You should only read this if you have seen the film.
Last night I was first in line to attend CA: TFA. Now to be honest: This film beat all my expectations. I wasn't a huge fan of Cap before I heard The Avengers was gunna get made, so I went back to read the comics and such. Originally I thought this film was going to be a rehash of the dreadful 1990's Captain America. Well I thought wrong. This definitely blew the doors off and definitely opens the doorway to The Avengers. Now for the Review:
In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a mysterious object with a red, white and blue motif. I thought it was going to show some more of the modern day and shield but it didn't and I was very pleased with the opening. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt/Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and his men invade a castle in Norway, to steal a mysterious artifact which Schmidt calls "the jewel of Odin's treasure room." If you've seen Thor, this will make alot more sense to you. Confusing to many people in the theater last night who didn't see Thor. In New York City, Brooklyn native Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is rejected for World War II military duty as 4F. Rogers' friend, James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan), takes Rogers to the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition, (which you might see as the more primitive Stark Expo, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was absolutely amazing) where famous inventor Howard Stark a.k.a. Father of Iron Man(Dominic Cooper) demonstrates an experimental flying car. Rogers slips into a recruitment center for another attempt at enlisting. When Barnes attempts to dissuade him, Rogers' fervent conviction about serving his country catches the ear of expatriate Bavarian scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who is with the U.S. government's Strategic Scientific Reserve. (Creating the Super Soldier!!) He recruits Rogers to a squad of soldiers at Camp Lehigh in New York state. There, under Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones, who did an amazing job playing a colonel, and SSR officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), one will be chosen as the first in a "super-soldier" experiment. Phillips suggests Gilmore Hodge (Lex Shrapnel), who looked like he was the bully to a good portion of the United States, but an act of self-sacrificing bravery by Rogers convinces Erskine to use Rogers. (this I thought was a great way of showing what Steve would do for his country. It showed his true American colors when I jumped on the grenade). In Europe, Schmidt and scientist Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) attempt to harness the power of the cube-like tesseract. (which I was so excited and jumping in my seat for because.....It's the Cosmic Cube!!)
In a secret lab behind a Brooklyn antique store, Erskine and others gather with Senator Brandt (Michael Brandon) and U.S. State Department employee Fred Clemson as Rogers is given micro-injections of serum and then doused with what Erskine calls "vita-rays". Rogers emerges from a chamber tall and muscular — and his abilities are put to the test immediately when Clemson is exposed as assassin Heinz Kruger (Richard Armitage) who kills Erskine. Rogers gives chase as the spy flees to a car, but Carter kills the driver. Rogers eventually pulls Kruger from a submarine, but Kruger commits suicide with a cyanide capsule. I thought the killing of Erskine was a way of showing how ruthless these guys are.
With the experiment dead, Brandt has Rogers don a colorful costume and tour the nation promoting War Bonds. (like a little monkey, this I thought was entertaining and served the plot well) At a show for U.S. soldiers in Italy in November 1943, however, Rogers is jeered. When he hears Barnes is among a number of soldiers captured by the Red Skull, Rogers convinces Carter and Stark to fly him behind enemy lines for a solo rescue mission. Breaking into the Skull's private base for his terrorist group, HYDRA, he frees Barnes and the others and briefly confronts the Skull — Erskine's first super-soldier ( and this is where we see the skull for the first time, and the makeup job was superb, the character looked exactly as he did in the comics so I was thrilled) before the scientist's escape. The Skull and Zola retreat, and Rogers returns the men to base, along with high-tech guns that use the cosmic cube energy. Here is where he showed his true passion as he had rescued almost 400 men.
To destroy HYDRA's bases, Rogers recruits a team consisting of Barnes, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan (Neal McDonough), and (unnamed except in the end-credits) Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James Montgomery Falsworth (J. J. Feild), and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci). THE HOWLING COMMANDOS!! Adopting a circular shield made of a substance Stark calls vibranium, which absorbs vibrations, Rogers and his squad take out all but one base. Finally, Rogers and Barnes zipline onto a train transporting Zola; during the ensuing battle, Barnes falls into a deep gorge and is believed to be dead. It sure looked like he died because we only saw him land on the ground after the fall. Wondering if he was frozen as well?
Rogers, using information Phillips has gleaned from Zola, leads the commandos to the Skull's final redoubt. Rogers scrambles onto the Skull's jet as it takes off on a mission to wipe out the U.S. using the cubes energy, and eventually confronts the Skull. The Skull attempts to use the cosmic cube but instead disintegrates into light that shoots into space. The tesseract melts through the plane and falls to Earth. Rogers, as Carter listens on radio, crashes the plane into the ocean to prevent it from reaching the United States. This is where we find him frozen at the very start of the film. Shortly after, the Allies celebrate V-E Day. Carter, Stark, and Phillips manage to recover the cosmic cube, but are unable to find Captain America.
In the present-day, Rogers awakens in a room made to look as if he were still in the 40s. Finding out the truth and escaping to Times Square, Rogers learns from S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) that he has been asleep for 70 years, and they had wanted to make easy his reentry into modern times. Rogers' only response is that he is late for a dance he had promised to Carter 70 years ago.
To be honest, it wasn't the best Marvel film I've seen, but I think they did a great job of setting it up for The Avengers, coming next year. You can feel the drama behind Peggy Carter's voice when she is setting up the dance with Steve as his plane is going down, knowing most likely it is the last time she will ever speak to him. But I'm hoping they give these two closure in The Avengers, and at least show Peggy or do something involving Peggy in order to keep it connected like that.
Oh...........and you'll definitely want to stay after the credits for......THE AVENGERS!!!!!!!!!
That is my review, hope you enjoyed it, you should only read this if you have seen the movie.
Hope to see my next review about....THE AVENGERS!!
comicbookfreak