Marvel has done it again! They took another one of their superhero characters and made another good movie. Captain America has a great cast and is pure summer fun. It also has a retro vibe since it takes place during WWII and the it looks great. Chris Evans is very good as Steve Rogers/Captain America. He surprised me because he actually brings some depth to the character and you feel for the guy. You understand that he is a good guy and just wants to fight for his country, but his sickly body keeps holding him back. This movie brings us back to the old days where good guys are good and bad guys are bad.
I was a little worried when I first heard Chris Evans would be playing Captain America. I didn't know if he could pull it off and plus he already played a superhero in the Fantastic Four movies! But not to worry folks, Evans can actually act and he is solid as Cap. I also have to point out that the special effects that transformed Chris Evans into the 90 pound weakling that is Steve Rogers were excellent. I heard that they digitally erased parts of Evans to make him look like that. It was very believable and didn't distract me once.
The rest of the cast was also solid. Hugo Weaving plays Johann Schmidt/Red Skull who is the villain in the flick. He is the leader of HYDRA which is the deep science division of the Nazis. Weaving is good here but Red Skull is your average villain, he just wants to take over the world. Hayley Atwell is Peggy Carter who is a British liaison to the U.S. army and love interest to Captain America. The love story does seem a little forced but at least Atwell gets to run around and shoot guns instead of just being there to be saved by Capt. America, like we have seen in countless superhero movies. Tommy Lee Jones is absolutely perfect as Colonel Phillips who is the commanding officer of the super soldier program that Steve becomes a part of. Jones is the main source of humor in the film and he does this part so well that he could do it in his sleep. Stanley Tucci plays a german scientist who created the super soldier serum that transforms Steve into Captain America. Tucci is kind of a mentor to Steve and is the first to believe in him and campaigns for him to be chosen for the super soldier program. Sebastian Stan plays Bucky who is Steve's best friend. He looked out for him when he was a little weakling but the roles become reversed when Steve becomes Captain America.
Now lets get to the Marvel Cinematic Universes. So far in chronological order, Steve Rogers is the first superhero to be established hence The First Avenger in the title. In this movie we are introduced to Tony Stark/Iron Man's father Howard Stark. He is the weapons manufacturer for the U.S. army during WWII and also had a hand in transforming Steve into Captain America. Howard Stark is played by Dominic Cooper and he does a fine job. You see a little bit of Robert Downey Jr. in him and so he's very believable as Tony Stark's father. As we all know, whether you have read the comics or not, that Captain America will be a part of the upcoming Avenger movie that will continue the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since that movie will take place in the present day along with Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor, one might ask how Captain America is in it since he was around his mid-twenties during WWII. Well don't worry it is explained in this movie and is pretty epic to say the least. I won't spoil it for you but it is exciting because Capt. America will be in the present day and will feel all alone because everyone he once knew is probably dead. It will be interesting to see Evans' depth of emotion because it already has been said that The Avengers will deal with this aspect of Captain America. Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury near the end of the film. His part in this movie is to presumably recruit Capt. America into The Avengers.
Marvel is doing exciting things with their comic book characters and I simply can't wait for The Avengers! They are on a roll right now that started with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and now Captain America. That roll will definitely continue with The Avengers. They obviously care about their characters and they get good directors and actors who understand their vision and can translate it onto the big screen. Captain America is the latest of this trend and it is worthy to be with all the previous Marvel movies. Though this one is unique as it contains a retro vibe since it takes place in the 1940's. It's pretty cool to see a superhero that takes place during this time period. With a solid cast and great visuals, Captain America is good fun and is the last piece of the puzzle before The Avengers. May 4th, 2012 can't come soon enough!
B+