Last week, I had the wonderful luck to attend a private screening of Captain America: The First Avenger. The movie was good enough that I went to see it again with one marked difference: the Avenger’s trailer at the end.
As a Marvel fan, I went into the film expecting to be as entertained as this spring’s Thor. The fact that I got to see Chris Evans shirtless was just a bonus. As a film, Captain America did not disappoint, although handicapped by being a setup movie for the Marvel film franchise. It offered humor, action, and enough camp and patriotism to go around.
The film tells the story of Steve Rogers played by Chris Evans as a weak, small man trying to due his duty for his county by aiding in the Second World War. He gets his chance when Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) asks Rogers to participate in an experiment to create a super soldier. Erskine sees that Rogers is the perfect candidate because of his selflessness and big heart. After injecting Rogers with the special performance enhancing serum he becomes what we know of him today; a large buffed Captain America with a heart of gold.
Sadly, Captain America is laughed at in a series of montages of musical numbers and dance routines, which I thoroughly squealed over.  Who doesn’t enjoy hot men dancing around in tights and costumes?  Finally after proving himself to Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) we get to see what Captain America can really do when he goes up against the antagonist of this film Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) a very red-faced Nazi or better known as Red Skull from the comic books.
This film wouldn’t be complete without a love interest that we see between Rogers and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) which is a lot of sexual build up to a very unsatisfying release, in my opinion. They did tease me with one hot steamy kiss but I have to remember it’s a family film and people just didn’t do that in the 1940s. Oh, and let’s not forget the film’s classic cameo by Stan Lee. ;)
What’s really cool about this movie is how it reflects the way the world thought back in the 1940s. Captain America was created in the 1940s to help inspire soldiers and citizens to participate anyway they can in World War II. The style of movie fits in perfectly with our 9/11 mindset. Emphasizing on 40s clothing style, sets and overly campy patriotic propaganda, which could make anyone smile.
The director, Joe Johnston decided to shoot this movie in 2D and later converted to 3D. I saw the movie in 3D and felt that it could of done without. Not only was it gimmicky but in some scenes you didn’t even notice the 3D. The converted 3D made the film look dirty and I kept checking to see if the smudges I saw were on the glasses or on the screen.
This movie sometimes lacks social interaction between the characters. Chris Evans being a young actor played the part well but showed his true acting chops in the scenes with Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones. Now in old cartoons and comic books villains have tendency to recite their plans to themselves or the hero. Which is what Red Skull was doing to Captain America and maybe that is the effect that Johnston was looking for. Some scenes with Evans and Weaving they seemed to be reciting monologues but not really talking to each other.  An actor plays off another and Tucci and Tommy Lee work, because of experience they are able to bring out the best in the people they work with.
For any movie or Marvel fan, Captain America will satisfy your classic superhero hunger. The only thing that would have made this film better is if they released it around Fourth of July. It would fit the patriotic theme as well as bring in even more that already did in box office sales.
