Captain America:The First Avenger (2011)

A lot of you probably were not following when I posted up the Avengers review (like HERE), I went to that movie with practically no knowledge of anyone or anything except for the movie posters.  I didn’t even watch any trailers of the 5 movies that built up to it, but the effort was there when I bought Ironman 1 & 2 and Thor.  But, it was my busy phase (when am I not?) so I never actually watched them.  The Avengers was awesome enough that I spent the next 2 days watching these movies to catch up.  Unfortunately Captain America was still in the super expensive (in my budget) zone so for Boxing Day I finally snatched it up and after 2 months finally managed to watch it.

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones

Back in the war days, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a small weak man who is patriotic and wants to join the army to protect his country.  However, because of his long list of diseases and small size, he was rejected over and over again. His friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) had gotten into the 107th brigade and was about to go off to war.  In the midst of partying before Bucky leaves, he sees another recruitment sign and he tries again with another fake name and city.  This time he gets recruited by Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who had other intentions for him and he in turn volunteers to be part of his experimental program.  At training in the camp, he meets Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who one doubts Erskine’s choice and the other remains hopeful for using him as the subject  to turn him into a superhuman (super soldier?).  After Rogers turns into the superhuman successfully, he becomes Captain America.  At first, he loses his initial goals but eventually, with a little help he turns into the patriotic selfless superhero who with the help of Bucky, Peggy and a crew of good men go off to stop Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), also called Red Skull, who leads the Hydra organization.

I’ve said it once with Avengers and again with Amazing Spiderman review (HERE), that I’m really not very familiar with any of the comic book superheroes, be it Marvel or DC.  Nothing, nada! You give me Tintin (HERE), I’ll know a bit more because thats just how my childhood was.  So I won’t go and comment on the similarities but rather as a movie itself, the entertainment I got out of it.  Captain America was really gripping at some moments but also embedded some funny and/or lighter  moments from Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and a few other supporting actors. It was just so fun to watch with the action and the whole setup and scenes.

The concept of making the straight out good guy and turning him into a superhuman to fulfill his goals in life and protecting his country is not new but for Captain America, I was convinced by Chris Evans that he genuinely wanted the world to be at peace and for good to happen for everyone.  The best example would be when he was recruited, Stanley Tucci’s character, Dr. Erskine asked him a question if he wanted to kill Nazis and his answer shows his simple and kind heart when he says “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies.  I don’t care where they’re from.” I think thats one of the most important parts of a super hero movie is to be convinced that this guy defending everyone is really out there some way or another to help and has that good heart exposed or hidden, whichever works for him (or her). Chris Evans is an awesome Captain America. Another quote that was said by Erskine about his choice says it all: “That is why you were chosen.  Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power.  But a weak man, knows the value of strength and knows compassion.”

So to match a great good guy, we need to have an evil villain, and who can beat Hugo Weaving at it. Okay, maybe you will have a few on your mind but lets just follow my flow here.  Hugo Weaving pretty much can be declared an expert in being a bad guy.  As Red Skull, he is just so horribly mean and has no compassion at all.  He’s like a robot that just wants to kill and take over the world with his minions.  This guy just sends off all the bad vibes a villain could possibly have.  I was convinced and he actually made me feel a sense of danger with the action sequences and the schemes. Although his face wasn’t that menacing but lets say it wasn’t very pretty either so it worked enough to convince me that he was indeed evil villain.

 

They have a great cast here. I love Dominic Cooper who is an inventor or scientist called Stark who aids Erskine with his experimental program.  Tommy Lee Jones was awesome and I’m not very familiar with Sebastian Stan (I think I saw him in another movie) and he was pretty awesome as well.  In general, I really enjoyed the supporting cast. The group of men they chose to be Captain America’s team to invade Red Skull’s plants was so fun, comedic and brave.

All in all, Captain America is one of the better of the 5 movies to Avengers.  I think Ironman still rates a bit higher than this one.  However, now that I know who Captain America is.  He is one hell of a superhero.  I can’t wait to see some more of him and Chris Evans! 🙂

What is your favorite of the 5 movies that lead up to The Avengers?