Captain America: The Bullet Points
I’m a simple guy with simple tastes. A movie only has to follow a few simple rules to make me happy. I call these, The Bullet Points.
Now, as a Captain America fan, I’m not saying I’m unbiased, but I am going to try and honestly answer these questions.
Did the plot make sense?
Yeah, there was some passable logic to what was going on. Nations at war developing super-weapons? Sure. Elite commandos blowing up weapons factories? Absolutely. A megalomaniac trying to take his personal faction above the current world powers? No problem. Sure, there are some impossible science McGuffins tying it all together, but these are still plot points that you can follow. I’m not 100% sure how you explain the Nazis themselves not taking more action against Red Skull, but you can do it.
Did I believe in the characters?
Almost without exception. Let’s address the supporting actors first. I don’t think a single one of them dropped the ball. Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, and Toby Jones perfectly filled out their roles like the professionals they are. It’s a testament to their performances that I actually cared about whether their characters lived or died, even though I basically knew what was going to happen. Dominic Cooper does a great job of being a Stark without imitating Robert Downey Jr. Hayley Atwell beautifully encapsulates the strong woman of the time and does a great job of communicating Peggy Carter’s emotions toward Steve Rogers. Sebastian Stan does such a good job with Bucky that I now think it is required for Marvel to feature the Winter Soldier in a future film.
Now, to the heart of the matter, Captain America and the Red Skull. The collaboration of the writers, director, and actor in creating Steve Rogers/Captain America is the real triumph of the film. From “skinny Steve” to Captain America, it’s all the same guy, and that guy is somebody to admire. Captain America is someone who can come off flat when in the wrong hands, simply because he knows who he is, and he doesn’t wear his emotions and conflicts on his sleeve. Fortunately, the film was in the right hands and the quality of Steve’s character is convincingly communicated. You see his frustrations, sadness, determination, and desire to do the right thing perfectly played out. In short, Chris Evans is the man.
Ironically, Red Skull, the character I had the least concerns about initially, was the one character that kind of disappointed me. He wasn’t quite as bitter and cruel as I would have expected. There was a short of casualness to his evil. At first I though that Hugo Weaving was doing something I had never seen him do before: phoning it in. However, on further consideration I think this was a deliberate take on the character by the director. Red Skull seems to be the type of guy who’s never lost and never expects to. I can understand this approach, but if we ever encounter the Red Skull again, I hope he radiates the kind of hate I expect from him.
Was there enough quality action?
Am I an action junky? Yes. Yes I am. Am I an action connoisseur? I think I would be willing to apply a slightly obnoxious French term like that to myself. So did Captain America bring the action? Sir, Yes Sir! In my opinion Marvel has now produced two films with a sufficient amount of quality action: The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America. Thor had action, but it topped out too early with the ice giant fight, and it was filmed too up close and with too much shaky cam. I could tell awesome things were happening, but not with enough specificity. The Iron Man films were pretty good, but not great (and I give the final fight in the second film more credit than most). Captain America keeps the action coming consistently, and it’s filmed in such a way you can actually tell what is happening. Also, just when you think the action has reached its pinnacle, they ratchet it up a notch. Oh, so you think an intense, close-quarters battle in the belly of a flying bomber is great, how about they suddenly take the battle outside! Oh, a climactic battle between good and evil is nice, but how about a climactic battle between good and evil IN FREEFALL. Now that’s what I like to see from my action movies.
A further question in this category: did Cap fight like Cap? Again, Sir, Yes Sir! He fought exactly like I expected him to. It was real hand-to-hand combat, but incorporating the shield, and at a superhuman rate. Just exactly what you’d expect.
Did I ever lose my suspension of disbelief?
I know that comic book movies include some crazy stuff, but they also follow rules. They only get to bend physics so far. Your character can jump high, but only so high. He can hit hard, but only so hard. If you establish that explosions should kill him, do you still have him survive explosions? Stuff like this isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it does still irritate me. I know this is a very fan boy instant, but when Thor took out the Destroyer as easily has he did, that was one such moment. When a certain character didn’t explode at the end of a certain X-men movie, that was another such instant. Captain America pretty successfully avoided these. The shield throwing stretched credulity a touch, but hey, it had to happen. Two other items made up for it: 1) using Hydra’s weapons against them, and 2)Cap killing people. These events just make sense, but I have seen lesser directors avoid such instances for some unknown reason. War is war. Deal with it. If its war, Batman had better freaking buy a gun. (Oh wait, he’s got the ones on his car…what is his rule again? I’m confused.)
Did I ever get bored?
Ah, isn’t this the real crux of the matter? What is the purpose of such a film, if not to entertain? So many filmmakers seem to think characterization means stopping everything else and having people sit around and talk about there feelings. Well let me tell you, actions speak louder than words. When the film does take time for a little straight conversation, it adds some humor, or it at least sets it in an interesting location. It never feels like things just come to a halt to get some point across, or that you’re looking at a piece of footage that should have been left on the editing room floor. You know that kind of awkward meandering middle piece that happens in films a lot? (Yes I am looking at you, Iron Man 2.) That doesn’t happen here. Excellent pacing, no wasted time.
So what’s the verdict? Obviously The Bullet Points say:
BANG. GOOD MOVIE.
A few final thoughts. I have heard two common negative comments about this film.
1) This film was just a build up to the Avengers. – WRONG. More than that, RIDICULOUS. (Again, for comparison, see Iron Man 2.) This is Steve Roger’s story through and through.
2) We’ve seen this before, frequently. – Have we? Cap is not an anti-hero, a borderline psycho, a man haunted by the mistakes of his past, or someone trying desperately to overcome his own character flaws. He’s a hero. When’s the last time we saw that? 20, 30, 40 years ago? This isn’t cliché, its classic. A tale of a bygone era, but NOT something we’ve seen all the time. Not this generation, especially. Also, I’d like to point out that this film has more tragic aspects to it than most, especially those with a straight laced hero. I know that Cap is not a figure we usually associate it with tragedy, but think about it. Steve Rogers wants to do the right thing, and make the sacrifice others are making, but he is denied the means, physically. Once given the means, he is STILL denied the opportunity to make the contributions he wants to. When he is finally allowed to fulfill the role he wants too, he (and we) realize he has still been denied something important: the simple but profound joys of an ordinary life. The film perfectly encapsulates this in the final scenes.
Well, that’s my Bullet Point review. Thank you for your consideration!