Captain America: The First Avenger Review

To me, Captain America has always been a comic book property that looked like it was too hard to convert to the big screen. I just thought it would look silly. The suit is basically a man draped in an American flag. So I had hesitations when I heard that Marvel were making a Captain America movie. But they had to do it, they couldn't leave him out of the long awaited Marvel dream team movie The Avengers. So, the summer is almost over and after four comic book movie already this year we have Joe Johnston's Captain America: The Avenger! (CA:TFA)

Set in the 1940's. CA:TFA follows the Brooklyn everyman Steve Rogers. A skinny, weak but courageous man played by Chris Evans. After enlisting many times for the United States Army and being rejected, Rogers is approached by a German scientist working for the Americans, Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). Erskine enrolls Rogers in the super soldier programme headed up by Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Rogers is injected with the serum and becomes a super strong, super fast and a super buff all American soldier. Now as Captain America, he must take down the forces of evil, mainly Johann Schmidt/Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). An evil scientist who leads the HYDRA division for Hitler and Germany. But Red Skull has bigger aspirations than winning WWII, he wants the world!

I went into Captain America with big reservations, I didn't think Cap could ever convey to the screen. But Johnston and his team have did a great job with this character. They get tone perfect, they created a fun, enjoyable summer blockbuster. Sure it is cheesy in some points but that doesn't hurt it. It's not trying to be The Dark Knight, it sets a good balance of serious and playful and never lets the two cross paths. The performances across the board are good across the board. Evans, Jones and Weaving are the standouts. The action is well constructed and never feels boring. The story is standard but the film doesn't need a memento-esque story take it places it doesn't need to go. The script has it's problems but does every it says on the tin.

The score by Alan Silvestri is rip roaring and entertaining. It fits the film perfectly, the costumes and the production design take the film right into the 1940's. The film does have it's problems, it does sometime over do the cliche. But that was just me. The film runs for just on two hours and it doesn't drag but there is a brilliant action montage near the middle which is sweet just as it is sour. It's so awesome, yet I wish it would of been longer or maybe one or two the sequences in the montage would of been further explored. I also wasn't a fan of Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, she wasn't bad but she wasn't really that good. The character itself felt like a blank page.

As part of the Marvel Universe that has been expanding over the past few years, CA:TFA is a great contribution. It's just as good as Thor and really has me excited for next year's Avengers. I really didn't think Marvel could pull it off. I thought there would be a cog in the machine, I thought Cap would drag the team down but he didn't. All the pieces are set for the most audacious movie blockbuster ever. To bring so many characters together, which have been set up in so many films, it's never been done before. I hope Whedon can pull it off, he has the credentials.

CA:TFA is old fashioned summer blockbuster and that is it's best strength. It feels like a mixture between Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Rocketeer. The action is great, the performances are fun and the overall product is an enjoyable summer roller coaster! No need for 3D though, so don't waste your money.

8/10

Thanks.

Chris.