Captain America: The First Avenger Review

HOLY MACKEREL! WOW! GEE WILLIKERS! GOOD LORD! SWEET JIMINY CHRISTMAS! HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL! My most highly anticipated movie of the summer has finally arrived, and boy does it deliver. Captain America: The First Avenger might very well be the best film of the summer, not even Cowboys and Aliens can keep up with it, and that movie didn't even come out yet. It was perhaps one of the best action movies I have seen in recent years, and it is a million times better than the tripe that was the 1990 Captain America film starring Matt Salinger. What they were thinking when they made that movie I will never know, but good old Cap is finally redeemed in this superhero masterpiece, a great appetizer that will certainly hold us over until the grand slam Avengers movie hits theaters next summer. And I say superhero masterpiece because I think this might actually be up there with The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 2 as one of my favorite superhero flicks of all time. It was a lot better than Thor in terms of action and suspense, and if the rumors are true, and there are two more sequels on the way, they will have some gigantic shoes to fill, because this film had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I was blown away by just about everything this film had to offer, further increasing my deep desire for comics and comic book movies and the iconic tale of Steve Rogers and his struggles with Red Skull, which has been in existence for nearly 7 decades now. When I went in to see this movie, my expectations were mixed, to be honest, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, it's a guy in a red, white and blue suit fighting a guy that looks like Skeletor's long lost brother. It's a really ridiculously cheesy story that was very popular in the days of WWII and campy, low budget sci-fi B movies, so in order for them to make this ridiculously cheesy story into something that could be taken seriously, they would have to work there heads off and make a script that was appropriate for today's movie consumers. Luckily, they have prevailed, and Captain America is a landmark in the superhero film genre, a really epic period piece with a lot of attitude, zest, and scenary that really sucks you into the 1940s time period, a time of terror and chaos as Adolf Hitler and his Nazis rise to power, and the Americans are thrown onto the battle fields to take out these evil forces. And if you ask me, it's up there with Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brother as one of the best WWII films ever made, I'm dead serious.

This film had a very Indiana Joneish feeling to it, if you know what I mean. It had the somewhat adventurous nature and humor of an Indiana Jones film at times, and I thought the character of Johann Schmidt aka Red Skull mirrored some of the over the top archaelogists and Nazi generals displayed in the Indiana Jones universe, power hungry and willing to go over the edge to get their hands on the artifact they are looking for, obsessed with the possibilites that could unfold if they retrieve the artifact. In this case, it was the all migthy Cosmic Cube, which briefly appeared in the after-credits scene in Thor, an object that can allow interdimensional travel from one dimension to another. It was very interesting to see how exactly Red Skull used the power of the cube, which was simply known as the tesseract in the film, using the power of the cube to build new and advanced laser cannons and blasters, which could be used turn the ally forces into a pile of blue gel. Red Skull even went as far as to plan an aerial attack on the United States using the cube, sound familiar? It somewhat reminds me of when Irina Spalko wanted to use the power of the crystal skull to enslave all humanity in the fourth Indiana Jones movie. And even if that film takes place in the 1950s when Cap takes place in the early 1940s, you can still point out the similarities between the two, and see the villains' desires to use mystical objects to take over the world, maybe even destroy the world. It's something that also parallels the action/adventure serials of the 30s and 40s, the villains planning a ghastly attack on worldly soil, and a brave, strappling hero has to figure out a way to stop the villains and send his plans down the crapper. Who doesn't look at Captain America and see a variation of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers or Indiana Jones himself, who was already based off several adventure serial heroes. And let's not forget the Captain America serials of the 1940s, which had Dick Purcell in the winged mask. I couldn't help watching this film and thinking of the campy, somewhat laughable plots and perils of the Cap serials, for the plot and design of this film mirrors the plot and designs of the classic serials perfectly, Chris Evans' Cap just as bold and gallant as Dick Purcell's Cap, who often took part in some ridiculously over the top fight sequences. But hey, it was the 1940s, what did you expect? You should see the fight sequences in the 40s Batman serials.

The acting is pretty much what you would expect from a Marvel movie, seriousness mixed in with a lot of humor and intrigue. Chris Evans was SUPERB as Steve Rogers, aptly name, Captain America, showing the character's determination to get into the army and join his friend James "Bucky" Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, on the battlefields. I find it very interesting that Chris Evans has played two of Marvel's first ever superheros, Captain America and the Human Torch, although Evans played the Johnny Storm Human Torch as opposed to the android Human Torch created by Phineas Horton in the very first Marvel Comic, then called Timely Comics. It was a bit silly looking how Rogers' head was bigger than the rest of his body before he was turned into the Nazi butt kicking super soldier we all know and love him as, showing that Rogers was a bit frail, weak, and breakable before becoming unbreakable. He was very tenacious, never giving up on what he wants, and it ultimately pays off, Dr. Abraham Erskine, played by Stanley Tucci, taking his determination into effect and offering him the opportunity to become a bone crushing weapon of destruction. At first, it looks like Steve wouldn't survive the procedure that would turn him into a super soldier, but like he was before, he was relentless, never gave up, was determined to make it to the end, and he survives the experiment, ultimately becoming a muscular,"taller" fellow that puts He-Man and Conan the Barbarian to shame! Seeing Steve go from shrimp to jumbo shrimp in a matter of minutes was really one of the major highlights of the film, showing the US' plans of making an entire army of "super soldiers" and allowing even the tiniest of people to join the armed forces and serve their country proudly. It's another great example of how they can bring such a classic tale to the big screen without completely stripping the tale of it's prominency. In other words, it means that it wasn't rushed, choppy or incoherent, it was straight, to the point and made a lot of sense to both children and adults who watched the film, children able to see for the first time how Captain America became, well, Captain America!

Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell were also quite good as Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter respectively, Phillips not believing in Steve's strong abilities at first, but overtime, he is able to except Steve and respect him as Captain America, for he saved several of Phillips' men and found out about Red Skull's future plans as head of HYDRA, Hitler's advanced science division. Hugo Weaving as Red Skull was your average ordinary "conquer the world" villain, although he adds a bit of a twist to the whole matter. Red Skull believes himself to be a god, more powerful than all the Nazis and even Hitler himself, and he believes that he can do anything, anything he wants with the Cosmic Cube, build advanced weapons and even destroy parts of the world that he feels is a threat. I also think that they way the explained Red Skull's backstory was very well done, Johann Schmidt injecting himself with some sort of serum that mutates and mutilates his face, requiring him to wear a mask that hides his true form. And aren't all great comic book villains involved in some sort of histeria that transforms them into what we know them as? Take the Joker for example, it is said that he fell into a pool of chemicals that turned his skin white and gave him a permanent smile, or the Green Goblin, who drinks a strange green serum that causes him to go psychotic, calling himself the "Goblin". It's been done to death, but villains have to go through some sort of drama that turns them into what they are, whether it's experiments gone wrong, or parents shot dead by a smuggler, or even acid being thrown that scars half your face. You all know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? Another performance I must bring up is Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugen. He played Dugan just as I envisioned him to be, with his trademark mustache, bowler hat and all. He was very comical if you asked me, often making sarcastic remarks and jokes during fight scenes, just as his comic book counterpart did beforehand, and he could get quite intimidating at times, figting dirty alongside his fellow comrades who served gallantly under Cap's command. As a matter of fact, all the actors who played Cap's commandos did a fantastic job as their respective characters, often silly and slick as Dugen himself.

But hands down, hands down, the thing that stuck out the most for me in this film was the collaboration of scenes showing Rogers' stage career and promotion of war bonds. It's a very fish out of water set of scenes, similar to Spidey's dance number in Spider-Man 3, but since the scenes screw nicely into the plot, I really don't mind them that much, and to be honest, I kinda enjoyed them and was entertained by them. They were awkwardly silly, yes, Steve even sporting his classic Captain America costume and badge shaped shield from the Golden Age of Comics, but awkwardly silly to the point where you are not really annoyed that much and quite fascinated by the scenes, for they were a great homage to the classic bond promotion propoganda and war movies being shown at the movies during the 40s. Even the first Captain America comic makes an appearance in these scenes, the US citizens reading the comic at the hight of Cap's popularity. It's also interesting to note that the first Captain America comic also makes an appearance in Iron Man 2, when Tony Stark is rummaging through a pile of things. And I'm one of those people that just loves Easter Eggs like that, for they really make the Marvel movies worth wild and they help tie the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, showing that all the heroes and situations present in the films are all part of the same continuity, they are all part of the same reality. The action scenes of the film were also something worth talking about, after all, this is an action movie, is it not? The scene where Captain America breaks into a HYDRA facility to rescue Bucky Barnes and his men was one of my personal favorites, for it showed all the men working together to beat the living tar out of Red Skull's men and it further highlighted the relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, the two working together to escape Red Skull's detonating base. It's also worth pointing out the 400 different ways Cap uses the shield. He uses it like a boomerang, he uses it to pry open doors, he even uses it to make pizza! Nah, just kidding, but he does use the shield in so many different ways. I could make a separate post talking about the many different ways Cap uses his circular shield, for I just can't describe each and every one of them in one sitting. It would be like trying to rewrite the Lord of the Rings trilogy within 24 hours!

The final fight between Cap and the Red Skull was another piece of candy for the eyes. Seeing the two beat the crap out of one another with their bare fists really made this a comic flick to behold. I really like how they pulled off the final fight, for it really highlighted the fact that the two don't like each other and they are willing to do anything to bring one another to a grateful end, Red Skull absorbing too much of the cosmic cube's power and getting sucked into what appeared to be outer space, or as John Hurt would say "The space between spaces!"And as you would suspect, Cap gets turned into a red, white and blue popsicle by the end of the film, being forced to crash the Red Skull's vessel into the arctic where he finds himself frozen in suspended animation for nearly 70 years. I thought out of all the things done perfectly in this film, this one was done the most flawlessly. Seeing the time period shift from the 1940s to present day, you can really feel the gap, you can really see how much has changed in those many years, and see how Steve Rogers is blown away by the present day as opposed to the 1940s, the time period in which he has grown up in. Then Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury pops out of nowhere, you know how he does that, and persuades Rogers to join him. Of coure we all know where this is leading too, and at the very end of the film, instead of a standard tie in to an upcoming superhero film or a nod to the upcoming Avengers movie, we actually get a teaser trailer for the Avengers movie! I'm not kidding. We see them all, Captain America, decked out in a new, modernized clad, Iron Man, who interacts quite humorous towards the other Avengers, Thor, NOW WITH LONGER HAIR, even Black Widow, NOW WITH SHORTER HAIR. Okay, now I'm just being ridiculous, but is anybody else as excited as I am. After years and years of waiting for a superhero team up film like this, the moment has finally arrived, and there is no doubt in my vivid, imaginative mind that The Avengers film will kick major rump, even if the third and final Batman movie comes along to blow both this and The Amazing Spider-Man out of the water.

When all is said and done, Captain America is a must see movie if you are a summer movie addict like I am. I loved the action, the excitement, the suspense, everything in this movie is spot on, even if there are a few things that come off as a bit rushed. Fans of the multi-colored patriot will not hesitate one bit to go see this awesome "bossanova" masterpiece, for it is one of my all time favorite Marvel Comics films, one of my all time favorite superhero films in general. No doubt Cap will lead all our favorites into battle in the Avengers movie, for he was fantastic in this film, and after seeing this movie, it has increased my love for Cap's character even more, to the point where I might actually like him better than Superman or the Green Lantern. Not only will superhero and comic fans love this film, but so will fans of period pieces and war films, for as I said earlier, Captain America: The First Avenger is up there with classics like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. As a matter of fact, the 6 Million Dollar Man also comes to mind when thinking about this film, for Steve Rogers undergoes experiments just as Steve Austin does. They even have the same first name, how weird is that! Anyway, Captain America: The First Avenger was a phenomenal movie and I highly recommend it to any TRUE BELIEVER! This is the Warp 8 Master signing out, Joe Simon, you have the bridge!