After watching Thor this year I felt that there was little Marvel Studios could do to top their best offering since 'The Incredible Hulk'. As the year progressed I anticipated The First Avenger being another great addition but nothing more. I was wrong. I felt that Marvel have managed to, just about, top The Mighty Avenger's first outing. It is not only a great Superhero movie but a credible piece of film making. Here's a rundown of my observations.
When considering taking the part of Captain America, intially, I observed that Chris Evans displayed much angst. The magnitude of playing such a pivitol character in the MCU would be daunting to almost any actor, seasoned or new. I'm glad he found the same courage his character exuded in order to accept the responsibility. Any worries people had when he was cast (see Heath Ledger playing the Joker for other examples) should be firmly put in their place after the credits role. He manages to cut any sarcastic, charismatic inclinations from his previous on screen personas to play every part of Steve a comic fan would recognise. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the way the part was written had just as much baring on Evans' portrayal as Evans himself but the proof was in the final pudding. Evans is every bit the hero as he is the skinny bullied kid some of us geeks would recognise. He displays the attributes an everyman should hold and displays heroics and values that all of us should aspire to have. This at no point seems forced or unrelatable. That is where, I feel, this has been the most credible transaction of zero to hero in the MCU to date.
There have been many-a cry from the fanboy base that the movie deviates from history to shun the influence of the Nazis and focus solely on HYDRA. This has been deemed historically inaccurate and a bit of a sidestep by production, writer and director. Well, this movie is hardly a history lesson. It just gives us a tangeble template for our heroes roots. Schmidt himself tells us exactly why he is a lone ranger seeking glory all for himself. And this brings me to my second point regarding our main villain. Some have deemed him "not scary enough" or "a pushover". I wholeheartedly disagree. The point that he is not cackling and being over-exuberant is the "scary" part. He is a man who is all for himself. A man who thinks that everybody around him is inferior. A man who "thinks himself a God". That is a scarier characteristic than bulging muscles. Hitler himself had the most distasteful and unattainable ideologies and that is exactly the same temperament we get with Cap's nemesis. He would literally kill his closest just to reach the heights of which he believes he is worthy. From his subtle (and very well done) German accent to the calmness of his presence, in all but the final scene, meant Weaving played the part just as it should have been. It was this subtlety that made the wannabe dictator/ruler believable. I look forward to seeing him reappear in any future Marvel Studios movie.
As for the additional cast, well, there is plenty of praise to go around. Tucci, with a strong "ze nazis" accent, manages to devour all scenes that he plays part in. It was a shame that his impending fate came all too quickly. He played the antagonist in 'The Lovely Bones' so unrecognisably that the character was believable as a person. He exudes the same acting chops in The First Avenger as the loveable Dr. Erskine. The only other actor that rivals him for screen presence is Tommy Lee Jones playing Tommy Lee Jones. That is not an insult. He brought the same grumpy gruff edge to Colonel Phillips as he does to most of the parts he has played. It is what the part required and that is what Jones delivered, perfectly.
Hayley Atwell plays Carter with just as much balls as any of the male cast. Sexy (mainly) but believably deadly. There is little time for a relationship to develop between Peggy and Steve but that is the point. That is what makes the ending and 'beginning' that much more heartbreaking. The fact that they never had the time to let it flourish and will never get the chance to let it blossom. This, similar to Thor's duty to his brother and love for Jane, will be the driving force for Steve's motives in the up and coming Avengers debut I'm sure.
Sebastian Stan plays Bucky well and displays more of an edge in comparison to his comic persona. We get glimmers of his true love for his friend but there's just enough of a hint of jealousy when the roles are reversed. He is no longer saving Steve's behind in alleyways but getting rescued from certain death by someone more in control of the situation. I think he definately has the potential to play the Winter Soldier to a tee if given the chance. That will also let him display his real acting talent seen as his screentime was limited this time around. The potential was most definately there. His inclusion only served to fuel our hero into his final confrontation with The Red Skull with real purpose.
I loved The Howling Commandos although they did fall foul of 'The Warriors Three dynamic'...they just weren't used enough. But as I said in regards to the 'three', more screentime would only have served to over complicate the story and halt it when it was on a role. Dum Dum Dugan was my favourite incarnation and it's just a shame, as I said, his time was limited.
Dominic Cooper (soon to flex his acting muscles in 'The Devil's Double') plays Howard Stark just so. He has a few scenes where he breaks out the lothario in him which we recognise from attributes of his future son. But aside from that he makes way for Rogers to shine without stealing the limelight. He was a welcome inclusion, if not, just for continuity sakes. Toby Jones plays Arnim Zola well. A quiet, unconfrontational sort of chap who's skills clearly lie in the scientific field. It would be interesting to see if and how they include him in the future as we know him given how his inclusion ended. He offered a great polar opposite of Weaving's Red Skull. It really helped to display the contrast between the two and only served to highlight just how ruthless Schmidt really was.
The HYDRA soldiers managed to become cannon fodder easily and lived up to the "faceless goons" part well. But I have no issue with that. Not every soon-to-be-killed-off bad guy needs a back story or a personality. Another notable nod goes to Richard Armitage for playing a small part in Heinz Kruger (Schmidt's top assassin). He was a ruthless advisery for Steve's first 'avenging'. It really was a well thought out cast in general.
Now I finally reach the real star of the show...My Joe Johnston! A man some people, me included, had some doubts about. With lacklustre attempts, in my opinion, with 'Jurassic Park 3' and 'The Wolfman' (the blame for the latter cannot be solely placed on his shoulders however) it was a suprise to see him helm Marvel's golden child's transition to the big screen. But Marvel clearly saw in him what is rolling out across cinemas globally...genius. There's no shameless propaganda or cheesy humour. The humour used is enough comics relief to stop it desending into a pretentious dullfest. He manages to get just the right amount of personality and emotional from each and every character that allows the film to flow at the right pace, with the right feel at the right time. From the sepia tone to the dated, but fitting, score. It's edited to a pace that didn't, to me, ever feel like it was dragging. Considering the length of the film I feel it could have been lengthened to allow the building of minor characters. But that is more greed talking.
The attention to detail was exceptional and and the CGI (for the most part) was well done. Only a few snowy based scenes (zip wiring onto the train for example) seemed a tad fake but this is totally redeemable since they made Evans look like a skinny "90Ib weakling" convincingly. Props goes to Evans for getting in incredible shape for the part that needed no CGI...Hemsworth has some competition!
The ratio of action to acting is fair and at no point ever feels confusing. The aerial dogfight, the assassin chase mid-movie and the inception-style finale were stand outs for me. The spoken scenes didn't seem to drag. Some complained of "sagging in the middle" but if it's all out action and no substance you want then it's best to watch some MMA.
The continuity to bridge the gaps that lead into the other Marvel Studios franchises are plentiful (Stark Industries. Super Soldier Programme along with Steve's eyes after the familier looking serum is administered. Cap's shield. Vibranium. Yddrasil and the Norse mythology. Most importantly the cosmic cube...to name but a few). The nods were great for a fan (The Synthetic Man, Zola's face magnefied in the magnifying glass, Bucky holding Cap's shield as well as the original first edition of Captain America used thoughtfully. His USO antics are pricless and there's also the obligatory Stan 'The Man' Lee cameo to s[racial slur] over...to name very few). The fanboy in me couldn't resist getting giddy at times like these (not to mention the obvious after-credits extravaganza). But these never detracted from a well written and well executed story.
It was not only a masterclass in Superhero movie making but movie making in general. Some may consider a cosmic character/God such as Thor a tougher character to translate onto the big screen. I would have agreed intially but when he was earthbound and mortal it was easier to play out the story (that's not taking away from the great job Branagh did). Making a character like Steve Rogers relatable yet inspiring during an era which all of us cannot relate to was always going to be a tough task. But Marvel and all involved have managed to do it on all accounts.
The really hard part of Steve's story will be having a 1940's man manage himself in the 2000's when The Avengers finally arrives. But with all parts of Marvel Studio's grand plan making great impact, with every addition, on the movie market...that's a plan, I feel, will have a 'super' ending.
Your Craptain salutes you!
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