Note: The following review contains some mild spoilers. If you don't want to know anything about the film until you see it, then you may want to turn away now.
Ever since I became a fan of comic book characters in 2007, Captain America has always been a favorite of mine. I don't know if it was his awesome fighting skills or his being a valiant leader, but he instantly became a favorite of mine to this day. As any Cap fan, I wanted to see a GOOD film based on the character (I think we can all agree that the 1990s film was pure crap), so I was excited to see ' try at the Sentinel of Liberty. The film,
Captain America: The First Avenger, was possibly the most anticipated film of the year on here, but does it meet expectations (especially for the common Cap fan)? I think so.
Captain America: The First Avenger centers on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a sickly young man who was determined to join the US army in World War II, but is rejected time and again based on his health state. But after seeing Rogers' courage and compassion, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) decides to use him as the first man to become a 'Super Soldier'. Radically changed in appearance (taller, more muscular), Rogers takes on the identity of the shield-wielding Captain America. Rogers goes on to lead the US army in many battles against HYDRA forces led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Right off the bat, it's noticeable that
Captain America: TFA is different in tone to previous Marvel Studios films. While obviously having a much more retro vibe than its predecessors (due to its setting in WWII), it seems like there's far less easter eggs that tease future Marvel installments. While
THOR and
Iron Man 2 were loaded with easter eggs,
Captain America felt much more like a stand-alone project than an
Avengers prequel (which actually makes this film an improvement on previous installments of the MCU, since it makes it feel like its own thing). Sure there's the presence of Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) and the Cosmic Cube (which was featured in the after credits of
THOR), as well as Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury in the final scene of the film, but without those scenes, it'd be kind of hard to distinguish whether or not
Captain America is in the same film universe as
Iron Man,
THOR, and so on.
The casting for this film was inspired. I was hesitant of Chris Evans taking on the title role (he just seems like the not-so-serious kind of guy in most of his films, especially his role as Human Torch in the
Fantastic Four films), but he really shows that he can play a serious role well as Capt. America; his performance ended up being one of the strongest points of the film. Hayley Atwell is perfect as love interest Peggy Carter, and I believe anyone else who plays a love interest in a CBM should take notes from Atwell's performance here. Sebastian Stan is great as Bucky Barnes (even if he does seem slightly old for the role), while Tommy Lee Jones is always fun to watch on screen as Col. Chester Phillips. Hugo Weaving is absolutely awesome as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, and he does to the character what Mark Strong did to Sinestro in last month's
Green Lantern. To round out the main cast, the relatively short lived Stanley Tucci does an excellent job playing Abraham Erskine, while Dominic Cooper does a splendid job as Tony Stark's father, Howard.
The action in the film is also fun. While the random montages of fighting weren't needed, the shots we did get of Cap in all his shield-wielding glory are epic sights to behold, and should definitely get Cap fans pumped up. The final battle scene between Cap and Skull is awesome too, and the last icy scene is incredible to see (especially for fans very familiar with Cap's being asleep for 70 years or so in the ice), and is also very chilling (no pun intended).
Other than the aforementioned montages that seemed to brief, it's hard to find a single, substantial flaw in
Captain America. Sure, the product as a whole seems a bit rushed, but it definitely gives enough space for each character to breathe (except I would've liked to see more scenes with Dr. Erskine). Also, I would've loved to see more action scenes with Cap in his full costume (which was awesome in every scene). But these are all relatively minor flaws, and other than the above, the film is virtually perfect in what it is.
So in the end,
Captain America: The First Avenger is quite possibly the best film of 2011 so far, and definitely Marvel Studios' best. Hopefully future CBMs will learn a thing or two from this film. Also, stay after the credits for an EPIC yet brief trailer for next year's
The Avengers, which shows shots of the new Cap suit and then some. But until
The Avengers assemble next May, we have films like
Captain America to help hold us over.
I rate
Captain America: The First Avenger 5 out of 5 stars.