Let me begin by saying Captain America:TFA is the most gorgeous of this years comic book movies. Joe Johnstons choice of sepia-tones and vintage replicas of 1940s New York is exquisitely detailed. That happens to be the time period I most admire so he gets points for making that lost age come alive visually. Much has been written about the cgi that made "skinny Steve Rogers" possible. I won't say much on it except to disagree with those that say Chris Evans voice did not match his body and it was distracting. I found it to be perfectly believable and by the time Rogers is transformed it was only then that I had to adjust to hearing his voice come from his real body. All in all the scenes set in New York shine and really gave the film an atmosphere that helps make it worth seeing. I am afraid that without the New York scenes the movie would be completely forgettable, and here is why;
While Chris Evans did a great job and truly does own the role now, and Tommy Lee Jones was a much better used Big Star than Anthony Hopkins in Thor, and Hayley Atwater was INFINITELY more appealing and interesting than Natalie Portman in Thor, the rest of the cast was either underused, underdeveloped, or underwhelming. Buckys role was diminished but could have been very interesting as a sniper assisting Rogers' team on missions. Instead he dies too quickly and without much fanfare. The unnamed Howling Commandos were better used than the Warriors Three from Thor but I could not help thinking of Hogans Heroes. Minus the Nazis...and that is where the movie loses credibility in my eyes.
Having Hydra as an offshoot of Naziism is one thing but during this movie we only see three actual Nazis and while we see the red arm band every Nazi wore...we do not see the swastika on that arm band...or anywhere else in this World War 2 movie whose second and third acts are set in war torn Europe which was crawling with, um, Nazis. Except in this WW2 movie. In this WW2 movie it appears the war was fought in forests and soldiers didn't get bloody or even particularly dirty. These choices by Marvel and Johnston to be as politically correct as possible disappointed me. It neutered the actual war and replaced it with a combination of GI Joe and Hogans Heroes.
Chris Evans saves this snails paced and hokey film but just barely. Despite his earnest demeanor and broad shoulders the sanitized version of war, (Battle Los Angeles had a much better take on military combat even within a sci-fi setting), and the surprisingly bland Hugo Weaving in an uninspiring, almost pathetic portrayal of Red Skull very nearly ruins this movie.
One final complaint, and this is entirely on Joe Johnstons shoulders, the absence of background noise in nearly every scene became a distraction. For example, when Rogers rushes out into the streets of 21st century New York for the first time....it is quiet as a baby sleeping. I would have filled that scene with all the sounds of modern NYC.
The musical score is the best of the cbms we have seen this year. Chris Evans is a solid choice for Cap. The movie looks retro beautiful. There is A LOT to build on as positives for the next film but, and this should say it all, it bothers me that the only actual exciting moments came when the audience saw the Avengers trailer. That is something I hope Marvel considers as it moves forward. We need the movies to match the excitement of the trailers.