Captain America: The First Avenger

This blog is quickly becoming a Marvel-only blog, but that's what happens when they keep making good movies. This is also what happens when you go to San Diego but can't go to the temple or the beach. So here is my review of Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan, directed by Joe Johnston. Because my second viewing of this movie was in the theater, I didn't take notes, so this might be a shorter post, like Thor. Also like Thor, I really enjoyed this movie, which also might make the post short.

The first point I will give this movie is for Hugo Weaving's portrayal of the Red Skull. He really does an excellent job of playing bad guys. He was a good Elrond, but sometimes unnecessarily mean. Anyway, he was the perfect Red Skull and had great dialogue. I loved one of his first lines, when he takes the cosmic cube and is told it's not meant for ordinary men to see. I can't remember exactly what he says (was it 'precisely,' 'I know,' 'exactly' or 'indeed?') but whatever he says it shows how he doesn't consider himself to be ordinary. It was perfect. Throughout the movie, he is intelligent, strong, ruthless and never cheesy. I can't wait to see him again (and I'm pretty sure we will).

I'll add a second point for continuity and respect for the source material. I haven't read very many Captain America comics, but from what I saw, they got everything right. They also did a great job of tying everything in with the rest of the movies. We got to see the original Human Torch in the background of a big fair where we also see Howard Stark. This Howard Stark is younger than the one we saw in Iron Man 2, which makes sense, because Tony Stark isn't old enough to have been alive during World War II even as a little kid. This Howard Stark also had a much larger role than I expected, but it was really great. It might have been a little much having him fly the plane, but that's a really minor complaint.

It was also nice to see the Howling Commandos. I don't know much about them and we don't learn much about them, but I thought that was fine. This is a movie about Captain America and he shouldn't be overshadowed by minor characters. I also liked them making Bucky older. Having Captain America with a kid sidekick would have been very odd. They also did a good job of having him be captured and then fall to an ambiguous death, leaving things open for him to return as the Winter Soldier.

Another good homage to the comics was Dr. Zola. When we first see him, his face is on a big green screen, like it will eventually look when he turns himself into a robot with a camera for a head and his face on his chest. It is strange, but I would like to see him come back again in that form. Speaking of comics, it was pretty fun to see the first issue of Captain America with the classic cover of him punching Adolf Hitler.

One last continuity note: I loved how this directly ties into Thor. Red Skull called the cosmic cube a jewel of Odin's and we also see him get sucked up into Asgard. The best part of these references is their subtlety. Geeks like me will catch and love them, but those who don't know or care won't be bogged down by them.

My next point (raising the score to an 8) is for the first fight for Captain America where he's cashing the Nazi through New York barefoot. It just kept getting better and better with him jumping over a fence, crashing into a store window because he's not used to his size and strength, and then ultimately diving in after a submarine. It was incredible. It immediately gave us a good idea of what Captain America is capable of. It also set the tone for the rest of his adventures, even to the point where the audience almost believed that he could chase down a big plane preparing for takeoff.

I'm going to add another point for Captain America's character as a whole. Chris Evans was previously known for his goofy role as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies and a lot of people doubted whether he could pull off such a serious role. Well, he can and he did. He nailed Captain America's personality perfectly — a humble guy who always does what's right. The one line that summed him up just right was, "I'm nobody special — just a kid from Brooklyn." They also did a remarkable job of making him look smaller and still look like the same person. I was also a big fan of how the romance in the movie wasn't overdone. I guess I did have one little complaint about how he cheated to get the flag, but that's not near enough to take away a point.

Now for just a few more little praises. Tommy Lee Jones took the role that he is best at, and he did an awesome job. He also reminded me of Men in Black when he pushed the red button on his car to go faster. Stan Lee also had a nice cameo — any Marvel movie without a cameo from him is going to suffer a little bit.

As a whole, the movie did a really good job of making me excited about World War II. I wanted to go back to New York in the 1940s. It was just so exciting. The action was solid, but never overdone. I admit I was worried about how they'd have him throwing his shield around, but it never became a problem. All in all, a very solid, fun film. I can't think of anything they could have done better.

The teaser at the end was pure awesome. If this movie wasn't a 10 before that, then the teaser definitely put it over the top. As hard as it is to believe, I'm giving my first perfect score to a Marvel movie.

Final score: 10 out of 10