Review: ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Captain America: The First Avenger
Directed by Joe Johnston
Starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper
Captain America: The First Avenger marks the fourth and final blockbuster super-hero movie of the summer of 2011, and for some, the last hope. After merely being satisfied by Thor, nonplussed by X-Men: First Class, and marked “present” at Green Lantern, The First Avenger has more than just the fate of the free world riding on Steve Rogers‘ broad-ass shoulders. Cap also represents the final piece in the Marvel Studios puzzle before the long-buzzed-about big-screen Avengers team-up slated for next summer, the make-or-break endgame in plans since before the release of 2008′s Iron Man.
While nowhere near the mainstream status as a Superman, Batman, Hulk, or even Spider-Man (prior to the 2011 Sam Raimi film), the character of Captain America is at least more recognizable than his Avengers counterparts, if only to American audiences as the flag-waving sentinel of liberty. Couple that with a briefly-renewed period of hyper-patriotism post-Bin Laden, and The First Avenger was poised for a crossover success. Steve Rogers’ journey from “a kid from Brooklyn” to Super-Solder to Avenger appeals to fans of the Rudy-esque tale of the underdog, the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones, the war-is-hell grit of Saving Private Ryan, and the sight of Chris Evans with his shirt off.
Chris Evans, knee-jerkingly dismissed by many when cast as Steve Rogers due to his previous type-casting in winking smart-ass roles, roundly impresses as the sympathethic pre-Serum asthmatic (also of note, the effects used to make Evans look like a pipsqueak are extraordinary). Evans is able to remain humble, likable, and identifiable even once he’s slinging his vibranium shield at hordes of goose-stepping Hydra goons, all with the slightest of smirks peeking from behind his mask. To say that Evans carries the film would mean to discount the superb direction by Joe Johnston, the screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely (adapted from the comics by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon), the spectacular set and costume designs, and the rich ensemble cast. However, Captain America: The First Avenger would have floundered without the strong lead of Evans filling the red leather boots. His performance is as good as Robert Downey, Jr.‘s Tony Stark, but more remarkable considering Evans was cast against type (and Robert Downey, Jr. is essentially playing…Robert Downey, Jr.).
Evans and Atwell
Evans isn’t storming Hydra HQ alone, however, as Cap gets support from his Special Service Force teammates. Sebastian Stan plays Steve’s best friend, the [SPOILER] ill-fated James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. It’s really interesting to see Bucky transition from big brother to little brother once Steve gets all jacked up on Super Soldier Serum, later following Cap’s lead into the gates of hell as a member of the Howling Commandos. Tommy Lee Jones, looking more worn than usual, lends his steady Texas drawl and fills out the uniform of Colonel Chester Phillips, Roger’s superior. Hayley Atwell plays British agent Peggy Carter, who immediately sees the quality of man in Steve Rogers, but is also totally stoked when he grows a foot-and-a-half and starts sporting pecs like an Adonis. Speaking of pecs, Atwell looks right at home in this 1940′s period piece, right down to her capital bazooms.
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Cooper‘s Howard Stark makes his son proud, decked in sweet threads and chasing tail while making leaps and bounds in the name of science and freedom, helping out Cap some 70 years before Tony ever meets his future teammate. My favorite supporting player was Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, creator of the Super-Soldier Serum, and father figure to young Steve Rogers. In just a few scenes, Tucci’s Erksine hits similar notes to Iron Man‘s Yinsen, displays flashes of Uncle Ben and Pa Kent, and even a little bit of Michael Caine‘s Alfred for good measure.
Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
But what would Captain America be without some Nazi scum to KO and Hydra goons to decapitate? Hugo Weaving, he previously of Agent Smith, Elrond, and 12 lines of dialogue over three Transformers movies as Megatron, gets his master race pants on as the Fuhrer’s weapons guru and lead head of Hydra, Johann Schmidt. 
Weaving resists temptation to play Schmidt as a raving, screaming, Nazi stereotype (finally, Nazis get a fair shake), and even once Schmidt peels back his lily-white complexion to reveal the crimson cranium of the Red Skull, the performance never devolves into broad parody. Weaving’s turn is even more noteworthy considering he is tasked with performing through the Red Skull prosthetics, which, in their own right, are spectacular. Toby Jones skulks in the shadows and plays number two to Weaving’s Schmidt as Arnim Zola, in a performance reminiscent of a chubby Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark, so much so, I expected him to gaze into the Cosmic Cube and have his face melted onto Red Skull’s newly buffed floors.
It’s really a hard task to find something to criticize Captain America: The First Avenger for. The most glaring issue, and this has been the same with all of the Marvel Studios films, is the lack of a resounding, identifiable score theme. How awesome would it have been to identify the first appearances of each marquee character in The Avengers before they even appear on screen, just by their instrumental theme? Among the numerous positives, the touches added for hardcore fans are pitch-perfect, yet not wrenching to the pace. There is a great diversion in the second act chronicling Cap’s time as a USO poster boy that helps introduce the classic Cap costume, albeit tongue in cheek. The method with which the screenwriters were able to recreate the infamous “Cap punches Hitler” comic cover is inspired and terribly amusing. Personally, I was most pleased with the introduction and evolution of the infamous Captain America shield, which evolves from a trashcan lid to the shiny vibranium disc covered in Hydra DNA.
Captain America is a solid actioner that crosses genres and appeals to a wide audience. Despite being emblazoned in red, white, and blue, and rocking a huge “A” on his forehead, Captain America refrains from any “America, F— YEAH!” sentiment, instead, represents a worldwide fight for freedom against tyranny. When Iron Man was released in 2008, we had never seen a Marvel superhero movie quite like it, especially considering the scope of the proposed Marvel movie universe. Iron Man has since been the measuring stick for all Marvel Studios films since, and in turn, might make a fun film like Thor seem lesser by comparison. However, despite The First Avenger being the fifth movie in the series, I think it can very well stand toe-to-toe with the quality of Iron Man, and might have made a similar impact had it been the first Avengers solo film to hit theaters. I look forward to Captain America’s tenure with The Avengers, and his future solo films, but a part of me laments that we have more than likely seen the last of WWII-era Cap stories, as The First Avenger‘s period setting made it different than any other superhero flick to date.
4.5 out of 5 Hitler Punches
–Knize
Hehehehe….”Bazooms”
One of the things I enjoyed about Cap was that they allowed time to pass in the film with the montage of the attacks on the Hydra bases – leaving the door open for more stories set in the past, either through flashbacks or perhaps an animated take.
I dunno how much time exactly passed during that montage…I doubt enough time to do another Cap/WWII feature, but probably some shorts here and there.
I’d love it if the sequel had flashbacks that took place in WWII showing things that happened that we didn’t see that have some bearing on what is going on in the present. I think it’d be a good way to bring Baron Zemo into the movies.
Cap flashbacks in future films to the scenes that were bypassed via montage would – I think – make the Captain America franchise the MOST comic book accurate by including a common element from comics, the retcon.
It looks like they’ve already thought about doing flashbacks.
http://www.webcitation.org/60NJMvmhS
“The story will likely be in the present day. We’re experimenting with flashback elements for more period World War II stuff. I can’t say much more than that but we made it baggy enough to refer to more stories in the past.”
The only critique I had of this movie was there wasn’t enough Neal McDonough.
Yeah, I could have used more of him as well. I’m still holding out hope that we’ll see him again.
I liked the flick a lot. Being a skinny guy myself, I related to Steve, especially when says SPOILER “I don’t want to kill anyone, I just don’t like bullies.”. I thought the movie was great! Better than Thor and Iron Man. I am so happy Evans proved me wrong and was a good choice for this part and kept his MTV persona that he’s known for at a distance. Looking forward to The Avengers and the next Cap!
I loved the Human Torch Easter egg. It works on a few levels.
What was the Human Torch Easter Egg? I missed it.
Totally Agreed. I kind of bashed Evans as Cap when it was first announced but he totally works. I bashed the USO portion of the film when the news came out about that but THAT worked. I liked this film more than “Iron Man 2″, and “Thor”, but not as much as “Iron Man” ( by just a tiny bit though).
The after credits bit was mind meltingly good, and while my friends and the rest of the audience clapped all I could do was scream out “F#$%ing AWESOME!”. Which got a few laughs.
I loved it. I thought it was exactly what a Captain America movie should be. I thought the entire cast was great. I wasn’t the biggest supporter of Chris Evans being cast as Cap, but he sure proved me wrong. I was pleasantly surprised by how big a role Tommy Lee Jones had. I wasn’t expecting that.
I thought the action was great, and the movie was quite funny without being silly. The costumes were excellent. Cap looked awesome and the Red Skull was amazing.
I loved how it ended, but I will say that I’m bummed that since future movies will take place in present day that means that the sequels will be almost an entirely new cast.
I’d love to see Hayley Atwell play Sharon Carter in the sequels.
I seriously think I had a mini stroke during the Avengers teaser. I was visibly giddy.
My main, admittedly minor, gripe is that I wanted more Howlers. I don’t think they even got named on screen did they? Individually or as a group.
I loved it, I did. But I still have a handful of gripes:
Too much science fiction. I’d have MUCH rather Cap be fighting Hydra agents with machine guns than alien death rays.
Not enough development of the Bucky/Steve bond. It was there, but not as strong as I’d have wanted.
Unlike Knize’s praise of the decision, I WANTED Red Skull to be a bit more off his rocker. He never struck me as a restrained kind of villain. We could get that from a Zemo or a Von Strucker, but Red Skull should have been a bit more intense.
I’d put it on par with Iron Man, but those tweaks would’ve stepped it up to a perfect five in my book.
“But I still have a handful of gripes”
No! You don’t say! =)
Hey. HEY! I’m a CRITIC! If I loved everything all the time, I wouldn’t be doing anyone any favors, now would I?
I can see where the science fiction elements might not be loved by some, but I really liked them. It’s yet another common element of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. All of them have dealt heavily with science.
Needed more Dum Dum.
I don’t see the need for more Dum Dum Dugan. He’s a minor supporting character at best, and got more screen time than most characters of his stature. I’d think there’s room for the Howling Commandos to get their own spin-off flick, maybe eventually teaming up with Nick Fury, but I honestly don’t believe Captain America: The First Avenger suffered because Dum Dum didn’t have more screentime.
What was the Human Torch easter egg?
Towards the beginning of the World Expo scene, there’s a figure that looks like the original Human Torch on display in a glass tube, just like how the character was revealed to the public in the original comic.
Great review, Knize. You broke everything down really well.
I loved this film. Finally Cap gets the modern mainstream respect and recognition he deserves.
I liked it a lot, but there was something about it that kept me from really loving it. Maybe I’m just impatient to see the Avengers finally get together, maybe it’s because this was basically a long flashback, or maybe I’m just burned out on superhero movies for the year, but something kept me at a distance from this movie. That said, Evans did a great job, and Tucci was as great as usual. Weaving looked great as the Red Skull (even though he kinda looked like “Red Michael Jackson”), and I loved the meta-ness of the USO sequence. Of the four major superhero flicks, I’d put it just below THOR in terms of sheer enjoyment, with X-MEN FIRST CLASS and GREEN LANTERN taking up the rear.
My rankings
Captain America (no hesitation for me)
Thor
First Class
GL
I’d bump First Class up over Thor, personally. But yeah, Cap’s definitely in the lead this year. And:
Iron Man = Cap > Iron Man 2 > The Incredible Hulk > Thor
That’s how I’m going to come down on this one, with one simple caveat. Thor gets a B+ from me. So… yeah. It’s not like ANY of these movies aren’t great. Bring on The Avengers!
My rankings for super hero movies this year are:
X-Men: First Class
Captain America (it’s just shy of tying First Class and upon further viewings I think it will tie it)
Thor
Green Lantern
As for for the Marvel movies:
Iron Man = Captain America > Iron Man 2 > The Incredible Hulk = Thor
I agree with Tito, with one minor edit.
Captain America
Thor
First Class
GL
Though Thor and First Class could swap places on repeated viewings.
Iron Man = Captain America > Thor > Iron Man 2 = The Incredible Hulk