Captain America was probably my most anticipated movie of the summer for me. Having that thought process with a movie is always dangerous in that it just may not meet that high anticipation. Captain America though managed to meet these expectations for me and really has made me excited for the Avengers movie next summer. Captain America ends up being a fun origin story that does a great job of not only delivering a strong story but as well meets the requisites that we all expect in a summer blockbuster movie especially that of great special effects and in your face action.
Chris Evans in the role of Steve Rogers/Captain America ended up being very fitting for the role. While at the beginning I was not sure if he would fit into the role of Captain America especially since he had been a super hero previously. Evans though did a great job at really portraying the power, strength and confidence that we would expect in a super hero that is the embodiment of America. The scene that shows this is when Tommy Lee Jones' character does not believe Rogers to be the right candidate to undergo the transformation. In trying to prove his point he tosses a grenade into the line of the candidates, without hesitation Rogers jumps onto the grenade and tells everyone else to get out of the way. Yet in any super hero movie, no matter how good the acting is by the super hero it is all for naught if there is not an equally strong villain, and Hugo Weaving does not disappoint. Portraying Red Skull, Weaving is not only powerful on screen, but you truly believe that his undergoing of the transformation truly did amplify his evil characteristics and you believe him to be quite insane. The supporting cast from Stanley Tucci, Samuel L. Jackson to Tommy Lee Jones all give strong performances to really help support up the main conflict that builds throughout between Captain America and Red Skull.
The special effects in Captain America are precisely what is expected in a summer blockbuster. The effect to alter Chris Evans to make him look like such a short and weak person throughout the early beginnings of the film is one example of strong effects. While originally they were going to place his head on a double that was smaller and shorter they felt this did not fit properly and so instead they used CGI to create the body of Steve Rogers. This CGI was exactly what was needed for the movie and while you know that it is not a natural view the CGI is not really noticeable. The other effect was that of the makeup used to create the look of Red Skull. The makeup ends up really being a strong point for the intimidation and general evil feeling that we receive from looking at Red Skull. The look of Red Skull could have truly come off looking childish/cartoonish or even campy, luckily they do not get caught in this trap. After all the individual films for the Avenger I think that Red Skull has been my favorite villain simply because of his look.
The theme of the film is simple and interesting enough to make you stick to your seat. It's storyline is simple yet classic and does exactly what was asked to do in establishing it's lead character as an iconic superhero. Throughout the movie you get one-liners here and there that make the audience laugh. Likewise, the music throughout the film fit perfectly for not only the time period but the genre of a comic book super hero movie. Not to mention the film gives us great action, explosions and some pretty fun fighting sequences. While the final fight sequence is a little anti-climatic there is one sequence in the middle part of the movie is truly fun and gives a great fight between Red Skull and Captain America.
Captain America: The First Avenger is a fun movie that although even a little campy it fits perfectly for the character of Captain America as well as that of the WWII era. With Captain America being a super soldier and even the rah-rah aspect of who Captain America is, parts of it could almost pass off as being an actual recruitment video. Red Skull is a great villain and is currently my favorite villain to date in the Avenger universe. I will let any one know in case they have not heard but after all the credits there is a quick sneak peek look at next years The Avengers movie. I am giving Captain America: The First Avenger three and three-fourths buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie was well worth the price of admission and is definitely worth watching on a movie theater screen. While I did not see it on an IMAX screen if you have the opportunity to see it on an IMAX I would definitely jump on it.
-The Movie Man
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