Also, like many other action films this one suffers from too much FX thrown in our faces. It probably would have been much better on a small budget (less is more.) Yet, despite its massive budget (140 million) Red Skull looks laughably bad: his head looking like a cheap plastic mask rather than a real skull. Also, it's just too...red.

All these mistakes aside, Steve Rogers/Captain America is likeable and there is some real chemistry with his love interest, Peggy Carter. I wish far more exploration was done with both characters and their relationship (rather than boring Sci-Fi details and military procedures.) They made Rogers/Cap flawed, so he doesn't start off confident and on top. This way we root for him and enjoy watching him become a legend. This is a classic form of storytelling and it works.

Yet even with WW2 as the backdrop to give this story weight, it comes off feeling slight (lacking in emotional intensity.) I think this was a good effort though and it should be an enjoyable experience for some viewers. Visually it's quite impressive and many minor historic details help to capture an impressive historic setting.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

1.0 out of 5 stars Gay Comedy Romp For Under 12s
This movie tells the story of a small, weak homosexual American man with sadomasochistic tendencies (he likes getting hit and always gets back up for more) striving to break out... Read more

Published 12 days ago by HainanMan

4.0 out of 5 stars Captain America - The First Avenger
I found this movie very entertaining. The special effects were fantastic. And when Chris Evans comes out of the machine bulked up and oiled down I knew I had to own this... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Donna Lloyd

4.0 out of 5 stars a great night's entertainment
Both myself and my husband thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was entertaining and fast-paced. Lots of non-stop action and clever dialogue. Very entertaining.

Published 6 months ago by ssc

1.0 out of 5 stars Uninteresting and Unrealistic
Everyone has been telling me how this was by far the best 'Avenger' character movie so I decided to grab it... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Stefanie Beaudin

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an actual hero.
I'm astonished frankly. I'd heard about a dance routine that really scared me, I'd little confidence in Chris Evans as Cap after the Fantastic Four movies, it didn't seem right... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Parity

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!